Calculating lactate anaerobic thresholds in sports involving different endurance preparation

AbstractThe aim of this study was to establish the degree of similarity of exercise intensity values at the anaerobic threshold (AT) provided by five methods of lactate curve analysis, i.e., LTAT, LTloglog, 1 mmol AT, 4 mmol AT, and D-max. The pattern of similarities and differences was sought in athletes with varying levels of experience and sports skills, representing two disciplines with different prevailing types of power output during competition: on-road cycling (aerobic metabolism) and ice-hockey (anaerobic metabolism).All groups of athletes tested [Group 1: on-road cyclists (n = 19) at international sporting level (participants of the Olympic Games and World Championships); Group 2: on-road cyclists (n = 20) at national sporting level; Group 3: ice-hockey players (n = 24) at international sporting level (Polish National Team); and Group 4: ice-hockey players (n = 22) at international sporting level (Polish National Team U-20)] performed an incremental exercise.The greatest power values at the anaerobic threshold (PAT) were provided by the LTAT (221.93 ± 34.5 W) and 4 mmol AT (226.38 ± 32.33 W) methods, whereas the lowest were provided by the LTloglog (190.71 ± 25.92 W) method. The PAT produced by the LTloglog method was statistically significantly lower (p ≤ 0.001) than the values provided by LTAT, 4 mmol AT, and Dmax. The PAT levels were found to be statistically significantly different for power values determined using the 4 mmol AT and those produced by the 1 mmol AT (p ≤ 0.001) and D-max (p ≤ 0.01) methods. As shown by the analyses, PAT values vary in the international-level on-road cyclists depending on the method of lactate curve analysis applied