You spoke briefly about standing rest vs jog recovery. I actually came across a study by Sánchez-Otero et al. (2022) earlier this year that looked into that. They found that standing rest was better at lowering physiological stress, while jog recovery was better at clearing lactate. Sample size was small, but the results are certainly worth thinking about.
Thanks for the citation! My personal experience during intervals is consistent with those findings. The initial urge to stop after a hard rep is pretty strong for me, but overcoming those terrible few moments and easing into a jog recovery does make me feel like I'm clearing lactate a lot faster and gives me the confidence to take on the next rep.
Great video Sota! I feel like this is the type of info we need when looking at improving our running. I read the pharmacologist comment, I believe If I wanted to be that serious with my levels I'd go to a lab and get super accurate tests. That for me is when you are hitting a very pro level. I personally appreciate you simplifying things. I don't need that complexity. I want to understand the general picture and I want to walk out of my house with some new threshold session ideas to improve long term. Will be testing not looking at my HR getting in-tune with my body.
Appreciate it! Again this vid is more targeted to people trying to run by feel which is why 90% of the vid is not about how many mmol’s per liter to expect at any given point, etc Also, blood lactate levels is highly individual but “feel” is something we can all relate to. And there’s a lot of value and fitness to be gained even without the blood lactate meter
Legend these videos are gold. I spend a little time in threshold while doing tempo/interval workouts. I’m still not full across it, I’ll have to re watch video to try absorb it properly. Thanks for sharing great content.
Even though there are a ton of videos out there on this topic I think you achieved your goal. The information is concise and practical. Definitely gave me some ideas on freshen up my threshold workouts. Great video👍
This is the first video of yours that I've seen, and I'm really impressed. I have watched many running videos over the past couple of years, and this is probably the best LT video I have seen. Good job.
Really high quality content, i enjoyed it and learned a lot! I've just finished my first half marathon after a few years of no running at all and am trying to restructure my training. I want to get the most out of only running 3x a week (unfortunately no time for more since i do 1 or 2 strength workouts as well) and thought about doing one or even two threshold training sessions and one long run per week. Good idea or rather 👎?
I'm running time based intervals so almost every week I run a little longer distance because I get faster. New PBs every week/other week make it more fun. Time trial(with heavy tapering to recover) every ~7 weeks to feel what it's like to run fast without pauses a little longer.
Hi, just wanted to let you know that I found out about your channel because of Jake and enjoyed your videos because of my love for Japan lol. But I had no idea that you were deep into threshold training and coincidentally enough I'm also planning on incorporating this after my 5k training block. I've got a few questions for you if you don't mind: 1. Are you aware with the "singles threshold approach" that originated in the letsrun thread? Basically some guy figured out that Jakob's brother, Kristoffer, is more of a hobby jogger now and only does one threshold per day as opposed to the usual doubles. Surprisingly, this approach still works and a lot of people have gotten new PBs with 2-3x threshold per week. Anyway, I know you mentioned that the pace doesn't really matter but here's how they classified the paces for each rep distance/duration: 16-20 x 400m: 10k/CV pace 8-10 x 1000m: 12k to 15k pace 5-6 x 1600m: 10 mile pace 4-5 x 2000m: half marathon pace 3 x 3000m: 30k pace ---- What do you think about these paces? Are they way too quick or slow based on your knowledge and training? 2. I'm also planning to continue with threshold training for my marathon training block. You have plenty of experience with longer distances, so how would you approach incorporating threshold training in a marathon block? Is simply 2 threshold per week and 1 long run enough, or is there more to it?
Hey man, thanks for your comment! Nah I barely go on LetsRun actually (not for any reason, I just never have for some reason), and I also haven't heard of the singles threshold approach I always find the "race pace" concept interesting, because it depends on the runner: - How recently have they raced? - Do we have enough data to even have an accurate estimation of those race paces? - Does it account for the fact that not every day feels the same and that there's fluctuations from day to day? This isn't having a dig at you btw, it's just questions I have for that specific training philosophy. To be honest, I think I'm just lazy and think I have a fairly good grasp of what threshold should feel like so I basically just go by feel every day I'm just a lazy bloke when it comes to running and just wanna enjoy running haha In terms of your second point regarding threshold training for marathon training, I'm down to have a more personalised chat for you (no money involved), just message on Insta or something But if you want my general opinion: - There's no specific number of threshold I would recommend without knowing your full training history - Assuming you are fairly experienced, it can't hurt to play around with easy long runs, marathon long run workouts (my fav) and steady long runs to supplement the 1 or 2 threshold sessions you are doing in a week - In terms of the actual threshold workouts, it would still depend on context, but it can't hurt to play around with both threshold intervals (with short reps and long reps), and also continuous tempos so you have as many angles covered as possible As usual though, I can't give specific training advice without more detail, so this is as far as I can say with the limited information I have of your running background! All the best with training!
Love the content Sota! As a runner who is likely to get injured with turning up the pace (bad track record, doing plenty of S&C) Would it be feasible to do a LT1 session on the bike and LT2 running? My next question is I can average x wattage on the bike but build lactate early on while maintaining a Z2 effort. Is there a strong correlation with HR and lactate? I know the answer but it makes no sense to me since my HR is significantly lower, whilst having heavy legs. I’m new to cycling so lactate adaptation in this sport may not be there.
Depends what LT1 session you're doing - I'm not sure what cycling workouts are like (have zero experience), but like I touched on in the video, if the reps are too short, the HR data won't mean much, but if you're doing long reps then maybe it's worth trying to map out some zones by doing a field maximal test (to work out Max HR) then using that data to get some zones I actually highly recommend you listen to this podcast because they talk about all the cycling nuances as well as a bit of running: Understanding Training Zones for Running and Cycling with Nick Jankovskis, Sport Scientist - The Adaptive Zone Podcast They talk about power output at LT2 and stuff too In summary - because I don't use a HR monitor and don't cycle, I'll stay in my lane and recommend a podcast rather than giving you an in depth answer on something I'm not as familiar with I will try and get Nick Jankovskis on my podcast soon though, he is an absolute legend
Easily the best video on threshold I've seen, this is what i was looking for. I run my threshold workouts on a treadmill, usually with a 5% incline, is this okay, or is it better to run faster with a flatter incline ?
I would mix it up, and when you do the 5% incline, slow down the treadmill a touch (which I’m sure you already do) I’m a big fan of getting elevation in. It’s a great way to become strong on hillier courses and trail races in the future I’m also a big fan of hilly tempos outside where you run by feel on a terrain where there’s a good mix of flats, uphills and downhills where there’s numbers don’t matter and you have to be in tune and understand how your body is feeling Threshold is different every day depending on other various factors like external stress, sleep and several other parameters, so just adjust to how you’re feeling on the day
Good teaching! This is a bit off-topic, so I hope it's okay to ask here, but during my last marathon my pace dropped at the end, as perceived effort increased massively - at one point I thought I was running uphill, but it was a flat part of the course. When I checked the data, my HR was falling significantly and constantly during this final, and worst phase. My HR had peaked in the first half of the marathon (on a long climb) then stabilised until the fall in the last 25 minutes. I felt adequately fueled and hydrated, and never experienced the HR drop before or since - my HR usually rises at the end of any race. I had a stomach bug that I was just about able to manage, so perhaps that contributed. I PR'd, but likely would have run significantly faster without the stomach bug. I'd be grateful for your insight into what may have caused the falling HR.
Hi Sir, I follow my garmin training plan and it has suggested threshold workouts currently its suggesting 10 min warmup at 6:50km pace and 16min 5:40km pace and 10CD at 6:50 pace. I cant seem to complete the 16min 5:40km pace and needing to stop around 9min mark to breathe. Is there something that Im doing wrong? or should I be doing 5:40 pace when I obviously couldnt finish it for 16mins? thank you in advance
I can’t speak from experience because I’ve never followed a Garmin training plan, but it definitely isn’t personalised so I would break up the 16 mins into 2 minutes if you have to, maybe warm up then do 8 x 2 mins with 60 second jog or walk in between
Assume you’re doing an appropriately paced 8x1000m to target LT2, how should your legs be feeling towards the final reps? Should you feel any burning from lactate levels accumulating? Or does burning mean you’ve gone too fast?
Hey man! Gonna try explain as best as possible: First and foremost, there's basically no scientific studies comparing whether it's better to do a specific type of threshold: right below, right at or just a tiny bit above (also known as supra-threshold). This is because it's such a hard thing to control so there will be huge margins of error using our current technology So unfortunately there's no DEFINITIVE scientific answer to your question, however, you can either trust me from my experience/knowledge/anecdotes, or you can ask some other people on their opinions too, but as always, I like to give my safe answer, and here are my thoughts: - You mentioned "burning" which is the exactly what we're trying to avoid for the most part in threshold (you are absolutely correct!), so it's important to always ask yourself if it's mechanical fatigue or hydrogen ion accumulation fatigue (jelly lactic feeling in legs aka "burning"). Running 8 kilometres at an LT2 effort is quite taxing on your body in general in terms of the pounding on the legs, especially when we remind ourselves that LT2 is basically the lactate levels which you can hold for only 45-60 mins. So you wouldn't feel fresh, but your legs shouldn't be feeling super jelly. - HOWEVER, a little bit of jelly feeling can't hurt sometimes. But the most important thing to remember in my opinion is the power of variety. For me personally, 8 out of 10 times (80% of the time), I like to make sure I am feeling pretty fresh at the end of my workouts in terms of my legs, which means I am probably running quite slow, probs a lot of the times closer to LT1 than LT2 (but depends how fit I am obviously). This way, I can focus more on longevity (more consistency without injury), but I can still occasionally get those lactate tolerance sessions. Let me break down the benefits of running under threshold, at threshold and slightly above threshold (sub-threshold vs lactate threshold vs supra-threshold): Sub-T (Just Below LT): Improves endurance and lactate clearance without as much fatigue. LT (Lactate Threshold): Optimizes lactate clearance and can improve the pace sustainable before lactate buildup. Supra-T (Just Above LT): Enhances lactate tolerance and anaerobic capacity but is more fatiguing. Sounds like there's benefit to all three, but I'd say Supra-T is the least important for threshold training KEY POINT - it's the least important for threshold training. 👉 That's why 8 out of 10 times I make sure to feel quite fresh at the end, and 2 out of 10 times, I might push it a tiny bit more, but not to the point where I'm super jelly (because that's obviously not threshold) and I'm grinding through the last rep. I still have a bit in me at the end. It's still important to do supra-T/VO2 Max/Speed in training at the right time and place in your training season Again, disclaimer that this is my anecdotal experience and my understand of threshold - so you can decide whether to trust me or not! But this ratio of threshold training is what I always aim for (not exact but roughly) to get fit, and it is what helped me get to my 15:40 5k, 32:42 10k and 3:11:39 (3:49/km) 50k - haven't done half and full properly yet Summary: - Science is still behind - more research to come - There's a difference between mechanical fatigue & hydrogen ion accumulation fatigue (jelly legs) - Variety in training is important, but get the ratio right
Thank you for that great reply! It’s helpful to know that I shouldn’t feel like I have jelly legs at the end of the reps. I’ve been trying to figure out my limiter when trying to push past zone 2 in longer runs. I did a 30 min TT and my last 20 min avg HR was 168. It was hotter than normal so my avg pace seemed slow for the last 20 min at 8:30/mile. I can run at 135 avg heart rate 9:00-9:15 pace for 15+ miles no problem. When I go 8:30-8:45 (in cooler weather when I normally train) I can hold it for 5-6 miles with avg 145-150 HR and then my quads get “tight”, specifically at the “tear drop” portion of the quad near my knee. I slow down to about 9:00-9:15 / mile because my legs get so tight. I get confused because based on my LTHR, I feel like my HR should be much higher when that tightness sets in. I’m beginning to think it’s more muscular fatigue setting in and I need to work on muscular endurance at faster paces. Maybe working 4x 1 mile or 2x2 miles at threshold to get better at holding for longer. My only running experience the past few years has only been Zone 2 running for ultra races.. I never did any speed work and kept training CrossFit 4 days per week.
I am a little confused about short reps (400m). You said we have different energy systems. If we run 400m reps we should use more anaerobic energy to be able to spike lactate to certain level? Isnt 400m reps and 2k reps a whole different energy systems? To me 400m reps looks like better economy builder than threshold. For theshold i feel that 2x10min, 3x10min, 2x15min, 2x20min are better threshold training than shorter reps... I would like to hear your thoughts on this
A 400m only becomes Anaerobic dominant if you run them really quick Running 400m at threshold will mean the aerobic system is still heavily dominant. We can run kind of quick, but not too quick. Running 400m at 5k pace is "fast" but it's still very heavily aerobic energy system oriented. But like I said, all three systems always work in unison, so it's a ratio. If you run 400m at 5k pace, your legs will not be jelly, I can promise you that (meaning we haven't gone above LT2, meaning we are barely working the anaerobic energy system yet because we are clearing the lactate efficiently still) 400m threshold reps seem like a weird concept but you'll see elites doing it all the time and using a lactate meter (look at Jakob Ingebrgitsen's 12x400m workout on youtube - he also does like 25x400m when he's building the base earlier on in the season. And he does them slow (for his standards) The benefit is, with short rest and short reps, you can run fairly quick but stay at the right lactate level (when done correctly) and you get that perfect balance between getting some threshold gains while still being able to run decently quick We just have to disassociate rep distance to speed 👉 Just because it's short reps, it doesn't mean we're hammering them
Yeah watch my 16x400m threshold video, you'll see that I'm not going all out, but I basically ran 5k pace for 6.4km total with only 45 second rest in between. Great way to run more than 5k at 5k pace but staying at threshold
Depends on the person (as always) but most runners would sit between LT1 and LT2 for marathon pace. Below LT1 is fairly low intensity, LT1 is harder than your easy runs Think of it this way: - Lactate is generally accumulating in a marathon, but very slowly - it's defs not staying at resting levels the whole time - For most runners though, marathon pace will be closer to LT1 and the more elite you get, you'd be closer to LT2 (but obviously not at LT2)
@@SotaMaehara thank you for clafirying. Im guilty of mostly relying on my heart rate instead of feel and i am basing my threshold mostly on pace since i dont have lactate meter. I feel that i over exerted my effort sometimes or most of it since my garmin watch categorized my supposed threshold as vo2max.
If your zones are properly calculated, it’s totally fine to go by heart rate for longer reps / continuous tempos But I’m personally just a big fan of running by feel because I’m lazy and don’t want to overthink about numbers while running
Hey man! Here's my opinion (which is heavily adopted from Nick Jankovskis who is the goat regarding this topic imo) VT1 and LT1 occur in parallel (at the same time), but LT2 and VT2 most of the time don't, and I'd say because with threshold talk we're mostly interested in LT2, I think VT2 becomes quite irrelevant especially because it's closer to VO2 max than to LT2 To put it simply, your muscles produce more Lactate than your body can clear first (we can run on heavy legs for a little bit, and then your breathing ramps upa bit after to compensate for the extra effort and rising acidity in the blood Summary: VT2 is pointless in threshold because you're way past LT2 and closer to VO2 max at that point - so "feel" - as much of a broken record I sound like - is most important when we aren't using a lactate meter, but we all know a runner that says feel might even be more important than lactate data (Matt Hanso)
@@LeoShoSilva In my opinion, you're asking for too much if you want anymore than that. Happy for you to not take my word If you're the one asking me to include VT2, I'm assuming you understand that the definition of VT2 - the point during incremental exercise at which ventilation increases disproportionately to oxygen consumption (VO2) due to increased carbon dioxide (CO2) production from the buffering of hydrogen ions (H+) By definition, VT2 happens after LT2. I don't understand why VT2 is relevant in threshold in that case because if you're breathing hard (good sign you've hit VT2), you've passed LT2 already. As you hit LT2, youre still trying to rely as much as you can on the aerobic system as much as possible until the point where it's overwhelmed with the Hydrogen ion accumulation and that's when the respiratory response comes in. There's no other science I can possibly get into apart from the fact that if you look at any lab test where VT and LT and VO2 and HR is measured, you'll basically never find a graph where VT2 occurs before LT2. I've never seen someone running TRUE LT2 for 45 to 60 mins breathing at the definition of VT2, let alone a 16 x 400m workout which is way easier. No one should be doing 45 to 60 min LT2 runs in the first place. This should be enough information to understand VT2 is irrelevant for threshold, and if you want any more science, this isn't the place - because the lab tests have shown that VT2 basically never occurs before LT2, period. Happy to discuss further if you can find where I've made an incorrect statement, otherwise, I'm happy with the amount of info given and no more elaboration is needed on my end
@@LeoShoSilva if you sprint 400m on a track (key word = sprint), you're running faster than threshold very quickly, but I can promise you the heavy breathing won't come til you're just about to finish the 400m and right after. If you do 4 x 6 mins (90s jog) and you decide in the final minute of the 4th 6 minute rep you decide to suddenly go all out for no reason, you won't start heavily breathing immediately. The respiratory response comes after. Two real word examples for you.
I appreciate the effort in the video, and don't mean to discourage you. But as a pharmacologist who works in an exercise science lab, there is a lot of misinformation in the video. To the point where I think it is unhelpful for those who are uninformed and don't know any better and felt the need to comment. The biggest things are: 1. That lactate doesn't continue to increase as intensity increases, actually, it first decreases. Our understanding of the way the body uses lactate as a fuel source has improved significantly. So first you will see a decrease from resting levels as the lactate is utilised, then a slight linear increase (LT1), then an exponential increase (LT2). 2. The points at which the thresholds are defined are therefore to do with the rate of change in lactate, not to do with any type of absolute number (e.g. 2 mmol) like you have suggested. The 'correct' way to find the LT1 and LT2 accurately, is to fit the measurements on a polynomial of best fit, so that you can find the rate of change. And even better if you can repeat the test. I understand this is not always feasible for the average runner who doesn't understand maths or statistics, but saying that you are looking for an increase of x mmol is incorrect, and even harmful to the uninformed. A well set up test and an eye-ball test is suitable, but we are looking for a change in the rate of lactate accumulation. The lactate pro 2 is significantly more accurate than a confidence error of 2 mmol though I can't speak for other machines. If the machine cannot measure lactate within 2mmol accurately it is absolutely useless and should not be used. 3. Your body doesn't 'tolerate' higher lactate as you improve. Quite the opposite, actually. You improve the ability to use the lactate for energy. Therefore, you won't see highly trained athletes with a prolonged linear phase (LT1) and a delayed exponential phase (LT2) like you described. The opposite happens, where lactate stays low as the body is better at utilising it, and the LT1 gets closer and closer to the LT2 as the athlete improves. The total lactate level at which the LT1 and LT2 then occur (the turning point that you described) actually go DOWN (which makes the above point about a 2mmol rise even more inaccurate for trained athletes). Where an untrained athlete might have a classic 4.0mmol LT2, a trained athlete is much more likely to have an LT2 2.5 - 3mmol. I hope this doesn't come off as negative, because I can see you have put a lot of effort into the video, but please do a little more looking into the science. Afterall you called it 'the complete guide' but most (almost all) of your assumptions are incorrect.
Hey mate, thanks for the feedback. I’m out and about to start a run so can get back properly later. While I trust that your claims maybe true do to your background knowledge, I can’t see how the information I’ve provided in this video is harmful or unhelpful to my viewers who will most likely be trying to learn how to run threshold by feel. If you want to nit pick on such specific scientific nuance, fair enough, you may have a point and the fact that I talked “science” may put me in an unfavourable position. But from the brief things I’ve read from you, I can’t see any of what I’ve said affecting the advice I would give in lay terms? I’d like to hear which bit of advice in terms of ‘running by feel’ that these very specific scientific errors I’ve made will affect people that take my advice in a negative way I truly believe out of the main points I emphasised (which I’m happy to reclarify with you once I’m home), none of them are “harmful” or necessarily unhelpful It would only be unhelpful for a pharmacist like you that want to know absolute detail without missing any small points Also, not everyone reaches LT2 at the same lactate level, there’s no magical number. And you ability to tolerate hydrogen ions can improve, I never said how substantially it improves. We’re not talking about LT2 being at 12mmol/L With respect, you are simply trying to nit pick on minute specific trivial details which I acknowledge I may have overseen due to not wanting to make this video complicated for the average runner that may not have any scientific background Appreciate the feedback either way
Just finished my run, here's my thoughts on your three points. 1. While you may be correct, how does that change or affect the advice I should have given? Is that USEFUL information to a runner when I'm trying to communicate in lay terms? It's not like I said something completely different - it would actually be a waste of an extra 30 seconds explaining pointless extra information that adds no value. So rather than "spreading misinformation", I've probably for the better, excluded information that doesn't add any value to the video (which is already 25 minutes long) 2. Interesting that you chose that specific example, because I made a point earlier on in the video (my initial point) that LT1 is when blood lactate levels rises above resting levels and LT2 is the final point before blood lactates becomes exponential. Regarding the margin of error - I heard the margin of error is 1 mmol/L, which would mathematically make sense that you would want a big change. Also if you listen to 06:30, I said AT LEAST 2 mmol/L which would make sense for a margin of error of 1 mmol/L (maybe the margin of error info I got from online is wrong, but that doesn't make my mathematical understanding wrong). AT LEAST 2 mmol/L is not a specific number, that's an infinite range of numbers, meaning I understand that everyone would have a slightly different lactate graph. This is obvious stuff you're pointing out 3. Please tell me when I said there's a delayed exponential phase??? I literally never said that in any point of the video, I promise you (just because the example graph shows that, it doesn't mean that was the point of information I told the viewers to look at). 3 part 2: Trained athletes become more efficient at using lactate, and their LT1 gets closer to LT2, HOWEVER - It’s not entirely correct to say that lactate levels go down across all ranges. Instead, trained athletes are better at managing and delaying lactate accumulation at higher intensities, but both thresholds (LT1 and LT2) move up together with training. Basically, you're right that trained athletes become better at using lactate as fuel BUT the ability to tolerate higher lactate concentrations like in short maximal efforts are still crucial. Both lactate utilization and tolerance are part of the overall adaptation to training. Simple analogy: an elite runner can push through heavy legs from hydrogen ion accumulation BETTER than a new untrained runner - and therefore the elite runner can tolerate higher blood lactate levels As a final summary, you're genuinely nit picking on tiny details and are essentially accusing me for spreading "misinformation" (your words, not mine). But rather, I see it as leaving out irrelevant unnecessary details to prevent the video from becoming 60 minutes long. My channel is not the place to learn the level of science that you're wanting to see as a pharmacist. I apologise for saying "understand the science" once in the video and simplifying it, but that is what is best for the viewer, and I will not change how I filmed/edited the video. Nor will I delete your comment, I'm happy for people to agree with you and have their opinions too. But I will stand my ground and say there was no ill intent to spread misinformation or harm or waste peoples time with unnecessary information. I still think this video would help the average person understand Threshold Training Principles, which is the main purpose of the video and what people are thanking me for - which means the majority of people understood the main point of the video (rather than nit picking on trivial matter which would've made the video longer)
@@SotaMaehara Agreed, as fairly new runner, I am not concern with my lactate dropping to begin with or the number of mm, or how my body uses it at what level. I know I'll never be a pro so all i care about is improving and your video does a great job at concept like staying in the zone , getting there, and overall map to improvement.
You spoke briefly about standing rest vs jog recovery. I actually came across a study by Sánchez-Otero et al. (2022) earlier this year that looked into that. They found that standing rest was better at lowering physiological stress, while jog recovery was better at clearing lactate. Sample size was small, but the results are certainly worth thinking about.
Interesting info, thanks for sharing, this is why I love you AustenC - you are a goat
First time viewer. Like and subscribed!
thanks man!
I just walk between reps
Thanks for the citation! My personal experience during intervals is consistent with those findings. The initial urge to stop after a hard rep is pretty strong for me, but overcoming those terrible few moments and easing into a jog recovery does make me feel like I'm clearing lactate a lot faster and gives me the confidence to take on the next rep.
I saw many videos but yours is so beautiful with explanation.
Thank you so much! Really appreciate it
Great video Sota! I feel like this is the type of info we need when looking at improving our running. I read the pharmacologist comment, I believe If I wanted to be that serious with my levels I'd go to a lab and get super accurate tests. That for me is when you are hitting a very pro level. I personally appreciate you simplifying things. I don't need that complexity. I want to understand the general picture and I want to walk out of my house with some new threshold session ideas to improve long term. Will be testing not looking at my HR getting in-tune with my body.
Appreciate it! Again this vid is more targeted to people trying to run by feel which is why 90% of the vid is not about how many mmol’s per liter to expect at any given point, etc
Also, blood lactate levels is highly individual but “feel” is something we can all relate to. And there’s a lot of value and fitness to be gained even without the blood lactate meter
Legend these videos are gold. I spend a little time in threshold while doing tempo/interval workouts. I’m still not full across it, I’ll have to re watch video to try absorb it properly. Thanks for sharing great content.
No probs! I agree, listening to something twice helps a lot
Such a good breakdown of all the necessary knowledge when it comes to threshold training. That 2 x 400m lactate warm-up from Matt is money!
Thanks a lot for the feedback! And yeah for sure, I will be using the 2x400m threshold warm up for some of my workouts moving forward haha
Even though there are a ton of videos out there on this topic I think you achieved your goal. The information is concise and practical. Definitely gave me some ideas on freshen up my threshold workouts. Great video👍
Thanks so much 🤝
This is the first video of yours that I've seen, and I'm really impressed. I have watched many running videos over the past couple of years, and this is probably the best LT video I have seen. Good job.
Appreciate it, the feedback means a lot!
Great video, thanks a lot. Probably the best and most useful breakdown of threshold training I've seen
Thanks so much for the feedback! Much appreciated
Watching this after my threshold sess today. Love u Sota
Thanks for watching bro!
Great content, keep it up!
Thanks so much! Much appreciated
Really high quality content, i enjoyed it and learned a lot! I've just finished my first half marathon after a few years of no running at all and am trying to restructure my training. I want to get the most out of only running 3x a week (unfortunately no time for more since i do 1 or 2 strength workouts as well) and thought about doing one or even two threshold training sessions and one long run per week. Good idea or rather 👎?
I'm running time based intervals so almost every week I run a little longer distance because I get faster. New PBs every week/other week make it more fun.
Time trial(with heavy tapering to recover) every ~7 weeks to feel what it's like to run fast without pauses a little longer.
awesome video thank you!!!!
No probs! Thanks so much for watching and commenting!
such a nice video, great content thanks!
Appreciate it!
Great content Sota keep it coming ❤
Thanks mate!
Hi, just wanted to let you know that I found out about your channel because of Jake and enjoyed your videos because of my love for Japan lol. But I had no idea that you were deep into threshold training and coincidentally enough I'm also planning on incorporating this after my 5k training block. I've got a few questions for you if you don't mind:
1. Are you aware with the "singles threshold approach" that originated in the letsrun thread? Basically some guy figured out that Jakob's brother, Kristoffer, is more of a hobby jogger now and only does one threshold per day as opposed to the usual doubles. Surprisingly, this approach still works and a lot of people have gotten new PBs with 2-3x threshold per week. Anyway, I know you mentioned that the pace doesn't really matter but here's how they classified the paces for each rep distance/duration:
16-20 x 400m: 10k/CV pace
8-10 x 1000m: 12k to 15k pace
5-6 x 1600m: 10 mile pace
4-5 x 2000m: half marathon pace
3 x 3000m: 30k pace
----
What do you think about these paces? Are they way too quick or slow based on your knowledge and training?
2. I'm also planning to continue with threshold training for my marathon training block. You have plenty of experience with longer distances, so how would you approach incorporating threshold training in a marathon block? Is simply 2 threshold per week and 1 long run enough, or is there more to it?
Hey man, thanks for your comment!
Nah I barely go on LetsRun actually (not for any reason, I just never have for some reason), and I also haven't heard of the singles threshold approach
I always find the "race pace" concept interesting, because it depends on the runner:
- How recently have they raced?
- Do we have enough data to even have an accurate estimation of those race paces?
- Does it account for the fact that not every day feels the same and that there's fluctuations from day to day?
This isn't having a dig at you btw, it's just questions I have for that specific training philosophy. To be honest, I think I'm just lazy and think I have a fairly good grasp of what threshold should feel like so I basically just go by feel every day
I'm just a lazy bloke when it comes to running and just wanna enjoy running haha
In terms of your second point regarding threshold training for marathon training, I'm down to have a more personalised chat for you (no money involved), just message on Insta or something
But if you want my general opinion:
- There's no specific number of threshold I would recommend without knowing your full training history
- Assuming you are fairly experienced, it can't hurt to play around with easy long runs, marathon long run workouts (my fav) and steady long runs to supplement the 1 or 2 threshold sessions you are doing in a week
- In terms of the actual threshold workouts, it would still depend on context, but it can't hurt to play around with both threshold intervals (with short reps and long reps), and also continuous tempos so you have as many angles covered as possible
As usual though, I can't give specific training advice without more detail, so this is as far as I can say with the limited information I have of your running background!
All the best with training!
@@SotaMaehara Just came from your part 2 video, didn't notice the reply! I'll take you up on that DM offer 😄 will send you a message on insta soon!
This a great video, really well done!
Thanks so much! Appreciate it
This was super helpful, i see the phrase "threshold run" thrown all the time and i had no idea what it was hahah
Haha it’s a whole world to explore
thanks, very helpful video
No probs! Appreciate the comment
Insightful video 🔥
Thanks legend
More videos like this !!!
I’ll try!
Love the content Sota! As a runner who is likely to get injured with turning up the pace (bad track record, doing plenty of S&C) Would it be feasible to do a LT1 session on the bike and LT2 running?
My next question is I can average x wattage on the bike but build lactate early on while maintaining a Z2 effort. Is there a strong correlation with HR and lactate? I know the answer but it makes no sense to me since my HR is significantly lower, whilst having heavy legs. I’m new to cycling so lactate adaptation in this sport may not be there.
Depends what LT1 session you're doing - I'm not sure what cycling workouts are like (have zero experience), but like I touched on in the video, if the reps are too short, the HR data won't mean much, but if you're doing long reps then maybe it's worth trying to map out some zones by doing a field maximal test (to work out Max HR) then using that data to get some zones
I actually highly recommend you listen to this podcast because they talk about all the cycling nuances as well as a bit of running: Understanding Training Zones for Running and Cycling with Nick Jankovskis, Sport Scientist - The Adaptive Zone Podcast
They talk about power output at LT2 and stuff too
In summary - because I don't use a HR monitor and don't cycle, I'll stay in my lane and recommend a podcast rather than giving you an in depth answer on something I'm not as familiar with
I will try and get Nick Jankovskis on my podcast soon though, he is an absolute legend
Thanks!
Thank you so much for the support! I really appreciate it :)
Easily the best video on threshold I've seen, this is what i was looking for. I run my threshold workouts on a treadmill, usually with a 5% incline, is this okay, or is it better to run faster with a flatter incline ?
I would mix it up, and when you do the 5% incline, slow down the treadmill a touch (which I’m sure you already do)
I’m a big fan of getting elevation in. It’s a great way to become strong on hillier courses and trail races in the future
I’m also a big fan of hilly tempos outside where you run by feel on a terrain where there’s a good mix of flats, uphills and downhills where there’s numbers don’t matter and you have to be in tune and understand how your body is feeling
Threshold is different every day depending on other various factors like external stress, sleep and several other parameters, so just adjust to how you’re feeling on the day
Good teaching!
This is a bit off-topic, so I hope it's okay to ask here, but during my last marathon my pace dropped at the end, as perceived effort increased massively - at one point I thought I was running uphill, but it was a flat part of the course. When I checked the data, my HR was falling significantly and constantly during this final, and worst phase.
My HR had peaked in the first half of the marathon (on a long climb) then stabilised until the fall in the last 25 minutes. I felt adequately fueled and hydrated, and never experienced the HR drop before or since - my HR usually rises at the end of any race. I had a stomach bug that I was just about able to manage, so perhaps that contributed. I PR'd, but likely would have run significantly faster without the stomach bug.
I'd be grateful for your insight into what may have caused the falling HR.
Glycogen depletion perhaps.
Great video.
Thanks for the feedback!
Hi Sir, I follow my garmin training plan and it has suggested threshold workouts currently its suggesting 10 min warmup at 6:50km pace and 16min 5:40km pace and 10CD at 6:50 pace. I cant seem to complete the 16min 5:40km pace and needing to stop around 9min mark to breathe. Is there something that Im doing wrong? or should I be doing 5:40 pace when I obviously couldnt finish it for 16mins? thank you in advance
I can’t speak from experience because I’ve never followed a Garmin training plan, but it definitely isn’t personalised so I would break up the 16 mins into 2 minutes if you have to, maybe warm up then do 8 x 2 mins with 60 second jog or walk in between
Haha! Love the thumbnail!
The goat + a wannabe goat
Any tips on how to get a lactate reader which is covered by my FSA/HSA?
Very good!
Thanks for the feedback!
Assume you’re doing an appropriately paced 8x1000m to target LT2, how should your legs be feeling towards the final reps? Should you feel any burning from lactate levels accumulating? Or does burning mean you’ve gone too fast?
Hey man! Gonna try explain as best as possible:
First and foremost, there's basically no scientific studies comparing whether it's better to do a specific type of threshold: right below, right at or just a tiny bit above (also known as supra-threshold). This is because it's such a hard thing to control so there will be huge margins of error using our current technology
So unfortunately there's no DEFINITIVE scientific answer to your question, however, you can either trust me from my experience/knowledge/anecdotes, or you can ask some other people on their opinions too, but as always, I like to give my safe answer, and here are my thoughts:
- You mentioned "burning" which is the exactly what we're trying to avoid for the most part in threshold (you are absolutely correct!), so it's important to always ask yourself if it's mechanical fatigue or hydrogen ion accumulation fatigue (jelly lactic feeling in legs aka "burning"). Running 8 kilometres at an LT2 effort is quite taxing on your body in general in terms of the pounding on the legs, especially when we remind ourselves that LT2 is basically the lactate levels which you can hold for only 45-60 mins. So you wouldn't feel fresh, but your legs shouldn't be feeling super jelly.
- HOWEVER, a little bit of jelly feeling can't hurt sometimes. But the most important thing to remember in my opinion is the power of variety. For me personally, 8 out of 10 times (80% of the time), I like to make sure I am feeling pretty fresh at the end of my workouts in terms of my legs, which means I am probably running quite slow, probs a lot of the times closer to LT1 than LT2 (but depends how fit I am obviously). This way, I can focus more on longevity (more consistency without injury), but I can still occasionally get those lactate tolerance sessions. Let me break down the benefits of running under threshold, at threshold and slightly above threshold (sub-threshold vs lactate threshold vs supra-threshold):
Sub-T (Just Below LT): Improves endurance and lactate clearance without as much fatigue.
LT (Lactate Threshold): Optimizes lactate clearance and can improve the pace sustainable before lactate buildup.
Supra-T (Just Above LT): Enhances lactate tolerance and anaerobic capacity but is more fatiguing.
Sounds like there's benefit to all three, but I'd say Supra-T is the least important for threshold training KEY POINT - it's the least important for threshold training. 👉 That's why 8 out of 10 times I make sure to feel quite fresh at the end, and 2 out of 10 times, I might push it a tiny bit more, but not to the point where I'm super jelly (because that's obviously not threshold) and I'm grinding through the last rep. I still have a bit in me at the end. It's still important to do supra-T/VO2 Max/Speed in training at the right time and place in your training season
Again, disclaimer that this is my anecdotal experience and my understand of threshold - so you can decide whether to trust me or not! But this ratio of threshold training is what I always aim for (not exact but roughly) to get fit, and it is what helped me get to my 15:40 5k, 32:42 10k and 3:11:39 (3:49/km) 50k - haven't done half and full properly yet
Summary:
- Science is still behind - more research to come
- There's a difference between mechanical fatigue & hydrogen ion accumulation fatigue (jelly legs)
- Variety in training is important, but get the ratio right
Thank you for that great reply! It’s helpful to know that I shouldn’t feel like I have jelly legs at the end of the reps. I’ve been trying to figure out my limiter when trying to push past zone 2 in longer runs.
I did a 30 min TT and my last 20 min avg HR was 168. It was hotter than normal so my avg pace seemed slow for the last 20 min at 8:30/mile.
I can run at 135 avg heart rate 9:00-9:15 pace for 15+ miles no problem. When I go 8:30-8:45 (in cooler weather when I normally train) I can hold it for 5-6 miles with avg 145-150 HR and then my quads get “tight”, specifically at the “tear drop” portion of the quad near my knee. I slow down to about 9:00-9:15 / mile because my legs get so tight.
I get confused because based on my LTHR, I feel like my HR should be much higher when that tightness sets in. I’m beginning to think it’s more muscular fatigue setting in and I need to work on muscular endurance at faster paces.
Maybe working 4x 1 mile or 2x2 miles at threshold to get better at holding for longer.
My only running experience the past few years has only been Zone 2 running for ultra races.. I never did any speed work and kept training CrossFit 4 days per week.
I am a little confused about short reps (400m).
You said we have different energy systems. If we run 400m reps we should use more anaerobic energy to be able to spike lactate to certain level?
Isnt 400m reps and 2k reps a whole different energy systems? To me 400m reps looks like better economy builder than threshold.
For theshold i feel that 2x10min, 3x10min, 2x15min, 2x20min are better threshold training than shorter reps...
I would like to hear your thoughts on this
A 400m only becomes Anaerobic dominant if you run them really quick
Running 400m at threshold will mean the aerobic system is still heavily dominant. We can run kind of quick, but not too quick. Running 400m at 5k pace is "fast" but it's still very heavily aerobic energy system oriented. But like I said, all three systems always work in unison, so it's a ratio. If you run 400m at 5k pace, your legs will not be jelly, I can promise you that (meaning we haven't gone above LT2, meaning we are barely working the anaerobic energy system yet because we are clearing the lactate efficiently still)
400m threshold reps seem like a weird concept but you'll see elites doing it all the time and using a lactate meter (look at Jakob Ingebrgitsen's 12x400m workout on youtube - he also does like 25x400m when he's building the base earlier on in the season. And he does them slow (for his standards)
The benefit is, with short rest and short reps, you can run fairly quick but stay at the right lactate level (when done correctly) and you get that perfect balance between getting some threshold gains while still being able to run decently quick
We just have to disassociate rep distance to speed 👉 Just because it's short reps, it doesn't mean we're hammering them
@@SotaMaehara thanks for detailed answer. I will try 12x400m at 5k-ish pace with 1min rest.
Yeah watch my 16x400m threshold video, you'll see that I'm not going all out, but I basically ran 5k pace for 6.4km total with only 45 second rest in between. Great way to run more than 5k at 5k pace but staying at threshold
That mean pace treshold at 12 x 400 m is different than 6 x 800 m?
It's not that different but it will definitely be slower for the 800m reps, but also depends what the recovery is too obviously!
@@SotaMaehara Thank you, previously I did a threshold at the same pace with a different distance 😩
The Thresh Prince of Tokyo
😂
Thoughts on hilly tempos?
So coincidental! I'm about to upload a video where I talk about it a bit (about 15 minutes into the video), stay tuned!
Wheres the marathon pace sits? Between easy and LT1?
Depends on the person (as always) but most runners would sit between LT1 and LT2 for marathon pace. Below LT1 is fairly low intensity, LT1 is harder than your easy runs
Think of it this way:
- Lactate is generally accumulating in a marathon, but very slowly - it's defs not staying at resting levels the whole time
- For most runners though, marathon pace will be closer to LT1 and the more elite you get, you'd be closer to LT2 (but obviously not at LT2)
@@SotaMaehara thank you for clafirying. Im guilty of mostly relying on my heart rate instead of feel and i am basing my threshold mostly on pace since i dont have lactate meter. I feel that i over exerted my effort sometimes or most of it since my garmin watch categorized my supposed threshold as vo2max.
If your zones are properly calculated, it’s totally fine to go by heart rate for longer reps / continuous tempos
But I’m personally just a big fan of running by feel because I’m lazy and don’t want to overthink about numbers while running
@@SotaMaehara i used initially the garmin lactate test and the automatic detection. No lab etc.
If you're talking about doing them by feel shouldn't ventilatory threshold 1 and 2 be mentioned
Hey man!
Here's my opinion (which is heavily adopted from Nick Jankovskis who is the goat regarding this topic imo)
VT1 and LT1 occur in parallel (at the same time), but LT2 and VT2 most of the time don't, and I'd say because with threshold talk we're mostly interested in LT2, I think VT2 becomes quite irrelevant especially because it's closer to VO2 max than to LT2
To put it simply, your muscles produce more Lactate than your body can clear first (we can run on heavy legs for a little bit, and then your breathing ramps upa bit after to compensate for the extra effort and rising acidity in the blood
Summary: VT2 is pointless in threshold because you're way past LT2 and closer to VO2 max at that point - so "feel" - as much of a broken record I sound like - is most important when we aren't using a lactate meter, but we all know a runner that says feel might even be more important than lactate data (Matt Hanso)
@@SotaMaehara I'd need to see the science to back up your statement
@@LeoShoSilva In my opinion, you're asking for too much if you want anymore than that. Happy for you to not take my word
If you're the one asking me to include VT2, I'm assuming you understand that the definition of VT2 - the point during incremental exercise at which ventilation increases disproportionately to oxygen consumption (VO2) due to increased carbon dioxide (CO2) production from the buffering of hydrogen ions (H+)
By definition, VT2 happens after LT2. I don't understand why VT2 is relevant in threshold in that case because if you're breathing hard (good sign you've hit VT2), you've passed LT2 already.
As you hit LT2, youre still trying to rely as much as you can on the aerobic system as much as possible until the point where it's overwhelmed with the Hydrogen ion accumulation and that's when the respiratory response comes in.
There's no other science I can possibly get into apart from the fact that if you look at any lab test where VT and LT and VO2 and HR is measured, you'll basically never find a graph where VT2 occurs before LT2. I've never seen someone running TRUE LT2 for 45 to 60 mins breathing at the definition of VT2, let alone a 16 x 400m workout which is way easier. No one should be doing 45 to 60 min LT2 runs in the first place.
This should be enough information to understand VT2 is irrelevant for threshold, and if you want any more science, this isn't the place - because the lab tests have shown that VT2 basically never occurs before LT2, period.
Happy to discuss further if you can find where I've made an incorrect statement, otherwise, I'm happy with the amount of info given and no more elaboration is needed on my end
@@LeoShoSilva if you sprint 400m on a track (key word = sprint), you're running faster than threshold very quickly, but I can promise you the heavy breathing won't come til you're just about to finish the 400m and right after.
If you do 4 x 6 mins (90s jog) and you decide in the final minute of the 4th 6 minute rep you decide to suddenly go all out for no reason, you won't start heavily breathing immediately. The respiratory response comes after.
Two real word examples for you.
I appreciate the effort in the video, and don't mean to discourage you. But as a pharmacologist who works in an exercise science lab, there is a lot of misinformation in the video. To the point where I think it is unhelpful for those who are uninformed and don't know any better and felt the need to comment. The biggest things are:
1. That lactate doesn't continue to increase as intensity increases, actually, it first decreases. Our understanding of the way the body uses lactate as a fuel source has improved significantly. So first you will see a decrease from resting levels as the lactate is utilised, then a slight linear increase (LT1), then an exponential increase (LT2).
2. The points at which the thresholds are defined are therefore to do with the rate of change in lactate, not to do with any type of absolute number (e.g. 2 mmol) like you have suggested. The 'correct' way to find the LT1 and LT2 accurately, is to fit the measurements on a polynomial of best fit, so that you can find the rate of change. And even better if you can repeat the test. I understand this is not always feasible for the average runner who doesn't understand maths or statistics, but saying that you are looking for an increase of x mmol is incorrect, and even harmful to the uninformed. A well set up test and an eye-ball test is suitable, but we are looking for a change in the rate of lactate accumulation. The lactate pro 2 is significantly more accurate than a confidence error of 2 mmol though I can't speak for other machines. If the machine cannot measure lactate within 2mmol accurately it is absolutely useless and should not be used.
3. Your body doesn't 'tolerate' higher lactate as you improve. Quite the opposite, actually. You improve the ability to use the lactate for energy. Therefore, you won't see highly trained athletes with a prolonged linear phase (LT1) and a delayed exponential phase (LT2) like you described. The opposite happens, where lactate stays low as the body is better at utilising it, and the LT1 gets closer and closer to the LT2 as the athlete improves. The total lactate level at which the LT1 and LT2 then occur (the turning point that you described) actually go DOWN (which makes the above point about a 2mmol rise even more inaccurate for trained athletes). Where an untrained athlete might have a classic 4.0mmol LT2, a trained athlete is much more likely to have an LT2 2.5 - 3mmol.
I hope this doesn't come off as negative, because I can see you have put a lot of effort into the video, but please do a little more looking into the science. Afterall you called it 'the complete guide' but most (almost all) of your assumptions are incorrect.
Hey mate, thanks for the feedback. I’m out and about to start a run so can get back properly later. While I trust that your claims maybe true do to your background knowledge, I can’t see how the information I’ve provided in this video is harmful or unhelpful to my viewers who will most likely be trying to learn how to run threshold by feel.
If you want to nit pick on such specific scientific nuance, fair enough, you may have a point and the fact that I talked “science” may put me in an unfavourable position. But from the brief things I’ve read from you, I can’t see any of what I’ve said affecting the advice I would give in lay terms?
I’d like to hear which bit of advice in terms of ‘running by feel’ that these very specific scientific errors I’ve made will affect people that take my advice in a negative way
I truly believe out of the main points I emphasised (which I’m happy to reclarify with you once I’m home), none of them are “harmful” or necessarily unhelpful
It would only be unhelpful for a pharmacist like you that want to know absolute detail without missing any small points
Also, not everyone reaches LT2 at the same lactate level, there’s no magical number. And you ability to tolerate hydrogen ions can improve, I never said how substantially it improves. We’re not talking about LT2 being at 12mmol/L
With respect, you are simply trying to nit pick on minute specific trivial details which I acknowledge I may have overseen due to not wanting to make this video complicated for the average runner that may not have any scientific background
Appreciate the feedback either way
Just finished my run, here's my thoughts on your three points.
1. While you may be correct, how does that change or affect the advice I should have given? Is that USEFUL information to a runner when I'm trying to communicate in lay terms? It's not like I said something completely different - it would actually be a waste of an extra 30 seconds explaining pointless extra information that adds no value. So rather than "spreading misinformation", I've probably for the better, excluded information that doesn't add any value to the video (which is already 25 minutes long)
2. Interesting that you chose that specific example, because I made a point earlier on in the video (my initial point) that LT1 is when blood lactate levels rises above resting levels and LT2 is the final point before blood lactates becomes exponential. Regarding the margin of error - I heard the margin of error is 1 mmol/L, which would mathematically make sense that you would want a big change. Also if you listen to 06:30, I said AT LEAST 2 mmol/L which would make sense for a margin of error of 1 mmol/L (maybe the margin of error info I got from online is wrong, but that doesn't make my mathematical understanding wrong). AT LEAST 2 mmol/L is not a specific number, that's an infinite range of numbers, meaning I understand that everyone would have a slightly different lactate graph. This is obvious stuff you're pointing out
3. Please tell me when I said there's a delayed exponential phase??? I literally never said that in any point of the video, I promise you (just because the example graph shows that, it doesn't mean that was the point of information I told the viewers to look at).
3 part 2: Trained athletes become more efficient at using lactate, and their LT1 gets closer to LT2, HOWEVER - It’s not entirely correct to say that lactate levels go down across all ranges. Instead, trained athletes are better at managing and delaying lactate accumulation at higher intensities, but both thresholds (LT1 and LT2) move up together with training.
Basically, you're right that trained athletes become better at using lactate as fuel BUT the ability to tolerate higher lactate concentrations like in short maximal efforts are still crucial. Both lactate utilization and tolerance are part of the overall adaptation to training.
Simple analogy: an elite runner can push through heavy legs from hydrogen ion accumulation BETTER than a new untrained runner - and therefore the elite runner can tolerate higher blood lactate levels
As a final summary, you're genuinely nit picking on tiny details and are essentially accusing me for spreading "misinformation" (your words, not mine). But rather, I see it as leaving out irrelevant unnecessary details to prevent the video from becoming 60 minutes long.
My channel is not the place to learn the level of science that you're wanting to see as a pharmacist. I apologise for saying "understand the science" once in the video and simplifying it, but that is what is best for the viewer, and I will not change how I filmed/edited the video. Nor will I delete your comment, I'm happy for people to agree with you and have their opinions too. But I will stand my ground and say there was no ill intent to spread misinformation or harm or waste peoples time with unnecessary information.
I still think this video would help the average person understand Threshold Training Principles, which is the main purpose of the video and what people are thanking me for - which means the majority of people understood the main point of the video (rather than nit picking on trivial matter which would've made the video longer)
@@SotaMaehara Agreed, as fairly new runner, I am not concern with my lactate dropping to begin with or the number of mm, or how my body uses it at what level. I know I'll never be a pro so all i care about is improving and your video does a great job at concept like staying in the zone , getting there, and overall map to improvement.
Just out of interest, what is the role of a pharmacologist in an exercise science lab?