Fundamental to athlete monitoring is the ability to understand the physiological responses to training. To optimise training and recovery, we need to quantify the ‘dose-response relationship’ and how athletic training facilitates positive adaptations.

So, contact us at HIP-hub@hull.ac.uk to enquire and book, and let us help you achieve your athletic potential – informed by research.

Lactate threshold is typically obtained during an extended incremental exercise test, yet unlike a VO₂max test, is discontinuous (~1-min between increments), with each ‘stage’ long enough (~4-min), to allow for lactate diffusion in the blood until the next ‘stage’.

Blood lactate data is collected with the use of a ‘finger prick’ capillary blood sample and a specialist blood lactate analyser. Lactate threshold is considered a good indicator of an athletes potential for endurance.

Perspective:
At a given exercise intensity, blood lactate values will rise exponentially and this deflection point is known as the ‘lactate threshold’. This data, together with heart rate and speed (km/h) or power (watts) data from the same test is used to plot a lactate curve. It is generally accepted that a rightward shift in this lactate curve indicates a positive change in endurance capacity and is the preferred test for prolonged continual monitoring due to its strong relationship with endurance race performance.

Assessing Body Composition
Assessing body composition (sum of skinfolds [body fat %]), provides additional information beyond that of height and weight. In most sports, the higher the sum of skinfolds (% body fat), the poorer performance as this associated mass/weight is unlikely to assist propulsion. An accurate assessment of body composition will provide a valuable insight into the weight that allows for optimal performance. 

How do we assess body composition?
We have accredited staff trained in the ‘gold standard’ for assessing body composition using skinfold callipers, who follow the International Society for the Advancement of Kinanthropometry (ISAK), 8-site model. In short, we follow a standardised approach to marking each of the 8-sites, before using skinfold callipers to take the sum of these sites. This process is then repeated to ensure reliability. Once we have this data this can be used to help inform your diet (if needed).