This document discusses threshold running training and the importance of ergometric evaluation. It explains that ergometric evaluation determines an athlete's physical condition by measuring things like VO2max, lactate thresholds, and maximum aerobic velocity. This helps coaches set tailored training programs. Threshold running training focuses on lactate threshold and ventilatory thresholds, which are points where lactic acid increases in the blood. Training in these thresholds through long runs and interval work leads to physiological adaptations like decreased heart rate, increased running economy and speed at given intensities over time.

1. Threshold Running: All you
need to know about it
Guidelines and recommendations
from the latest scientific research
Marilena Kokkinou MSc
Sports Scientist
Business Development Manager,
ScienceTraining.io

2. The importance of ergometric evaluation — before starting the
threshold training program — is of great importance.
Ergometric evaluation determines the physical condition of the
athlete, at the time of measurement.
There is the misconception that ergometric evaluation is performed
when the athlete is in optimal physical condition. It’s not the case.
The evaluation measures the athlete’s physical condition at a given
moment in time, to help the coach set and configure a training
program that meets the athlete’s needs and goals, at that time.
When it comes to Threshold Running:

3. Essential ergometric tests for endurance
athletes
The most well-known and essential tests that sports scientists
perform on endurance athletes is the incremental test, until
exhaustion, to determine VO2max, Lactate thresholds and Maximal
aerobic velocity.
It measures the maximum amount of oxygen that can be absorbed
and consumed by the athlete’s muscle cells, for energy production,
in a unit of time, during exercise.

4. The test offers additional data regarding the athlete’s physical condition,
such as:
Maximum aerobic velocity:
• The maximum velocity that can be achieved when performing a
progressive velocity increase test, to measure maximal oxygen uptake.
Maximum heart rate:
• The maximum heart rate of the athlete can be achieved during the
progressive rate increase test, to measure maximum oxygen uptake.
Essential ergometric tests, for endurance
athletes

5. The aforementioned data:
● Is mainly collected by the occupational sports scientists performing the tests
● This data outlines the Ventilatory Τhresholds (VT) necessary for the athlete to
train effectively and achieve maximum results from the training process.
Through the ergometric evaluation:
● The athlete performs the same exercise protocol, and the measurement for
lactation can also take place.
● The sports scientists pinpoints the athlete’s lactation curve and extends the first
(LT1) and second lactation thresholds (LT2) accordingly.
Essential ergometric tests, for endurance
athletes

6. Ventilatory Τhresholds (VT)
The sports scientist identifies two ventilatory thresholds in the
ventilatory curve — obtained via the test mentioned earlier; the 1st VT,
and the 2nd VT, respectively.
By locating these two points in the athlete’s curve:
• You can demarcate the three training zones.
• The 1st zone is called moderate intensity zone and is defined as the
1st VT.
• The 2nd zone is called heavy intensity zone (between the 1st VT & the
2nd VT).
• The 3rd zone is called severe (or high) intensity zone and is defined by
the 2nd VT up to VO2max.
(Jones et. al 2010).

7. Ventilatory thresholds (VT)
A more common form to indicate training zones is to divide the
curve into 5 training zones (Seiler et. al 2009):
• 1st Zone: 45-65% VO2max, 70-84% HR at LT
• 2nd Zone: 66-80% VO2max, 85-89% HR at LT
• 3rd Zone: 81-87% VO2max, 90-94% HR at LT
• 4th Zone: 88-93% VO2max, 95-99% HR at LT
• 5th Zone: 94-100% VO2max, 100-115% HR at LT

8. What does Threshold Running training include?
• The biggest part of the Threshold Running training has to do with
the Lactate Threshold (LT) and Ventilatory Thresholds (VT).
• LT & VT are the points in the curve where there’s an increase in
lactic acid in the blood.
• This is the point where the body exceeds the stabilization phase of
its normal factors and enters the phase of exponential increase.
• Several studies on lactate thresholds have shown that there are two
thresholds: LT1, LT2 and VT1, VT2 respectively.
During the training process, the workouts at 1st zone:
• Are mainly utilized for long exercises (medium or long runs).
• Due to the low intensity, the athlete’s physiology changes at a very
slow pace and allows them to maintain their rhythm, when running
for a long time, without fatigue.

9. Body adjustments when training in the first thresholds
• Decreased heart rate at rest
• Increased running economy; important parameters that are
affected are:
a. heart rate,
b. respiratory volume, and
c. the cardiovascular system
• Increased speed, corresponding to thresholds
• Shift of the curve to the right
In the ergometric evaluation, you can determine the adjustments
caused by the Threshold Running training, by observing the
displacement of the lactate curve. Naturally, this shift indicates its
improvement.

10. Body adjustments when training in the second
thresholds
• Decreased heart rate
• Increased VO2max
• Increased speed at the threshold
• Shift of the curve to the right
In the ergometric evaluation we can see all the adjustments that came
with the training, by observing the displacement of the lactate curve,
indicating its improvement.