This study was carried out in the Department of Exercise Science at Willamette University (USA), by undergraduate student Erica A. Soma and the professional authors Michael M. Lockard and Stasinos Stavrianeas. This article was published in 2010 by International Journal of Exercise Science

Rowing is a metabolically complex and demanding activity. Due to the reliance on both aerobic and anaerobic metabolism, maximal oxygen uptake (VO_2max) and lactate threshold (LT) have become commonly measured physiological parameters in rowers. Apart from being variables indicative of performance, both concepts can also be conveniently measured simultaneously with an incremental LT/VO_2max test.

The aim of this study was to challenge the validity of a simultaneous LT/VO_2max test to estimate lactate threshold in rowers.

The authors completed two lactate threshold determination tests to various male and female rowers. On both tests, the authors measured the blood lactate after each stage, using the Lactate Plus blood lactate analyser.

The results show that the two tests did not yield significantly different powers at the lactate threshold. The authors indicate that a second incremental test should be carried out to determine the lactate threshold more precisely, especially for rowers who rely on the lactate threshold in order to determine training intensities.

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