Anaerobic threshold, maximal aerobic power and rowing performance in male competitive rowers

The purpose of this study was to compare various methods and criteria used to identify the anaerobic threshold (AT) and to correlate the AT obtained with each other and with rowing performance in male competitive rowers. The blood lactate response was assessed during an incremental exercise test in 21 male rowers (age: 21.5±5.0 yrs; 186.8±6.7 cm; 82.4±8.8 kg; VO2MAX: 4.87±0.68 l.min.-1) on a rowing ergometer (Concept II, Morrisville, USA). Fingertip capillary blood was sampled during a 30 sec rest interval at the end of each 3-min work load. Lactate increase was calculated using the following criteria: 1) lactate threshold (LT; the power output preceding the first increase in blood lactate concentration above the resting level during an incremental exercise test); 2) LT1 (the power output preceding a blood lactate increase by 1 mmol.l-1 or more); 3) LTLOG (the power output at which blood lactate concentration begins to increase when the log([La- ]) is plotted against the log(power output)); 4) LTD (the lactate threshold calculated by the Dmax method); and 5) LTMOD (the lactate threshold calculated by the modified Dmax method). Rowing performance was assessed by a 2500 metre “all-out” test on a rowing ergometer. Two variables were considered to represent rowing performance: the time (T2500) and the average workload (P2500). All AT points selected were highly correlated with each other (0.830.50), which indicates that all lactate variables describe equally well the submaximal aerobic capacity of rowers.