Newer Perspectives in Lactate Threshold Estimation for Endurance Sports – A Mini-Review

Abstract

Lactate threshold (LT) estimation in endurance sports continues to be a widely controversial field amongst sports scientists and students despite beyond 50 years of research. With the advent of technology and superior sensors, LT research has ventured into newer fields involving wearables and artificial intelligence. Still, there is a felt need to understand the focused areas of LT research and to guide the students, sports scientists and coaches. The main aim of this mini-review is to identify research categories in a descriptive manner and to synthesize broad themes for future research from latest literature. A comprehensive electronic search in three databases was performed including only original free full text research articles conducted in athletes and heathy subjects, published in English between 2016 and 2020 following PRISMA guidelines. Out of screened 466 articles, 14 articles were finally shortlisted as per inclusion criteria and the findings were summarized. Five research categories were identified and reviewed. To conclude, there is a need for consensus in Graded Exercise test protocols used, LT concepts validity #0#

Garmin Fénix 7® Underestimates Performance at the Lactate Threshold in Comparison to Standardized Blood Lactate Field Test

“…Although there is a growing interest in noninvasive measurements to determine LT, 4 data comparing the indirect LT estimates of smartwatches with laboratory tests are scarce. Other indirect concepts use wearable devices with NIRS.…”

“…In recent years, different non-invasive methods for LT determination that use surrogate markers and algorithms to predict lactate levels have been introduced. 4 One example is the use of wearable NIRS devices attached to prominent locomotor muscles during a given exercise. During running, NIRS can be used to track changes in muscle oxygenation in the calf or quadriceps muscles in response to running speed.…”

“…Improving performance by paying attention to details and improving minor factors has already been applied by many large teams in competitive sports, such as Team Sky. 23 Although there is a growing interest in noninvasive measurements to determine LT, 4 data comparing the indirect LT estimates of smartwatches with laboratory tests are scarce. Other indirect concepts use wearable devices with NIRS.…”