Smiling George LBP test 22-10-08

[Robh]

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Morning all,

Before I start my report of yesterday's test I would like to do the following first :-

Thank Alan my friend for driving me to the club house and lending his projector for the night.

Thank Keith, Michelle and Huw for helping and for being thrown into the deep end with no experience in doing the test.

Thanks to the audience for attending.

And lastly but not least a big thank you to George for being kind enough to do the test infront of everyone with no experience either.

I would also like to say a big sorry to the audience for being a poor presenter on the night. Unfortunately trying to keep an eye on George, ensuring the data on the Spo2 was correct, monitoring the data on the bioharness especially respiratory rate and respiratory waveform etc... meant I was not able to do as goods as job as possible explaining things to the audience. So an E- for me on the co-ordiantion.

[Sylv]

Big thanks to Rob that was most interesting, I thought the performance was fine!. And to those who helped him, and of course George for assuming the role of the guinea pig.

We made sure George got his hydration right half an hour before the test!

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[img]http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3186/2965792253_02d80c060b.jpg[/img]
George, Alan and Rob

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[Robh]

Myself & Alan met up with George & Huw around 7:30pm @ George's house. Whilst we were there we fitted Huw's Powertap to make sure everything was up and running ok.

First problem of the night we encountered, we couldn't fit the Powertap onto George's bike there was no space. Luckily George had some copper tubing lying about so he cut this down to size and taped the tube across the tri bar extensions and fitted the Powertap cradle onto it.

Next problem George had cold hands and from experience the Spo2 meter doesn't work very well and getting blood at the beginning is also hard work so we got George to wear gloves to try and warm up his hands before the LBP test.

Once those few niggles were sorted I did an initial assessment on George:-

1. Measure resting HR for 2mins.
2. Perform Fit test (5mins).
3. Weight.
4. Blood pressure.

We decided to use George's Elite turbo trainer instead of mine as I wanted to see how the power figures would differ on his turbo compared to Huw's Powertap. To get a comparison George’s turbo needed to be warmed up for 10mins first, so the next 10mins George warmed up @ 100-120 Watts.

Whilst he was warming up I asked him after 8mins to take it up to 200 Watts and hold it there for 3mins to give me an idea of HR and to finally decide if I would use 20 watts or 30 watts protocol. Had a chat with George and decided to go 20 Watts and start @ 140 Watts instead of 100 Watts like I do with everyone else. George switched on his Elite power monitor and the watts were initially 50-60 Watts out but as time went by the difference was now down to 20-30 Watts.

I also asked George what cadence he rode at and that he must maintain this within +/- 5rpm during the whole test.

Once we were at the clubhouse I allowed George to carry on warming up as his hands were still cold. Huw had the duty of looking after the Spo2 meter so was busy warming up George’s hands. As a check I put the monitor on my finger to ensure it was working fine and it was so back it went on George’s left hand and the readings started to be more meaningful. Once the Spo2 reading was ok I took Georges resting HR, respiratory rate, Heart rate variability (HRV) & Spo2 whilst he sat on the bike motionless for 2mins.

Next was the resting lactate sample, blood taking duty was assigned to Michelle and is probably the hardest thing to do when a person is cycling as their body rocks and so does the hand. Taking lactate samples one has to clean the area first with alcohol, load the lancet with a needle, prick the finger in the right place, wipe blood away with tissue to remove any fluid in the blood, squeeze finger to form a droplet, load the Lactate Pro meter with a strip then take lactate sample.

Michelle did a great job pricking George's finger but his right hand compared to the left hand was a lot colder so hardly any blood flowing through. With not enough blood I used another lancet and we took another prick and gently massaged George's finger to stimulate blood flow. Not much blood coming through, enough but not as much as I would have liked but I let Michelle take a lactate reading. Unfortunately a minute later the reading on the lactate pro read Lo. Usually this means the reading is under 0.8mmol. We retook the lactate sample and got 0.8mmol this time round.

For George tonight his test for the performance line was going to start @ 140 Watts and every 3 mins be ramped up 20 watts with a cadence of 85rpm +/-5rpm. Around the 2.5mins mark the following data was recorded:-

1. Avg Watts
2. HR
3. Heart rate variability (HRV)
4. RPE
5. Respiratory rate
6. SPo2

RPE is rate or Perceived Exertion and I used this table :-

[img]http://i161.photobucket.com/albums/t209/sbc205/Image4.jpg[/img]

The aim of the first part of the test is plot HR v Watts to get your performance line. During this part I take the person up to perceived effort of 8 so that I can get the person to produce lactate above their LBP which at this point in time I do not know.

For George on the night his RPE of 8 was 297W @ HR 174. He had to hold this effort for 4mins as after 3mins this was when the 2nd lactate sample was taken. Once the reading was taken and a minute later the lactate value appeared I then had to decide which HR to drop George down to so that his body was able to clear the lactate he accumulated. To drop George down I use the following methods :-

1. 30-40 beats less.
2. What his HR was @ PE of 4
3. What his HR was @ half the wattage he achieved at RPE of 8.


On the night I decided to go for 140bpm and after doing 15 tests so far I’m getting a better idea how far to drop people.

So dropping George’s HR down to 140bpm, his body was now using the lactate as fuel and the effort was getting easier for him. His breathing however was quite heavy visually anyway but the Bioharness data @ HR 140 showed his respiratory rate was very low. Was he really breathing that low? Didn’t look like it, most probable cause he was now using his chest muscles so restricting diaphragm movement which the Bioharness relies on.

Lactate samples were taken every 4 minutes, if the lactate sample dropped then George was asked to push his HR 5 beats higher. During the 2nd part of this test I record the wattage George is producing which makes up the recovery line.

At HR 150 his lactate rose from 2.7 to 2.9. Was his LBP really 145? I wasn’t happy with this reading because of 3 things :-

1. I remember the blood drop was very small and I think I may have touched his finger which can mess up a reading as no sweat is allowed on the sample.

2. George’s HR was dropping and to get the effort up quickly requires ATP which can raise lactate levels.

3. He looked too comfortable on bike so in my eyes not above LBP.

Sure enough a minute later, the lactate reading was 1.8.

Once we were @ HR 160 I could tell we had found Georges LBP because his breathing respiratory rate had dropped from 32.4 @ HR 155 to 22.7, he was finding it harder and wasn’t looking so comfortable now. The lactate sample @ HR 160 had risen to 2.9 from 1.8 so test was over.

[Stu Merckx Man]

i agree with sylv, you were fine rob!

well done both of you (rob and george) and all the helpers!

[Paul H]

320w were you feeling ill George?

[George]

Thank-you very much Rob for the great spectacle in the clubroom last night, thanks to Huw for the loan of the powertap wheel and keeping my hands nice and warm and also thanks to Michelle for taking all those tricky blood samples.

It was an experience in scientific conditions with everyone crowding around me hustling and bustling.

And thanks to the audience for coming and not heckling me too much and not laughing when I was breathing like a panting dog!

Hey Paul H you should have come down last night, does 4 hours sleep the night before followed by a 13 hour day alter the results?

Theres a lot of info for me to take in when I get a chance to study, which in due course I will be able to use hopefully to the benefit of improving my efficiency on the bike.

Good fun afterwards over at the Italian cafe across the street with Marco, Sylv, RobH and Alan we had a few laughs there

[Robh]

George,

Not sure if your LBP may have been affected by your lack of sleep and long work hours but your performance line may have and a simple way to check is to borrow Huw's wheel and do the ramp test part again and see if your HR numbers are different compared to the watts. I would do this with a few days of rest i.e no riding.

Rob

[Jon H]

Rob, I must admit I was rather sceptical beforehand, but that was a very interesting evening. I've got a few questions;

If I understand the graphs correctly, the smaller the angle is between the blue line and green line, the better the person is at recovering. So one of the measures of improvement between one test and a subsequent test would be to see if that angle has reduced. Is that right?

Second, power meters are always touted as being so much better than HR as a training tool as they give a direct measure of your output, whereas HR can fluctuate according to other factors. So why does the LBP test end up with a HR figure rather than a power figure, or could you use express it as either?

Lastly, like you were saying, most people don't think about their breathing, it just happens. I'm sure I read a while ago (sorry, can't remember where) that lung capacity / breathing is very rarely a limiting factor on aerobic performance, and that basically your lungs can always supply more than enough oxygen for your blood to be fully oxygenated. If that's right, I'm wondering why the focus on breathing?

[Marky Mark]

Job well done by all. "Huw, Pew, Barney McGrew, Cuthbert, Dibble, Grub"

We could see you were running round like a blue @rse fly Rob, so don't feel bad for the quiet moments.

Shame we didn't start earlier, there seemed to be a lot of interest when the test was complete and you could talk to us.

I for one will be giving the FaCT a fair chance, even if there is no improvement on the figures, LBP-20 must be really good for you. I'm sure this sort of exercise is far better than doing nothing (as I was)

Slowly slowly catchy monkey!

Cheers again for your time Rob.

[quote]If I understand the graphs correctly, the smaller the angle is between the blue line and green line, the better the person is at recovering. So one of the measures of improvement between one test and a subsequent test would be to see if that angle has reduced. Is that right?

[Robh]

Respiratory muscles fatigue during sports activities. This leads to a decrease in performance. Studies by Prof. U. Boutellier, sports physiologist at the Federal Institute of Technology (ETHZ) and the University of Zurich, prove this in a most impressive manner. In the past, it was assumed that physical endurance and performance were primarily limited by the heart and the cardiovascular system; in part also by the muscular system. This is why it was believed that the respiratory system did not impair the functional capacity since it was assumed that it had sufficient reserves.

The targeted endurance training of the respiratory muscles, however, does substantially increase physical endurance, resulting in a relevant increase of functional capacity. This is true both for top athletes as well as popular sports.

Priorities in energy distribution (A respiratory metaboreflex that ‘steals’ blood flow from locomotor muscles.)

The functions of vital organs such as the heart, the brain and respiration are maintained by the body as its top priority. Even under maximum stress, these organs are supplied with sufficient oxygen and energy. This happens at the expense of non-vital functions: oxygen-supply to the legs and arms is reduced. The consequence is a substantial decrease in vitality and a quick build-up of hyperacidity due to H+ production. Endurance training of the respiratory muscles will remedy this problem. It reduces oxygen consumption by the breathing muscles. The oxygen supply is now available to the peripheral muscles. Legs and arms will fatigue later under stress and will produce less H+ at the same level of activity.


The rest of the article :-

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=6999

[Robh]

[quote="Marky Mark"]Job well done by all. "Huw, Pew, Barney McGrew, Cuthbert, Dibble, Grub"

We could see you were running round like a blue @rse fly Rob, so don't feel bad for the quiet moments.

Shame we didn't start earlier, there seemed to be a lot of interest when the test was complete and you could talk to us.

I for one will be giving the FaCT a fair chance, even if there is no improvement on the figures, LBP-20 must be really good for you. I'm sure this sort of exercise is far better than doing nothing (as I was)

Slowly slowly catchy monkey!

Cheers again for your time Rob.

[Robh]

For the record when George was @ 317 Watts on the Powertap the Elite turbo power reading was 400 Watts.

[Robh]

[quote="Sean Hogan - 何祥"]The lights in the hall way went really bright for a few minutes , roundabout 8pm. Was that George adding to the national grid?

[Marky Mark]

Sylv you were here, there and everywhere with your camera last night.
Have you got any more of the test to put on here?

I'd love to see them.

Cheers, Marky Mark

Mine didn't come out too well