Lactate threshold is the most misapplied concept in endurance training.
Most athletes think it means “comfortably hard.” Others treat it as a pace to grind through week after week. Both approaches miss what is actually happening inside the muscle.
Lactate threshold determines how much of your VO₂ max you can use before the system destabilises. Raise it, and race pace increases even if your VO₂ max does not change. Ignore it, and your ceiling becomes largely theoretical.
The difference between productive threshold training and accumulated fatigue is small. The physiology is precise. And unless training is structured deliberately, most athletes sit close to the line without ever moving it.
In this issue, you’ll learn:
What lactate threshold really represents physiologically
Why most “tempo training” fails to move it
The difference between threshold, sweet spot, and VO₂ work
How elite endurance athletes structure threshold sessions
A detailed training plan to increase your lactate threshold
How threshold interacts with VO₂ max to determine race pace
How to apply this without blunting high-end speed
If you’ve been training hard but plateaued aerobically, this is why.
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