All talk, no fitness improvement

During long, slow runs, I’ve always been told you should be able to talk to someone during your run; it’s a simple test to gauge your intensity (known as the talk test, you’ve probably heard of it). And I almost always tend to cheat — usually I can chat a little with a friend, but with some difficulty (a sign according to the talk test that I should slow down, but well I like to push harder and go faster, even though I know that’s not the point of the long, slow run).

(or I also cheat by asking questions and making my running partner talk, ha ha!)

Anyhow, there’s a new study that shows that by sticking to the talk test, we may be cheating ourselves when training. The study conducted by the University of New Hampshire foudn that fit people start to have difficulty talking when they are nearing their lactate threshold.

But…if you want to improve your speed and endurance, you need to be exercising occasionally just about at your lactate threshold. So if you’re gabbing away, well, you ain’t improving your fitness.

(your lactate threshold, in case you need a refresher, refers to when the level of lactic acid produced by your muscles during exercise exceeds  your body’s ability to remove it from the muscles).

Leave a Comment October 3, 2011