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Identification of Non-Invasive Exercise Thresholds: Methods, Strategies, and an Online App

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Abstract

During incremental exercise, two thresholds may be identified from standard gas exchange and ventilatory measurements. The first signifies the onset of blood lactate accumulation (the lactate threshold, LT) and the second the onset of metabolic acidosis (the respiratory compensation point, RCP). The ability to explain why these thresholds occur and how they are identified, non-invasively, from pulmonary gas exchange and ventilatory variables is fundamental to the field of exercise physiology and requisite to the understanding of core concepts including exercise intensity, assessment, prescription, and performance. This review is intended as a unique and comprehensive theoretical and practical resource for instructors, clinicians, researchers, lab technicians, and students at both undergraduate and graduate levels to facilitate the teaching, comprehension, and proper non-invasive identification of exercise thresholds. Specific objectives are to: (1) explain the underlying physiology that produces the LT and RCP; (2) introduce the classic non-invasive measurements by which these thresholds are identified by connecting variable profiles to underlying physiological behaviour; (3) discuss common issues that can obscure threshold detection and strategies to identify and mitigate these challenges; and (4) introduce an online resource to facilitate learning and standard practices. Specific examples of exercise gas exchange and ventilatory data are provided throughout to illustrate these concepts and a novel online application tool designed specifically to identify the estimated LT (θLT) and RCP is introduced. This application is a unique platform for learners to practice skills on real exercise data and for anyone to analyze incremental exercise data for the purpose of identifying θLT and RCP.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. School of Kinesiology, The University of Western Ontario, AHB 3G18, 1151 Richmond Street, London, ON, N6A 3K7, Canada

    Daniel A. Keir & John M. Kowalchuk

  2. Toronto General Research Institute, Toronto General Hospital, Toronto, ON, Canada

    Daniel A. Keir

  3. Faculty of Kinesiology, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada

    Danilo Iannetta & Juan M. Murias

  4. Department of Sports Medicine, University of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

    Felipe Mattioni Maturana

  5. Department of Physiology and Pharmacology, The University of Western Ontario, London, ON, Canada

    John M. Kowalchuk

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  1. Daniel A. Keir
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  2. Danilo Iannetta
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  4. John M. Kowalchuk
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Correspondence to Daniel A. Keir.

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Authors’ contributions

D.A.K. and J.M.M. contributed to conception and design of the article. D.A.K prepared the figures and drafted and revised the manuscript. Exemplary data were collected and analysed by D.A.K. and D.I. The online application was designed by F.M.M. with input from D.A.K., J.M.M., and D.I. All authors contributed to the drafting and revising of the manuscript. All authors approved the final manuscript and agree to be accountable for all aspects of the work.

Funding

The representative data assembled in the figures are the product of a research and equipment grant awarded to J.M.K by the Natural Science and Engineering Research Council of Canada (NSERC; RGP-2015-00084) and to J.M.M by the NSERC (RGPIN-2016-03698) and the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada (1047725).

Conflict of interest

Daniel A. Keir, Danilo Iannetta, Felipe Mattioni Maturana, John M. Kowalchuk, and Juan M. Murias declare that they have no conflicts of interest relevant to the content of this review.

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Keir, D.A., Iannetta, D., Mattioni Maturana, F. et al. Identification of Non-Invasive Exercise Thresholds: Methods, Strategies, and an Online App. Sports Med 52, 237–255 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-021-01581-z

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