I talk a lot about physiological profiling, and how getting tested in an exercise physiology laboratory can be really helpful for refining your training. However, I also know that many athletes do not have access to exercise physiology labs for this testing.

Accordingly, I’ve put together a couple of calculators on the Endure IQ website that you can use to get decent estimates of things like intensity thresholds using easy-to-access field test data.

In this section we are going to talk about the metabolic calculator. I’ll walk you through how to perform the field tests to get the necessary data. But we also include calculators for critical swim speed, functional thresholds power, and critical running speed.

#1: The metabolic calculator

Our first calculator, which you can find here, uses field test estimates of your VLa_max and VO₂max to predict your two lactate thresholds – which we use to determine training zones – and your Fat_max, or the intensity at which...