One of the large benefits that athletes today have that older generations didn't have is access to heart rate and blood lactate monitoring equipment. Although these tools have existed for a while, they were only used by professional athletes or those with the means of affording them. Today, heart rate monitors are easily affordable while blood lactate monitors are within the buying range of the amateur athlete.
While most serious age-group athletes use a heart rate monitor during their workouts, a majority of them do not know how to use blood lactate testing equipment to determine their target heart rate. This puts the athlete at a disadvantage because solely relying on heart rate is not a reliable proxy for quantifying fatigue at different intensities. Using a lactate tester allows the athletes to clearly see where their aerobic threshold is and map that to either their wattage output or heart rate.
In order to test for your lactate, you must make sure you are getting clean accurate samples. The first thing that you should determine is where you are going to draw blood from. The two most popular options are the tips of either your index finger or earlobe and there are advantages and disadvantages to both. One of the main advantages of pricking the index finger is that you are able to see where you are aiming with your lancet. You will also be able easily squeeze a droplet of blood onto the test strip. However, the fingert is more likely to have dirt and other debris that could lead to a bad sample. This is not a problem with the earlobe, however, you will have to rely on not being able to see the earlobe. Once you have determined where to draw blood from, use a small alcohol wipe to wipe the area clean. Then, find where the part of the earlobe or finger is pink, as this is where the blood is. After you prick the earlobe or finger, gently squeeze a drop of blood onto the test strip. After about 12-15 seconds, your value will appear. The resting sample should be between .8 to 1.3 mmol/L of lactate. If you get a higher value, then you are probably fatigued, sick, or did not have a clean sample.
After you take your resting lactate, you will start the rowing and testing intervals. Begin by rowing for 15 minutes at a heart rate of 140 at 18 to 22 strokes per minute. Then, you will check your blood lactate level. If the value is less than 1.4-1.5, then increase the heart rate by 10 beats per minute and continue rowing for 10 minutes. If it is less than 1.4, keep rowing for 10 minutes and repeat. Make sure to record your average splits, heart rate, and pace as well as lactate levels for each test.
You will need to keep testing and increasing heart rate until a value of 2.0 or more mmol/L of lactate is achieved. The heart rate and splits you recorded when your blood lactate was between 1.6 and 2.0 will be your target heart rate for steady state and UT2 workouts. For example, if an athlete ended up producing 1.7 mmol/L at a 156 heart rate and pulled a 2:00/500m split time, then their workouts would be around 156+-3. Keep in mind that since rowing is a full body sport, the heart rate at around aerobic threshold will generally be 10 beats per minute higher than sports like running and biking.
Now that you know the protocol, perform this test every week for about a month. Then, decrease the testing frequency to every other week for a month and then to once a month. You will notice that you will be able to pull lower splits at the same lactate levels over time if you are training correctly.Doing this will put you at a significant advantage compare to your other rowing peers.
If you are interested in purchasing blood lactate equipment, this is the site I have used for a few years. You will need the monitor, test strips, as well as some lancets (I use 26 gauge) from CVS.
https://lactateplusmeter.com/
