Endurance training does not change the relative intensity at lactate threshold in elderly

Abstract

Aim. The aim of the study was to verify whether endurance training may induce changes on the percentage of peak heart rate (% peak HR) at the lactate threshold (LT) intensity in untrained elderly. Methods. Sixteen healthy men (64.3 ± 4.1 yrs) underwent an incremental test on cycloergometer to determine the LT and the corresponding % peak HR at LT intensity. Afterwards, they were randomly distributed into two groups (n = 8 each): endurance training (ET) and control (C). The ET exercised 3 days a week for 12 weeks. The training session was divided into warm-up (5 min at 50% of LT;), a main part, and a cool-down (5 min 50% below of LT). The main part had a gradual increased volume through the weeks of 2 min. The initial volume on the 1st week was 25 min reaching 47 min at the 12th week. The relative intensity was kept constant (90 to 100% of LT). Results. After 12 weeks, the % peak HR at LT did not change significantly for both groups P > 0.05 (ET 82.9 ± 4.1 vs. 82.5 ± 3.4 and Ç 80.2 ± 7.1 vs. 81.8 ± 7.1). Conclusion. We conclude that endurance training proposed does not change the relative intensity at LT in elderly.