Running
- Basic$350Lactate
- Pro$575LactateVO2 max
- Ultimate$675LactateVO2 maxRMR
The Lab
Lactate threshold testing in Santa Monica
The most precise picture of how your body clears lactate — and the intensity you can actually hold.
Price
$350
Get faster + improve performance
Race performance
& training zones
Race performance & training zones. Lactate testing is the better choice if you are training for a race — it is how you find the intensities you can actually hold, rather than a heart-rate zone guessed from your age.
Every test is run and read by Gareth Thomas, the Lactate Guru —Coach to world & national champions · 30+ years. You do not get emailed a PDF and left to interpret it.
- Find your true aerobic and threshold zones
- Get custom workouts built from your own numbers
- Optimise your hydration plan
- Improve race performance
- BookIncludes consultation$350
What actually happens
4–8 stages.
30–40 minutes.
A test session takes 30–40 minutes of actual testing, progressing through 4–8 stages. Allow around an hour in total, which includes the setup and the consultation where Gareth reads your results back to you.
Retest every 9–12 weeks — long enough for a training block to produce real physiological change, short enough that your zones do not drift out of date.
- 01
Sport-specific setup
You test in your own discipline — treadmill for runners, ergometer for cyclists, pool for swimmers. The data is only useful if it comes from the movement you actually train.
- 02
Staged, progressive load
The session steps up through 4–8 stages of increasing intensity. Each stage is held long enough for your body to settle at that effort before anything is recorded.
- 03
A sample after every stage
A small blood sample is taken at the end of each stage with a fresh single-use needle. It takes seconds and you keep moving between stages.
- 04
Gareth reads it with you
You do not get emailed a PDF and left to interpret it. Every test is read back to you in person, in plain language, with what to change on Monday morning.
What you leave with
Two thresholds that
set the rest
A heart-rate zone calculated from your age is a guess about a stranger. These are measured, from your own blood, on the equipment you actually train on.
AeT / LT1Aerobic Threshold
The ceiling on genuinely easy work. Most athletes train above this without knowing it, which is why easy days stop being easy.
SST / LT2Steady State Threshold
The hardest intensity you can hold at a stable lactate. This is the number that sets realistic race pace.
Your training zones
Delivered as heart-rate and pace or power ranges you can load straight into your watch or head unit.
- Z1Recovery
- Z2Aerobic
- Z3Tempo
- Z4Threshold
- Z5VO2 max
Sport-specific packages
Test the way you race
Running, cycling and triathlon packages that include a blood lactate test. Most people want more than one number — these bundle the tests that actually go together, at less than booking them separately.
Cycling
- Basic$350Lactate
- Pro$575LactateVO2 max
- Ultimate$675LactateVO2 maxRMR
Triathlon
- Basic$575Lactate — bike & run
- Basic +$775Lactate — swim, bike & run
- Pro$950Lactate — swim, bike & runVO2 max — bike
- Ultimate$1050Lactate — swim, bike & runVO2 max — bikeRMR
- Ultimate +$1250Lactate — swim, bike & runVO2 max — bike & runRMR
Every price includes the consultation and a full explanation of your results. Call (858) 361-4733 if you are not sure which package to book.
Questions
Before you
book
Still not sure? Call (858) 361-4733. There's no sales pitch — if a test isn't worth it for you, he'll say so.
What is the difference between a lactate test and a VO2 max test?
A blood lactate test measures how your body produces and clears lactate as intensity rises, which gives you your aerobic and threshold training zones. A VO2 max test measures the maximum amount of oxygen your body can use during intense exercise, which gives you your aerobic ceiling and your Fat-Max fuelling intensity. Lactate testing is the better choice if you are training for a race; VO2 max is the better choice if you want a single objective marker of cardiovascular fitness.
How long does a test take?
A test session takes 30 to 40 minutes of actual testing, progressing through 4 to 8 stages. Allow around an hour in total, which includes the setup and the consultation where Gareth reads your results back to you.
Does the blood sampling hurt?
It is a small sample taken from a fingertip or earlobe with a fresh single-use needle after each stage, and it takes a few seconds. Most people describe it as a brief pinprick. You stay on the treadmill or bike throughout.
How often should I retest?
Every 9 to 12 weeks. That is long enough for a training block to produce real physiological change and short enough that your zones do not drift out of date while you are still training to them.
Also in the lab
The other tests
Improve health + longevity
VO2 Max Test
The maximum amount of oxygen your body can use under load — the single best-studied marker of cardiovascular fitness.
$275
Drop fat + optimise body comp
RMR Test
What your body burns at rest, measured rather than estimated from a calculator that has never met you.
$175
Book a lactate test
Stop guessing at your zones
One hour in the lab in Santa Monica, and you’ll know exactly how your body produces energy — and precisely how hard to go.