If you’ve been an endurance athlete for any length of time, you’ve undoubtedly performed some type of test to gauge your form, be it a 20-minute on-the-road test or a VO2max test in a physiology lab.

There are many forms of testing, and each has its advantages and disadvantages. Today’s episode is all about comparing and contrasting the different test methods based on the three key aspects of any test: 1) the protocol, 2) the data the test provides, and 3) most importantly, the analysis you can perform with that data.

It turns out there are vast differences between the various methods, and before you choose the one you want to perform, it helps to know how much time and energy you need to invest to get the data you’re looking for, and then how to use that to inform your training and racing.

We’ll analyze each protocol based on its simplicity, the challenge of the workout, and its effectiveness. Then we’ll discuss each method’s outcome, the value of the metric, and its accuracy.

Finally, we’ll focus on the analysis of each test, why it is the most important thing to consider, and how you can use the data you generate from any given test.

Our guest today is Sebastian Weber, lead physiologist for INSCYD. You’ve heard him on Fast Talk several times before, and we’re happy to have him back this time as we forge our partnership with INSCYD.

It’s test time. Let's make you fast!

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