In the lab

I have never been a big fan of invasive lab testing to determine thresholds, maxes, etc for athletes. I prefer field testing on terrain and in conditions that are reasonably consistent, but always easier to manage and less costly. I have recently been invited to participate in a supplement study for a major food and beverage company looking to build the next great sports energy drink (my belief anyway). What I have been asked to do is to get full V02 Max and blood lactate threshold tests to establish benchmarks and validate that I do not possess some genetic freakishness. From there I will be taking several weeks of the supplement, and several weeks of a placebo, in a double blind study. I will get the pleasure of doing many 30km time trials with lots of blood sampling over the next 15 weeks.

Why am I doing this? It’s not for the money, that’s for sure! I see this as an opportunity to challenge my own views on lab testing and see what I can learn about myself that I might be able to bring to serve my athletes. I don’t see myself becoming an advocate for lab tests in place of functional tests, but perhaps, just perhaps, I will see a time and or place for a visit to a lab.