Wholistic Fitness

ANAEROBIC THRESHOLD, LACTATE THRESHOLD, HOLD THE THRESH AND SPICE THE AEROBIC!

“The biggest difference between recreational and competitive athletes? That’s easy…INTERVALS, baby!” – coach ilg, 1987
Above, WF Online Teacher Haku and World Class track athlete; Natalie Hughes deep into an AT workout; where the champions play!

Esteemed Sensei –
I’m gearing up for tomorrow’s big V02 workout in your “Quivering Lizard” interval workout-
In this context, what does “AT” mean on line 5?
Thanks,
Humbled Student GoTen

Trail Running at high altitude; Coach Ilg making sure his Heart is NOT in ease, so that Heart DISease
is not likely! “AT” training drastically reduces the likelihood of Heart Disease. I’ve included the yogic
benefits of AT training below as i answer Student GoTen’s question:

Most Noble Online Student GoTen!
“AT” stands for ‘Anaerobic Threshold’ (aka; Lactate Threshold)…
common definitions include these:

What athletes term hitting the wall. It is the point at which you begin working your muscles without oxygen.
news.bbc.co.uk/sportacademy/bsp/hi/in_the_gym/jargon_guide/html/default.stm

(see also lactate threshhold) – The level of effort (usually expressed as a percentage of VO2 max.) where lactic acid levels begin to rise (more lactate is produced than can be metabolized).
www.cptips.com/glosary.htm

defines the upper limit of exercise intensity that can be sustained aerobically. The anaerobic threshold is attained during more intense exercise where anaerobic metabolism represents a significant proportion of the required energy supply. The onset of blood lactate accumulation (OBLA), aerobic-anaerobic threshold, individual anaerobic threshold, point of metabolic acidosis, and lactate threshold essentially mean the same thing.
www.plu.edu/~chasega/terms.html

The point during high intensity activity when the body can no longer meet its demand for oxygen and anaerobic metabolism predominates; also called lactate threshold.
www.loseweightafterpregnancy.com/glossary.html

The anerobic threshold (AT) is an exercise intensity at which lactate (lactic acid) starts to accumulate in the blood stream faster than it can be metabolized. Below the AT any lactate produced by the muscles is removed by the body without it building up.
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Anaerobic_threshold

essentially, AT is what i call, a “tightrope realm” of cardio intensity whereupon the working musculature is struggling to find a groove thang; it needs more oxygen and is recruiting ways to attempt to find it. well trained endurance athletes that combine Power + Endurance (ie; bike racers, rowers, and nordic ski racers) commonly have way higher AT’s than pure endurance athletes such as marathon runners. in one of my many informal WF studies, i discovered that over 90% of Heart Disease patients had never done Interval Training in their lives! Gee, i wonder why their heart is so weak? gotta train the heart muscle like any other muscle baby; low intensity PLUS frequent bouts of HIGH intensity!

in WF, we WF Online Teachers prescribe AT training as a Spiritual Gateway into development of Dharana (concentration) and Pratyhara (sense withdrawl). Last week, on DL those great pictures of WF Teacher Haku, Natalie Hughes, and WF Student Moses were doing intervals to improve AT.

in ‘heart-y’ sweat and spirit,
coach ilg