Joule 3.0 User Guide page 79
Chapter 14: Definition of Common Training Terms
Kilocalorie or Kcal
1. 1000 calories. 2. A unit of energy equal to that needed to raise the temperature of 1 kilogram or
liter of water 1 ˚C. 3. A measure of the amount of energy in food 4. On U.S. food labels, 1 Calo-
rie, spelled with a capital “C”, rather than a lower case “c” is equal to 1 Kilocalorie or Kcal. 5. 4.186
Kjoules 6. For a given person, the total energy burned in Kcals is equal to the total Kjoules of work
performed on a bicycle divided by 4.186 divided by the percent fraction (i.e., 22% = 0.22) of that
person’s gross mechanical efficiency. 7. 1 to 1.2 multiplied by the total Kjoules.
Lactate Threshold (LT) Zone
1. A hard intensity zone marked by a sudden increase in breathing rate. 2. On a 1 to 10 RPE scale, an
intensity corresponding to a 5 to 7 or “hard” to “really hard.” 3. On a 6 to 20 RPE scale, an intensity
corresponding to a 13 to 16 or “somewhat hard” to “very hard”. 4. A range of exercise intensity
beginning at a slight inflection or rise in the blood lactate over a resting baseline to an intensity
corresponding with a blood lactate 2 to 3 mM above a resting baseline. 5. A demarcation between
aerobic metabolism to a mix of anaerobic and aerobic metabolism. 6. An all out exercise intensity
that can be held between 40 minutes to 2 hours depending on the availability of stored carbohy-
drate or glycogen within the body.
Lactate Threshold
1. An exercise intensity where the production of lactate or appearance of lactate in the blood
exceeds the removal or disappearance of lactate from the blood. 2. An exercise intensity character-
ized by a sudden increase in breathing rate or ventilation. 3. An exercise intensity where individu-
als begin to feel a burning sensation in working muscle. 4. An exercise intensity considered to be
hard. 5. An exercise intensity that can be held for a prolonged period of time ranging from 40 min-
utes to 2 hours. 6. Amongst athletes with similar VO2 max values the power at lactate threshold is
the strongest predictor of performance.
Lactate Threshold Break Point
1. The power output or exercise intensity where blood lactate just begins to increase above its
resting baseline. 2. An exercise intensity characterized as somewhat hard. 3. The upper end of the
endurance training zone and the bottom end of the lactate threshold zone. 4. An exercise intensity
that can be held for 1 to 3 hours or as long as there is available stored carbohydrate or glycogen.
