I’m a little bit data obsessed and as a result, forever fascinated by the data and insights shared by the likes of Kristian Blummenfelt, Gustav Iden and Belgium’s favorite triathletes Jelle Geens and Marten Van Riel. As I read and watch what they report on, regarding their training, I keep seeing them “lactate” test in the background. A runner, a rider, a swimmer finishes a set, casually pricks a finger or earlobe, their coach stares at a tiny meter, nods, leaves, and the athlete keeps going. Rince and repeat.

That got me wondering if home lactate testing is actually something possible and useful for normal endurance athletes, or just another way for us to complicate the simple act of endurance sports.

Yes, you can indeed do these tests at home. It’s not complicated anymore. You buy a handheld lactate meter, some strips, and a little finger-prick device. Do a workout, take a small blood sample, and get a number in seconds. That’s it.

But then.. the hard part isn’t the measuring; it’s knowing what to do with the number once you’ve got it.

Lactate testing has been used in sports science for decades, way before it became part of the “Norwegian Method” conversation in endurance sports. The idea itself is not controversial; lactate levels do track changes in intensity and are linked to endurance performance. There’s plenty of research backing that up, and I’ll put a link at the bottom of this article for curious minds.

Anyway, what has changed in my humble opinion is accessibility. You don’t need a lab anymore, you don’t need a which means more athletes are now experimenting with it outside controlled environments. And also, it is very easy to order these things online.

I currently do not use it. But maybe I should? Feels like it is really easy to drown oneself in too much data nowadays, from an amateur perspective. I already have heart rate, HRV, power, pace, breathing, stress,feel etc.

Speaking for myself, I suspect the biggest gains for me are still to come from boring things like consistency, recovery, and load, since I’m nowhere near perfection there yet. So I’m not convinced that lactate testing is a game-changer for amateur me. Useful? If done correctly. If this is something you track at home, I’d love to hear your feedback in the comments!

Watt I Learned

Yes, home lactate testing is real, it works, and serious athletes use it for a reason. I genuinely had no idea this could be done at home nowadays. Who knew. Kids these days! Anyway, it’s not gimmicky. If you’re already structured and consistent and aiming for your best results, it might help refine things. If you’re not it won’t magically fix anything.

Source: Graph used in this article is from the referenced study, check it out: Repeatability and predictive value of lactate threshold concepts in endurance sports