Physiology & Biochemistry

The Dmax is Highly Related to Performance in MiddleAged Females

Authors

F. A. Machado1, S. M. F. de Moraes2, C. S. Peserico3, P. V. Mezzaroba3, W. P. Higino4

Aliations

Key words
agreement

correlation

lactate threshold

maximal deviation method

Abstract

State University of Maring, Department of Physical Education, Maring, Brazil

State University of Maring, Department of Physiologic Sciences, Maring, Brazil
3
State University of Maring, Laboratory of Eort Physiology Department of Physiologic Sciences, Maring, Brazil
4
Catholic University Center Salesiano Auxilium, Department of Physical Education, Lins, Brazil

The present study examined whether the running speed at the lactate threshold estimated by
the maximal deviation method (LTDmax) is highly
correlated and in agreement with 10-km road
race performance (S10 km) in middle-aged female
runners. Additionally, the LTDmax was compared
with the visual detection of the inflection point
(LTVisual), the fixed lactate level of 4 mmol.L 1 (LT4)
and the peak speed (Speak) in relation to performance. Sixteen middle-aged, recreational female
runners performed a discontinuous, incremental
treadmill test. The initial speed was set at 7 km.
h 1, and this speed was increased every 3 min by

Introduction

accepted after revision

March 14, 2011
Bibliography
DOI http://dx.doi.org/
10.1055/s-0031-1275671
Published online: 2011
Int J Sports Med
Georg Thieme
Verlag KG Stuttgart New York
ISSN 0172-4622
Correspondence
Dr. Fabiana Andrade Machado
State University of Maring
Department of Physical Education
Av. Colombo 5790
87.020-900 Maring
Brazil
Tel.: + 55/44/3011 4315
Fax: + 55/44/3011 4470
famachado_uem@hotmail.com

The lactate threshold (LT) has been widely used

to predict endurance performance, to prescribe
training intensity and to evaluate training eects
[1, 2, 17, 18]. Currently, several methods exist that
can be used to detect the LT, although these
methods sometimes produce diering estimates
on this point [7, 22, 23]. The existing methods
include both subjective methods, such as the
visual detection of the LT (LT Visual) [6], and objective methods, such as methods based on a fixed
value of lactate concentration [13, 15, 21].
The LT Visual is an experience-dependent method
with the disadvantage of subjectivity [7]. The
disadvantage of the fixed lactate level method is
that it does not take into account the individual
and, thus, does not reflect individual variation in
the lactate response [16, 24]. An LT of 4 mmol.L 1
can be used for most adults, but for some individuals, an LT of 3 or even 5 mmol.L 1 is a more
suitable value with respect to the variation in
individual responses [23]. Thus, due to the large
variation in the lactate response to exercise, a
fixed lactate level may not be a valid guideline for
training prescription [25].

1 km.h 1 with a 30-s rest between the stages used

for earlobe capillary blood sample collection. All
of the participants took part in the same local
10-km road race, and S10 km mean speed was calculated. The speeds (mean SD) were 10.5 1.0
(S10 km), 10.5 1.0 (LTVisual), 10.9 0.9 (LTDmax),
11.4 1.3 (LT4) and 13.5 1.1 km.h 1 (Speak). The
LTDmax had the narrowest limits of agreement
(0.3 0.4 km.h 1) and was the most highly correlated with the S10 km (r = 0.98), followed by the
Speak (r = 0.95), LT4 (r = 0.85) and LTVisual (r = 0.81).
In conclusion, the LTDmax should be more widely
used to estimate long-distance performance and
to verify improvements in training.

The Maximal Deviation Method (Dmax) proposed

by Cheng et al. [4] is an objective method that can
be used to estimate the LT, and it has an advantage
in that it considers an individuals blood lactate
response during progressive exercise tests to mathematically determine the point at which lactatemia
will occur [25]. Hence, it is not influenced by subjective judgments which can bias the estimation,
and is instead based upon computation of the point
on a lactate-intensity regression curve that yields
the maximal distance to the straight line connecting the first and last points of that curve.
Despite the advantages of the Dmax in terms of
objectivity and individuality [25], few studies
have reported results in relation to the Dmax and
performance. Using three distinct methods, Nicholson and Sleivert [17] determined the relationship
between the LT and 10-km running speed (S10 km)
using an indoor 400-m track for young female
runners. The mean speed for the S10 km was
11.7 1.4 km.h 1, and the LT estimated by the
Dmax (LTDmax) was 12.0 0.8 km.h 1. The Dmax
presented the highest correlation with the S10 km
(r = 0.84; P < 0.001), followed by the LT determined using a fixed lactate level of 4 mmol.L 1
(LT4) (r = 0.57) and the LT determined at the exer-

Machado FA et al. The Dmax is Highly Related to Performance Int J Sports Med

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Physiology & Biochemistry

Sixteen recreational, middle-aged female runners aged 3551 years

who were training for a local 10-km road race participated in this
study. The 10-km performance of the participants was between 9
and 13 km.h 1 (4565 % of the world record). The descriptive
characteristics of the subjects (mean SD) were as follows: age,
42.2 7.5 years; height, 1.63 0.03 cm; body mass, 57.3 6.6 kg;
body mass index (BMI), 21.6 2.1 kg.m 2; body fat, 20.4 4.1 % and
maximal oxygen uptake (VO2max), 53.2 8.0 mL.kg 1.min 1. The
training characteristics of the subjects (mean SD) were as follows: experience, 3.1 1.9 years; frequency, 2.6 0.5 days.wk 1
and distance, 24.9 6.0 km.wk 1. Written informed consent was
obtained from all participants. The experimental protocol was
approved by the local ethics committee (#719/2010). All research
was conducted ethically according to international standards and
as required by the International Journal of Sports Medicine [12].

Incremental exercise test

Participants performed a discontinuous incremental exercise
test on a motorized treadmill (INBRASPORT ATL, Porto Alegre,
Brazil) with the gradient set at 1 %. Participants were instructed
to avoid eating food 2 h before the maximal exercise test, to
abstain from caeine and alcohol and to refrain from strenuous
exercise 48 h prior to testing. The initial speed was set at 7 km.
h 1 and this speed was increased by 1 km.h 1 between each of
the 3-min successive stages. Each stage was separated by a 30-s
period of rest during which an earlobe capillary blood sample
(25 l) was collected into a glass tube, and, from this sample,
blood lactate was determined by electroenzymatic methods (YSI
1 500, Ohio, USA). Each participant was encouraged to give maximum eort until volitional exhaustion.

Calculation of the mean speed at the local 10-km road race

All of the participants of this study took part in the same local
10-km road race, which took place within the 1-month period
after the laboratory experiments. This local race occurs annually
Machado FA et al. The Dmax is Highly Related to Performance Int J Sports Med

Determination of the speed at the LT by the Dmax

The LTDmax was determined for each participant from the blood
lactate concentrations and the speed data obtained from the
incremental exercise test. Data were fitted by the exponential
plus constant regression curve [14]:
[LA](s) = a + (b.exp(c.s))
where s is the speed in km.h 1, and [LA](s) is the blood lactate
concentration (mmol.L 1) as a function of speed (km.h 1); a, b
and c are the function parameters that were determined by nonlinear regression with the Statistical Package for the Social Sciences (SPSS) 17.0 software (SPSS Inc., USA).
The point on the regression curve that yielded the maximal perpendicular distance to the straight line connecting the first and
last point of this curve was considered to be the speed at the LT
Fig. 1).
as determined by the Dmax (
The maximal perpendicular distance, which represents the LTDmax,
is observed at the point at which the slope of the exponential plus
constant curve is equal to the slope of the straight line connecting
the first and last point of this curve. Considering that the slope of
the curve is obtained by the first derivative of the exponential plus
constant equation, the following equation can be used:
LTDmax = {ln{[exp(c.sf) exp(c.si)]/[(c.sf) (c.si)]}}/c
where ln is the natural logarithm, c is the parameter of the exponential plus constant equation and si and sf are the initial and final
speeds of the incremental exercise test, respectively. The final
speed was considered to be that of the last completed stage.

Determination of the relationship between the

LTDmax and the S10 km
In order to verify the relationship between LTDmax and S10 km, the
correlation and the agreement between LTDmax and S10 km were

9
8
7
6
5

Dmax

4
3
2
1
0

11.7
11
12
Speed (km.h1)
10

13

14

Fig. 1 The speed at the LT as determined by the Dmax method

(LTDmax = 11.7 km.h 1 ).

15

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Methods

Participants

on paved city streets. The race began at 5:00 p.m. on a 30 C,

sunny day with a low relative humidity of approximately 40 %.
There were three hydration points along the course of the race.
All of the participants were encouraged to give their best performance. Three runners had problems during the race and were not
able to finish. The race time of the remaining runners was recorded,
and their S10 km from the road race was calculated in km.h 1.

Blood lactate (mmol.L1)

cise intensity that preceded consecutive increases in blood lactate levels 1 mmol.L 1 (r = 0.52). Bishop et al. [2] examined six
commonly used lactate parameters in trained female cyclists. In
this study, the mean power output for the 1-h cycling performance was 183 19 W, and the LT calculated by the Dmax was
178 24 W. Of the six lactate parameters compared, the power
output at the LT calculated by the Dmax exhibited the highest
correlation with the 1-h endurance performance (r = 0.84,
P < 0.001), followed by the LT at 4 mmol.L 1 (r = 0.81, P < 0.001)
and the peak power output (r = 0.81, P < 0.001).
Therefore, the calculation of the Dmax has provided promising
results related to estimation of performance in young athletes.
However, no study has verified this relationship for older runners in a road race. The previous studies had also not verified the
agreement between the Dmax and performance. We hypothesized that the Dmax would also be highly correlated and in
agreement with the level of performance in older runners. Thus,
the purpose of this investigation was to verify the correlation
and the agreement between running speed at the LT estimated
with the Dmax and the performance in a 10-km road race in
middle-aged, recreational female runners and to compare the
obtained results with other performance indices.

Physiology & Biochemistry

Table 2 Correlation and agreement matrix.

Table 1 Speeds at 10 km road race, lactate thresholds and peak speed.

Speed (km.h 1)

Speed ( %Speak)

Variables

Mean SD

Mean SD

Speak (n = 13)
S10 km (n = 13)
LT Visual (n = 13)
LTDmax (n = 13)
LT4 (n = 10)

13.5 1.1
10.5 1.0*
10.5 1.0*
10.9 0.9*
11.4 1.3* #

78.3 2.2
77.8 5.4
80.6 1.8
84.1 5.4 #

LTDmax

S10 km

BIAS 1.96 SD

0.97
0.74*

0.89

0.95
0.81*
0.98
0.85*

3.1 1.0 km.h 1

0.1 1.2 km.h 1
0.3 0.4 km.h 1
0.8 1.4 km.h 1

(S10 km)
Speak (n = 13)
LT Visual (n = 13)
LTDmax (n = 13)
LT4 (n = 10)

SD, standard deviation; LTDmax, lactate threshold determined by the maximal devia-

SD, standard deviation; %Speak, percentage of peak speed; Speak, peak speed of the

tion method; S10 km, mean speed at the 10-km road race; Speak, peak speed of the

incremental exercise test; S10 km, mean speed at the 10-km road race; LT Visual, lactate

incremental exercise test; LT Visual, lactate threshold determined by visual inspection;

threshold determined by visual inspection; LTDmax, lactate threshold determined by

LT4, lactate threshold at the fixed lactate level of 4 mmol.L-1 ; * P < 0.05; P < 0.001

4 mmol.L 1 ; * P < 0.05 in relation to Speak; P < 0.05 in relation to S10 km; # P < 0.05 in
relation to LT Visual

13

y = 1.06x 0.98

S10km (km.h1)

12

R2 = 0.96

11

10

exercise test. The Speak (km.h 1) was significantly higher than the
S10 km, LT Visual, LTDmax and LT4. The LTDmax was significantly higher
than the S10 km (P < 0.05), and the LT4 was significantly higher
than the LT Visual (P < 0.05).
The correlation between the LTDmax and the S10 km is presented
Fig. 2. The value of the Pearsons correlation coecient was
in
0.98 (P < 0.001), indicating a very high correlation. It can be noted
that nearly all of the measures were below the line of
Fig. 2 also presents a predictive equation for the
equality.
indirect determination of the S10 km (y) from the LTDmax (x) for
the specific population of this study (SEE = 0.19 km.h 1). Additionally, the predictive equations for the indirect determination
of the S10 km from the Speak and for the indirect determination of
the Speak from the LTDmax were:
S10 km (km.h 1) = (0.83 Speak) 0.64 (R2 = 0.91; SEE = 0.31 km.h 1)

9
9

10

11

12

13

LTDmax (km.h1)
Fig. 2 Correlation between the LTDmax and the S10 km performance
(r = 0.98; P < 0.001).

calculated. In addition, the LTDmax was compared with the LT Visual,

with the LT4 determined by linear interpolation and with the
speed of the last completed stage of the incremental exercise
test (Speak). The authors subjectively determined the LT Visual as
the speed in which the abrupt sustained increase in blood lactate concentration occurred [6]. Any disagreement among the
authors was resolved by discussion.

Statistical analyses
Data are presented as the mean SD. These data were analyzed
using the SPSS 17.0 software (SPSS Inc., USA). A Shapiro-Wilk
test was used to check the normality of the data distribution.
The speeds were compared using a one-factor repeated measures ANOVA with a Bonferroni post hoc test. The relationship
between the speeds was examined using Pearsons correlation
coecient. Bland-Altman analysis [3] was used to calculate the
95 % limits of agreement between the speeds. Statistical significance was set at P < 0.05.

Results

The peak speed achieved in the incremental exercise test, the

mean speed of the 10-km road race and the speeds at the LT Visual,
Table 1. Three participants did not
LTDmax and LT4 are given in
achieve the lactate level of 4 mmol.L 1 during the incremental

Speak (km.h 1) = (1.20 LTDmax) + 0.48 (R2 = 0.93; SEE = 0.31 km.h 1)
Table 2 presents the correlations between the S

peak, LT Visual,

LTDmax, LT4 and S10 km as well as the analyses of agreement in

relation to S10 km performance. The LTDmax was the most highly
correlated with the S10 km performance, followed by the Speak
(r = 0.95), which presented a slightly lower correlation, the LT4
(r = 0.85) and the LT Visual (r = 0.81). The LTDmax was also highly
correlated with the Speak (r = 0.97). The LTDmax presented the narrowest limits of agreement with performance, whereas the LT4
presented the largest limits. The mean dierence (bias) between
the LTDmax and the S10 km was 0.3 km.h 1 with the 95 % limits of
agreement calculated as 0.1 and 0.7 km.h 1, representing a
narrow limit of agreement. In contrast, the LT4 presented large
limits of agreement with the S10 km ( 0.6 and 2.2 km.h 1) in
comparison to the limits of agreement presented between the
LTDmax and the S10 km. The Speak and the LT Visual presented moderate limits of agreement with the S10 km.
Fig. 3 shows the dierences between the LT

Dmax and the S10 km

plotted against the average values (Bland-Altman Plot).

Discussion

The major finding of this study was that the running speed estimated by the LTDmax was highly correlated with the performance
level in a 10-km road race for middle-aged, recreational female
runners, and this relationship presented narrow limits of agreement. Additionally, the LTDmax exhibited a higher correlation and
narrower limits of agreement with performance than the other
indices that were evaluated, including the LT Visual, the LT4 and
the Speak.
Machado FA et al. The Dmax is Highly Related to Performance Int J Sports Med

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the maximal deviation method; LT4, lactate threshold at the fixed lactate level of

(LTDmax S10km) (km.h1)

1.0
0.8
0.6
0.4
0.2
0.0
0.2
0.4
9

10

11

12
1
.
)/2 (km h )

13

(LTDmax + S10km

Fig. 3 Bland-Altman Plot: agreement between the LTDmax and the S10 km
performance. The mean dierence (bias) between the indices was
0.3 km.h 1 . The 95 % limits of agreement were between 0.1 and 0.7 km.h 1 .

Because the LT is used to predict endurance performance, to prescribe training intensity and to evaluate training eects, its
determination is very important for athletes, coaches and
researchers. Many studies have reported methods to estimate
the LT. Nevertheless, there is not a gold standard method for its
evaluation. Some authors have found encouraging results with
regard to the Dmax method. Nicholson and Sleivert [17] reported
that the LTDmax presented the highest correlation (r = 0.84;
P < 0.001) with 10-km running speed on an indoor, 400-m track,
followed by the LT4 (r = 0.57), in eleven, competitive and recreational, young female runners (age, 21 4 years; VO2max,
48 3 mL.kg 1.min 1). Bishop et al. [2] observed a similar result
for female cyclists (age, 29 10 years; VO2max, 48 6 mL.kg 1.
min 1); the LTDmax presented the highest correlation with 1-h
endurance performance (r = 0.84, P < 0.001), followed by the LT4
(r = 0.81, P < 0.001) and peak power output (r = 0.81, P < 0.001).
Our study is in accordance with both of these studies because we
found that the LTDmax presented the highest correlation with the
S10 km performance, which was followed by the Speak, LT4 and
LT Visual. In the study by Nicholson and Sleivert [17] each participant began the incremental test at a running velocity 2 km.h 1
below their mean 10-km running speed. The speed was increased
by 1 km.h 1 between each of the 5-min successive stages and the
stages were separated by a 1-min period of rest. In contrast, the
initial speed in the present study was set at 7 km.h 1 and this
speed was increased by 1 km.h 1 between each of the 3-min successive stages, followed by a 30-s period of rest. Nevertheless,
despite the dierences between the incremental test protocols,
the LTDmax presented the highest correlation with 10-km running performance in both studies.
The very high correlation between the LTDmax and the S10 km in
the current study occurred despite many factors that could have
weakened the correlation, such as dierent environmental conditions and terrain; the road race started at 5:00 p.m. on a 30 C,
sunny day with very low, 40 % relative humidity on city streets
surfaced with asphalt. Farrell et al. [8] also reported a very high
correlation between the speed corresponding to the onset of
plasma lactate accumulation and the pace of a 9.7-km race
(r = 0.96) in experienced male distance runners. In that study,
the subjects reported to the laboratory for eight days to perform
a 10-min steady state run for each incremental speed, with the
Machado FA et al. The Dmax is Highly Related to Performance Int J Sports Med

change in lactate concentration obtained at each speed. The clear

disadvantage of that study was the duration of the test, which
was similar to the maximal lactate steady state test duration.
In agreement with a study by Bishop et al. [2], in which the
Dmax was strongly correlated with peak power output (r = 0.81;
P < 0.001), the Speak was also highly correlated with the LTDmax.
This high correlation between the Speak and the LTDmax probably
occurred because runners that are able to delay an abrupt
increase in blood lactate concentration can reach a higher Speak
[2]. Additionally, the final stage (speed) of the incremental test is
one of the independent variables of the LTDmax equation. Despite
the strong correlation between the LT4 and the S10 km, three runners did not reach a lactate level of 4 mmol.L 1 during the incremental exercise test, indicating that this concentration is not
appropriate for all individuals because it does not take into
account the individual variations that occur in each subject
[23].
According to Bland and Altman [3], comparisons between methods should be made not only in terms of correlation, but also in
terms of agreement. However, an agreement test was not executed in the studies by Nicholson and Sleivert [17] and Bishop
et al. [2] In our study, the LTDmax was consistently higher than
the S10 km and exhibited the narrowest limits of agreement; Similar to the LTDmax, the Speak was highly correlated with performance, but presented only moderate limits of agreement.
Therefore, the agreement between the Speak and the S10 km is not
as good as the agreement between the LTDmax and the S10 km performance despite the high correlations between the Speak, the
S10 km and the LTDmax. Pearsons correlation is not sensitive to
systematic error, which is a limitation in the use of Pearsons
correlation by itself to compare methods or variables. In contrast, the analysis of agreement is sensitive to systematic bias
and can be used to verify whether two methods or variables can
be used interchangeably or whether one variable can predict the
second.
Considering the poor agreement between the LT4 and the S10 km
performance and that three females did not reach a lactate level
of 4 mmol.L 1, the LT4 does not appear to be an appropriate S10 km
marker for middle-aged females with the performance levels
that were assessed in this study. The LT4 is highly influenced by
the levels of lactate, which can vary widely and can be induced
by many factors, including nutrition, prior stress and muscle
fiber distribution [5, 20]. In addition, the site (e. g., earlobe and
fingertip) as well as the method (e. g., venous, arterial and capillary) of blood sampling may also aect the test result
[9, 10, 11, 19]. The Dmax is a robust method in which the most
important factor is the lactate-intensity curve shape and not the
lactate levels themselves. If the lactate-intensity curve is shifted
upwards, for example, the LTDmax intensity is not changed,
whereas the LT4 intensity would be reduced; this characteristic
is another advantage of using the Dmax method for evaluation of
the LT. The correlation between the LT Visual and the S10 km was the
smallest observed in our study, and the agreement level for this
comparison was not good. Although the LT Visual takes the individual blood lactate response into consideration, which is similar to the LTDmax method, the subjectivity of the LT Visual method
weakened its relationship with the S10 km performance.
The predictive equation for the indirect determination of the
S10 km from the LTDmax presented a very small error. The SEE for
this equation was 39 % smaller than the equation for the indirect
determination of the S10 km from the Speak. Thus, the generated
equation for the indirect determination of the S10 km from the

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Physiology & Biochemistry

LTDmax can be used to predict the S10 km if applied to individuals

with characteristics similar to those of the present study. Additionally, alterations on the environmental conditions and race
course all characteristics under which the predictive equation
was generated, can increase the error of the S10 km prediction.
In conclusion, the LTDmax was highly correlated with 10-km road
race performance in middle-aged, recreational female runners
with narrow limits of agreement. Additionally, the LTDmax presented higher correlation and narrower limits of agreement with
performance than the LT Visual, the LT4 or the Speak. Thus, the
LTDmax was a running pace that could be sustained in long-distance races by a recreational middle-aged female who has a 10km race pace that is between 9 and 13 km.h 1. Therefore, the
LTDmax should be more widely used by coaches and practitioners
to estimate long-distance performance and to verify improvements in training. Because the results of this study are limited to
this specific population, further research is warranted to examine the relationship between the LTDmax and performance in
other populations that have dierent performance levels.

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