Key result
Training at the negative Talk Test stage increased VO2peak by 5.43 mL/kg/min compared to a 3.67 mL/kg/min increase with traditional relative work rate prescription, though this difference was not statistically significant.
Why the study?
Does talk test-guided exercise training improve peak oxygen consumption compared to traditional relative work rate prescription in healthy young males?
Does talk test-guided exercise training improve peak oxygen consumption compared to traditional relative work rate prescription in healthy young males?
Effect estimate: d 0.58
Absolute Event Rate: 5.43% vs 3.67%
p-value: p=0.14
Exercise prescription using the talk test elicits significant improvements in VO2peak and may offer a practical, non-invasive alternative to traditional fixed-percentage work rate methods.
Talk test training may yield comparable VO2peak gains in healthy males; leaves open superiority to traditional prescription in larger trials.
The purpose of this study was to test the hypotheses (i) that interindividual variability in acute blood lactate responses during exercise at 65% of peak work rate (WR peak ; relative WR peak protocol (REL)) will predict variability in the chronic responses to exercise training and (ii) that exercising at an intensity that causes uncomfortable speech production (negative talk test (TT) stage (NEG)) elicits high acute blood lactate responses and large adaptations to training. Twenty-eight participants completed 4 weeks of exercise training consisting of REL (n = 14) or NEG (TT, n = 14). Fifteen additional participants were assigned to a no-exercise control group (n = 15). In REL, acute blood lactate responses during the first training session significantly predicted changes in peak oxygen consumption (r = 0.69) after training. TT resulted in consistently high acute blood lactate responses. REL and TT improved (p < 0.05) peak oxygen consumption, WR peak , and work rate at the onset of blood lactate accumulation (WR OBLA ). Despite nonsignificance, small to medium between-group effect sizes for changes in peak oxygen consumption, WR peak , and WR OBLA and a higher work rate, heart rate, rating of perceived exertion, and blood lactate during training at NEG support the potential superiority of TT over REL. When exercise is prescribed using a traditional method (a fixed percentage of WR peak ; REL), acute metabolic stress may partly explain the variance in the adaptations to training. In addition, TT elicited significant increases in peak oxygen consumption, WR peak , and WR OBLA , and although our small sample size limits our ability to confidently compare training adaptations between groups, our preliminary results suggest that future investigations with larger sample sizes should assess the potential superiority of TT over REL.
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Preobrazenski et al. (2018) studied Healthy, recreationally active (n=43). Talk Test (TT) prescription method vs. Traditional relative work rate prescription (65% WRPEAK) was evaluated on Change in VO2peak (mL/kg/min) (d 0.58, p=0.14). Training at the negative Talk Test stage increased VO2peak by 5.43 mL/kg/min compared to a 3.67 mL/kg/min increase with traditional relative work rate prescription, though this difference was not statistically significant.
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