Alpha HRV/Thyme wear/LT1/VT1

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Hi all,

Im an ex pro road rider and massive data and training geek. Ive always been self coached and even helped coach some riders up to world tour level. I am always trying to learn and ask as many questions as possible.

Recently I have started using the Alpha HRV app on my Garmin and it’s been the single biggest leap forward since I started using CP and Wprime back in 2016. My question is how does the respiration rate correlate to the thyme wear monitor on there Alpha HRV app? Is it accurate enough too work out VT1 and VT2?

From my testing, ive found that when my d-alpha is around 0.75 this correlates to the top of my zone 2. This is around LT1 and VT1? 0.5 seems to be around my lactate threshold, but more on the conservative side (more sustainable). My current TTE for my dFTP/CP is around 40 minutes where as at 0.5 d-alpha I can ride for 60-75 minutes.

I am experienced with LT1 training, but until now I have found it difficult to quantify. Could someone explain to me the differences between LT1/LT2 vs VT1/VT2? Is there a personal variation where someone’s LT1 could differ from their VT1 due to physiological differences?

Some advice on how to work out LT1/LT2 and VT1/VT2 using the Alpha HRV app would be fantastic. Ive looked at a few charts but i’m not entirely confident that i’m interpreting the data properly.

Are there any testing protocols you could recommend to set my LT and VT levels?

I wish I had this data when I was racing. Im looking to get a lactate monitor soon so I’m able to plot the d-alpha value against lactate readings. Thanks in advance. Tom

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It is currently known that 0.75 does not correspond to LT1, as these values are highly personal; it is like saying that 2 mmol of lactate is LT1 for the entire population. Different trend changes are currently being sought in order to estimate both LT1 and LT2. My current line of work is an algorithm I have designed that detects your baseline dfa at the start of training and, as training progresses, indicates whether you are in zone 1, zone 2 or zone 3 (Skinner). It is similar to what Suunto did with Zones Sense, but it does not use heart rate to quantify which zone you are in.

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Can’t respond on TymeWear data, but underneath is a comparison of breathing frequency measured by a MET-cart during a VO2max test (in blue), and the breathing frequency derived from HRV by the AlphaHRV IQ field (in orange).
You can see that the HRV derived is trailing a bit, which is inevitable given the needed measurement window, but overall, I consider it surprisingly accurate.

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image1823×377 41.8 KB

x-axis is seconds.

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May be answer is Training eBook – Tyme Wear™

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Thanks for the data! Been after a comparison for ages!

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I run AlphaHRV alongside Tymewear and the breathing rate numbers can be pretty far apart sometimes. I’ve not had a chance to graph them yet but maybe I can find a way..

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