Pace/tempo training is conducted at what intensity?

Pace/tempo training is conducted at what intensity?

• A. Below lactate threshold
• B. At lactate threshold
• C. Above lactate threshold
• D. Maximum effort

Answer: (B)

Tempo training targets lactate threshold intensity—the pace you could sustain for about an hour. It’s a “comfortably hard” effort that pushes your body to work hard enough to accumulate lactate, but not so hard that you can’t maintain it for a sustained period. Training at this level improves your lactate clearance, mitochondrial function, and overall oxidative capacity, allowing you to sustain a faster pace in competition. Going below this threshold gives you more easy aerobic work, which builds endurance but doesn’t stress the LT system as much. Going above LT causes rapid lactate buildup and shortens the sustainable duration, shifting the stimulus toward shorter, high-intensity work rather than steady, tempo-effort adaptations. Maximum effort is well above LT and not sustainable for tempo purposes. In practice, tempo pace is often described as the level you could hold for roughly an hour, or a pace that feels “hard but manageable” for portions of training.

Tempo training targets lactate threshold intensity—the pace you could sustain for about an hour. It’s a “comfortably hard” effort that pushes your body to work hard enough to accumulate lactate, but not so hard that you can’t maintain it for a sustained period. Training at this level improves your lactate clearance, mitochondrial function, and overall oxidative capacity, allowing you to sustain a faster pace in competition. Going below this threshold gives you more easy aerobic work, which builds endurance but doesn’t stress the LT system as much. Going above LT causes rapid lactate buildup and shortens the sustainable duration, shifting the stimulus toward shorter, high-intensity work rather than steady, tempo-effort adaptations. Maximum effort is well above LT and not sustainable for tempo purposes. In practice, tempo pace is often described as the level you could hold for roughly an hour, or a pace that feels “hard but manageable” for portions of training.