LYKOS x INSCYD

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LYKOS Sports Performance Lab is the performance consulting department of Lykos Bicycles, the equipment sponsor for the Olympic-winning Chinese Track Cycling Team, UCI Continental Team-Chengdu Cycling Team, and multiple domestic elite teams.

Traditionally, endurance training has relied heavily on guesswork, with training structures and zones based on Personal Records or %FTP. Lykos Sports Performance Lab aims to revolutionize this approach by offering fast and accessible metabolic testing that previously required visiting a specialized sports lab.

Partnering with the world-class INSCYD software, our lab provides athletes with a detailed diagnosis of their comprehensive metabolic profile, translating these insights into actionable training strategies tailored to their unique strengths and weaknesses.

METABOLIC METRICS

VO2 Max

Aerobic power – or VO2max – is the most important measure of performance for a race ranging from a 400m run to an IRONMAN triathlon. It is the most well-known and accepted measure of endurance. INSCYD enables you to measure and monitor your VO2max, with or without a metabolic cart (VO2 analyzer).

By default, VO2max is monitored during each test you perform using INSCYD. Whether that’s a lab test, a lactate test, or a power/GPS-only test. Therefore you can:

Monitor VO2max where it matters: in the field, in the pool, on the road.
Get VO2max from critical power or lactate tests – no lab required!
INSCYD is available for various sports such as swimming, where aerobic capacity seemed impossible to measure.

VLa Max

VLa max is the maximum lactate production rate. This is proportional to the amount of energy (or power) produced via the glycolysis. Therefore, VLamax is a valid marker of the glycolytic (anaerobic) energy system’s performance.

The glycolytic energy system produces energy fast, but also produces lactate and burns a precious fuel: carbohydrates. Therefore:

On the one hand, a high VLamax increases the energy available for short efforts: a 200m swimming race, a 400m run, an attack, a sprint.
On the other hand, a high VLamax decreases the anaerobic threshold and fat combustion and lengthens recovery time from hard efforts.

MLSS

The Maximum Lactate Steady State, or anaerobic threshold (AT) is the maximum intensity at which lactate combustion matches lactate production. That’s why – in steady state – your lactate concentration does not increase or decrease at AT intensity.This implies that if you want to improve your threshold, you can work on your lactate combustion and/or lactate production.Only if you understand how your anaerobic threshold (or MLSS) is composed, you can start improving it. This requires knowledge about your lactate production and lactate combustion (or clearance), separately.

FatMax

FatMax is the maximum amount of fat an athlete can “burn” per hour. It is often expressed in energy (kcal) per hour. FatMax is also a training intensity at which you burn the highest amount of fat. FatMax can differ vastly from one athlete to another.

Important factors that have a huge influence on FatMax are VO2max, VLamax, and body composition. When looking at an individual athlete, the fat-burning rate (or better: fat oxidation rate) depends on the exercise intensity.

At low intensities, you will not burn a lot of fat, since you don’t burn that much energy at all.
When intensity increases, fat oxidation increases as well. But only up to a point (= FatMax).
At very high intensities, you will not burn any fat.

LT1

LT1, also known as the aerobic threshold, is a well-known metric in traditional lactate testing generally described as “the intensity, where we see the first increase in blood lactate." It is often tricky to find this specific intensity as it is heavily dependent on the lactate testing protocol.

LT1 also the upper limit of the popular "Zone 2" training in the five/seven-zone training system, despite many only ballparking their "Zone 2" intensity. INSCYD analytics software considers multiple factors, including standard error of lactate analyzers and testing protocols.