Translation of Exercise Testing to Exercise Prescription Using the Talk Test

Traditionally defined in terms of %HRmax or % maximal METs, the process of exercise prescription is still difficult and individually imprecise. An alternative and simpler method is to define absolute exercise intensity in terms of the Talk Test, which may be a surrogate for ventilatory threshold (VT). This practice may also be more consistent with contemporary recommendations for prescribing training intensity in athletes. PURPOSE: This study was designed to determine how much of a reduction in the absolute exercise intensity, from that observed during incremental exercise testing, was necessary to allow for comfortable speech during exercise training. METHODS: Fourteen well-trained individuals performed an incremental exercise test and three steady-state training bouts (40 min), based on running speeds during the stage before the Last Positive stage of the Talk Test (LP-1), the Last Positive stage (LP) and the equivocal stage (EQ). RESULTS: The LP-1 & LP runs resulted in %HRmax (88 & 91%) and RPE (3.8 & 4.8) values within the recommended range for exercise training, the EQ run in an unacceptably high %HRmax (95%) and RPE (6.9). Most subjects could sill speak comfortably during the LP-1 and LP stages (TT score = 1.6/3 & 1.7/3), and no subject could speak comfortably during the EQ stage (TT score=2.6/3). CONCLUSIONS: The results of this test suggest that the absolute exercise intensity during the LP-1 and LP stages of incremental exercise tests with the Talk Test may produce steady state exercise responses appropriate for training in well-trained individuals.