Treadmill Step Test 3 min Stages
An incremental treadmill test in 3 minute stages from easy pace to near maximal effort, to map heart rate against speed and locate your thresholds.
- Duration
- 41 minestimated
- Distance
- 7.7 kmestimated
- Effort
- 50
- Level
- Intermediate
- Focus zone
- VO2max
Your values
Targets relative to your threshold values. Enter your values to see absolute numbers.
100% is your threshold pace. Higher values are faster, lower values are slower.
| # | Step | Length | Target |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Warm-upRecovery Easy jog, 1% incline | 10 min | 70-78% threshold pace55-68% HRmax60-72% FTP |
| 2 | IntervalEndurance Stage 1, easy, note HR at end | 3 min | 76-78% threshold pace68-78% HRmax72-82% FTP |
| 3 | IntervalEndurance Stage 2, note HR and talk test | 3 min | 82-84% threshold pace68-78% HRmax72-82% FTP |
| 4 | IntervalTempo Stage 3, note HR and talk test | 3 min | 88-90% threshold pace78-86% HRmax82-89% FTP |
| 5 | IntervalSweet spot Stage 4, note HR and talk test | 3 min | 94-96% threshold pace85-89% HRmax89-95% FTP |
| 6 | IntervalThreshold Stage 5, near threshold | 3 min | 100-102% threshold pace88-92% HRmax95-101% FTP |
| 7 | IntervalVO2max Stage 6, hard | 3 min | 106-108% threshold pace92-98% HRmax104-112% FTP |
| 8 | IntervalVO2max Stage 7, lap when you must stop | about 3 minuntil lap button | 112-114% threshold pace92-98% HRmax104-112% FTP |
| 9 | Cool-downRecovery Walk, then easy jog | 10 min | 70-78% threshold pace55-68% HRmax60-72% FTP |
About this workout
A step test raises the speed in fixed stages and records how your body responds. On a treadmill the speed is exact, so the heart rate at the end of each stage shows how it rises with pace. Sports labs run the same kind of protocol with blood lactate samples, and the field version still tells you a lot without them.
Warm up for ten minutes at 1 percent incline. Then run three minute stages, each about 6 percent faster than the one before, from easy pace to clearly above threshold. At the end of each stage, note your heart rate and how easily you can talk. The watch records every stage as a lap. The last stage ends when you cannot hold the speed any more, so press the lap button then. Walk and jog for ten minutes to cool down.
The stage where full sentences become hard is close to your aerobic threshold. The stage where only a few words come out is close to your lactate threshold. Repeat the test every two to three months with the same incline and stages.
Tips
- Without a threshold pace set, start at an easy jog and add 1 km/h each stage.
- Use a chest strap and keep the incline at 1 percent in every test.
- End the final stage with the stop button or the side rails, never by jumping off.
Good for10kHalf marathonMarathonIndoor
Season phaseBaseAny time