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And the answer is an easy one… YES, TEST!

The problem is, it’s not quite so easy to know what to test, nor how to test it.

Here are just a few physiological metrics you could test and the ways you could do so:

• VO2 Max is a measure of the maximum amount of oxygen your body is able to utilise. It’s commonly measured during a progressive exercise test using gas exchange analysis. Most people think it’s the determinant of how good an athlete you could become… but is it?

• Lactate Threshold is a measure of the point at which your body begins to produce more lactate than it can process. There are various ways of testing this - gas exchange analysis, lactate analysers being the most popular. Again, it’s held to be a good measure of your fitness… but is it?

• Body Fat Analysis tells you what percentage of your body is fat. The most popular method at the moment is one or other form of bio-electrical impedance device. They claim to be very accurate, but are they really the best way to get the measurement? And are they actually accurate?

Above are just three of the most measured physiological metrics. I regularly have clients present me with tests that they have had done at great expense, believing that the information thus gained will give them an edge. Sadly, this is seldom true.

• VO2 Max tests rely heavily on the tester knowing what they are doing and calibrating their equipment properly. It’s not uncommon to have an individual present me with a very good test score, which bears no relation to the athlete in front of me. More than that, VO2 Max isn’t something you can influence very much beyond your first 12 weeks of structured training unless you have a lot of weight to lose (it’s measured as ml O2/kg/ min). A far better measure of your potential at this moment (and one which you can improve) is speed at VO2 Max. And you don’t need a lab to test that.

• Lactate threshold tests simply annoy me. Apparently, it’s not uncommon for tests to vary considerably from one to the next. So, if you’re not being tested every week or two, how do you know that your 6-monthly test isn’t a rogue result. When I queried one such test from a well know lab, I was told that I “clearly had little experience doing lactate testing.” And that’s true, I prefer not to spend my days stood in an exercise physiology lab. But to tell an athlete who by every carefully measured, objective observation is the fittest and fastest he has ever been, that he is less fit than last year, is ludicrous!

• Bio-electrical impedance devices are in my experience, not consistently accurate either. As they rely on your state of hydration for example, in order to get an accurate measure, I’ve observed them to give outrageously different readings over the period of a week, even if the measurement is taken at the same time of day.

I have a strict standard for any test or testing measure that I would recommend: It must be simple to reproduce accurately time after time. And the measurement must be one that can easily be compared to previous tests in order to establish progress or the lack thereof. In the Triathlon Handbook, I lay out some very simple performance tests that you can perform with the minimum of equipment and without a huge financial outlay, which will give you real-world results to measure your improvement. And what’s more, you don’t need a degree in sports science to understand them.