From a physiological perspective, the delineation between steady-state and non-steady-state exercise, also referred to as the maximal metabolic steady state, holds paramount importance for evaluating athletic performance and designing and monitoring training programs. The critical power and the maximal lactate steady state are two widely used indices to estimate this threshold, yet previous studies consistently reported significant discrepancies between their associated power outputs. These findings have fueled the debate regarding the interchangeability of critical power and the maximal lactate steady state in practice. This paper reviews the methodological intricacies intrinsic to the determination of these thresholds, and elucidates how inappropriate determination methods and methodological inconsistencies between studies have contributed to the documented differences in the literature. Through a critical examination of relevant literature and by integration of our laboratory data, we demonstrate that differences between critical power and the maximal lactate steady state may be reconciled to only a few Watts when applying appropriate and strict determination criteria, so that both indices may be used to estimate the maximal metabolic steady-state threshold in practice. To this end, we have defined a set of good practice guidelines to assist scientists and coaches in obtaining the most valid critical power and maximal lactate steady state estimates.

从生理学的角度来看，稳态和非稳态运动之间的界限，也称为最大代谢稳态，对于评估运动表现以及设计和监测训练计划至关重要。临界功率和最酸稳态是估计该阈值的两个广泛使用的指标，但以前的研究一致报告了它们相关的功率输出之间存在显着差异。这些发现引发了关于实践中临界功率和最酸稳态可互换性的争论。本文回顾了确定这些阈值所固有的方法复杂性，并阐明了研究之间不适当的确定方法和方法不一致如何导致文献中记录的差异。通过对相关文献的批判性检查和整合我们的实验室数据，我们证明，当应用适当和严格的确定标准时，临界功率和最酸稳态之间的差异可以调和为几瓦特，因此这两个指数可用于估计最大代谢稳态阈值在实践中。为此，我们制定了一套良好实践指南，以帮助科学家和教练获得最有效的临界功率和最酸稳态估计。