Liverpool release footage of their gruelling lactate test, it's the first year without James Milner

Liverpool have released footage of their infamously gruelling preseason lactate test, but with one habitual winner notably absent.

It is not exactly a secret that preseason, even lower down the footballing pyramid, is no walk in the park.

Rather, it’s often a fast jog in the park – if not a full-on sprint – that more than often goes on for many, many laps of the park.

Traditionally, the boots are tucked away and the balls kept in the bag for at least the first few sessions as players are, quite literally, put through their paces with lung-bursting aerobic drills.

In recent times, however, with increased emphasis on sport-specific strength and conditioning at the elite level, many of the old school methods of endurance testing have become somewhat obsolete.

For the Reds though, the lactate test, one that measures a player's aerobic levels as they run increasing distances at speed with the last man standing crowned the winner, is a staple of their preseason schedule.

During the test, at the end of each checkpoint, a sample of blood is taken from each player's ear to measure their lactic acid level. If their level is too high, it will lead to fatigue and they have to drop out.

Andy Robertson admitted that it made him throw up on his first day as a Liverpool player.

“I remember running alongside Danny Ings and I was just sick everywhere! Actually physically sick,” he told That Peter Crouch Podcast.

The science behind the brutal run suggests that testing and improving a player’s lactate threshold within a training program can be used to make them a stronger and faster athlete.

Veteran midfielder James Milner, who left Liverpool this summer to join Brighton & Hove Albion, was notorious for his incredible levels of fitness as well as winning the lactate test every season he was at the club.

Even well into his mid-thirties, Milner was regularly beating players in their teens and early twenties, to the point where clips of the former England international emerging victorious became simply part and parcel of Liverpool’s pre-season footage.

So to have Milner absent from the video this season takes some getting used to. However, the test looks no less exhausting.

The most recent footage shows the likes of Fabinho, Darwin Nunez, Joe Gomez and Joel Matip taking part in the test before the rest of the squad return to training following international duty.

And while it isn’t exactly clear who claimed Milner’s crown this time around, it’s unlikely anyone will have come close to reaching the former Liverpool player’s lofty heights.

Featured Image Credit: Liverpool FC

Topics: Liverpool, Darwin Nunez, Joel Matip, Joe Gomez, Fabinho

George Nash