The Story of the Misunderstood Lactic Acid

Once upon a time, there was a chemical compound named Lactic Acid.  For most of it's life, people seemed to dislike Lactic Acid and seemed to blame him for all of their exercise-related pain and soreness.  People, especially athletes spoke of Lactic Acid with disdain and wished he would leave them alone and never come around.

Then one day, some exercise physiologists made a great discovery!  It wasn't really Lactic Acid causing all the muscle soreness and pain after all!  It was all those excess hydrogen ions that were interfering with energy production, and muscular contractions, thus causing fatigue and soreness.  The thought that Lactic Acid was the culprit was a fallacy, and our friend Lactic Acid couldn't be happier to be off the hook!  These are the kind of bedtime stories I could get into telling my kids :)

What is lactate or lactic acid?
When carbohydrate (sugar-based fuel source) breaks down, lactic acid is produced in the muscles.  The lactic acid seeps out of the muscle cell and into the blood and other fluids.  Hydrogen ions are released and a salt, known as "lactate" is produced.

Exercise and lactate 
As the intensity of exercise increases, the amount of hydrogen ions and lactate increases as well.  In a normal state, the body is very efficient at clearing the hydrogen ions and lactate from the blood.  But as exercise intensity increases, the body has a harder time keeping up at the removal rate.  As lactate begins to accumulate in the blood, even more hydrogen ions are released.  It is this build-up of hydrogen ions that interferes with muscle contraction and energy production.

Lactate Threshold 
The point or threshold where the body can't keep up with the accumulation of hydrogen ions and lactate is called the "lactate threshold".  It is marked during exercise by a shift from aerobic (light breathing) to anaerobic (heavy breathing).  It can be measured in a lab setting by drawing blood during exercise.  However, it is like pinning down a moving target.  The lactate and hydrogen ion profile is in constant motion, so the lab measurement is a good estimate for that moment.

So what?
You can increase your lactate threshold through training, thus increasing the time before your muscle contraction and energy production go to pot.  This is what "tempo" or "threshold" training is all about.  By running, biking, or swimming at or near the LT, the body's ability to process lactate improves.  It also teaches the muscles to conserve glycogen and glucose fuel sources.  The muscles' contractile mechanisms also become more resistant to fatigue by doing this type of training.  So what are you waiting for??  Get out and do some TEMPO WORK!     

Once upon a time, there was a chemical compound named Lactic Acid.  For most of it's life, people seemed to dislike Lactic Acid and seemed to blame him for all of their exercise-related pain and soreness.  People, especially athletes spoke of Lactic Acid with disdain and wished he would leave them alone and never come around.

Then one day, some exercise physiologists made a great discovery!  It wasn't really Lactic Acid causing all the muscle soreness and pain after all!  It was all those excess hydrogen ions that were interfering with energy production, and muscular contractions, thus causing fatigue and soreness.  The thought that Lactic Acid was the culprit was a fallacy, and our friend Lactic Acid couldn't be happier to be off the hook!  These are the kind of bedtime stories I could get into telling my kids :)

What is lactate or lactic acid?
When carbohydrate (sugar-based fuel source) breaks down, lactic acid is produced in the muscles.  The lactic acid seeps out of the muscle cell and into the blood and other fluids.  Hydrogen ions are released and a salt, known as "lactate" is produced.

Exercise and lactate 
As the intensity of exercise increases, the amount of hydrogen ions and lactate increases as well.  In a normal state, the body is very efficient at clearing the hydrogen ions and lactate from the blood.  But as exercise intensity increases, the body has a harder time keeping up at the removal rate.  As lactate begins to accumulate in the blood, even more hydrogen ions are released.  It is this build-up of hydrogen ions that interferes with muscle contraction and energy production.

Lactate Threshold 
The point or threshold where the body can't keep up with the accumulation of hydrogen ions and lactate is called the "lactate threshold".  It is marked during exercise by a shift from aerobic (light breathing) to anaerobic (heavy breathing).  It can be measured in a lab setting by drawing blood during exercise.  However, it is like pinning down a moving target.  The lactate and hydrogen ion profile is in constant motion, so the lab measurement is a good estimate for that moment.

So what?
You can increase your lactate threshold through training, thus increasing the time before your muscle contraction and energy production go to pot.  This is what "tempo" or "threshold" training is all about.  By running, biking, or swimming at or near the LT, the body's ability to process lactate improves.  It also teaches the muscles to conserve glycogen and glucose fuel sources.  The muscles' contractile mechanisms also become more resistant to fatigue by doing this type of training.  So what are you waiting for??  Get out and do some TEMPO WORK!