Pezcyclingnews: Toolbox: The Lactic Acid Advantage



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Jan 3, 2005
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Find out more about lactate and how this incredible molecule plays many important roles in the body. Discover how you can use lactate as a preferential fuel source, how lactate may actually reduce acidity in tissues and even act as a signalling hormone to drive training adaptations.The Blood Lactate StoryYou dont need to listen to pro-cycling commentary for very long before you hear that lactic acid is is burning in the riders legs. Popular belief suggested that lactate was produced in muscles due to an insufficient supply of oxygen as exercise intensity increased. These ideas also gave rise to the notion of the ‘lactic acid burn’ and that lactic acid was responsible for fatigue during high-intensity exercise.However, research has revealed that lactate is formed and used continuously, even when muscles areworking with plenty of oxygen (1). In the human body most lactic acid is present in the form of lactate. During vigorous exercise there is an increase in the acidity in the blood and tissues. However, lactate makes a very small contribution to this (2). When you’re exercising hard, lots of ATP (the energy currency of life) is broken down to release energy for muscle contraction. Each time an ATP molecule is broken down, one hydrogen ion is released. Its actually the accumulation of hydrogen ions which reduce pH (a measure of acidity/ alkalinity) and may be associated with ‘the burn’.When it comes to fatigue, neither lactate or lactic acid are likely causes. The human body is incredibly complex and...

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