Lactic Acid / Lactate Threshold

nutrients in >> chemical reactions >> movement / muscle contraction & waste byproducts .. lactic acid is a waste byproduct.

In day to day conversational usage: lactate threshold is commonly referred to as lactic acid burn.

We recommend Circuit Training.    4 weight training videos (streamed from Google) on this page .. play & enjoy

View the videos WE Produced with IFBB world champ Khun Sitthi Charoenrith & Ms. World Figure Diane Jardm Stratton

An elevation in blood lactic acid levels is a major trigger of growth hormone (HGH) release.

High-repetition, short-rest interval exercise produces a significant amount of lactic acid accumulation within working muscles.

• The chemical reactions cause muscle fiber shortening = muscle contraction.

• The chemical reactions ( glycolysis / Krebs Cycle amongst others ) convert the nutrients into waste byproducts to be dealt with by the excretory systems.

  • nutrients in >> movement & waste byproducts out.

• The waste products are normally easily removed from the muscle.

• As exercise (more muscle contraction = more chemical reactions ) increases the amount of byproducts produced also increases .. eventually the amount of byproducts produced  exceeds the bodies ability to remove them from the muscle group.

• Common examples:

  • O₂ to CO₂

  • The chemical reactions are exothermic .. release heat = sweat!

  • The Krebs Cycle deals with converting ATP >> ADP >> ..

  • There are 1000s of 'chemical reactions' happening simultaneously in the body, each producing byproducts.

The chemical reactions of the Krebs Cycle result in muscle contraction and metabolic byproducts. The build up of these waste products lowers the pH ( makes more acidic ) of the extra cellular tissue & neural (nerve) irritation results.  Nerve irritation = burning sensation = lactic acid burn. With increased intensity of exercise the amount of metabolic byproducts produced exceeds the body's ability to utilize or remove them from the muscle.  The inability of the excretory system to keep up with removing the waste byproducts of the Krebs cycle results in increased concentrations of the byproducts. The increased concentrations of these byproducts initially induces a burning sensation ( neural irritation ). Eventually these byproducts will interfere with the Krebs cycle and muscle contraction will cease. An example of this is experienced in drop sets or forced reps .. when a light dumb bell can barely be moved.. :-)

Our recommended Lactate Threshold Program takes intervals & circuits to the next level. If you have ever been there, you will always want to return. The doer alone learneth. ~ Friedrich Nietzsche (1844-1900) Q. An honest politician and a merciful 'Ultimate Program' instructor both fall out of an airplane. Which one hits the ground first? A. Invalid question - neither of them exist.

Green Dash =Insulin Yellow Line = Blood glucose Red Line = HGH Orange Line = Average Glucose	There are positive hormonal responses  with both aerobic and anaerobic exercise.

• ALBANY, N.Y. (AP) - A new study suggests that doing intense interval training for 20 minutes three times a week is just as effective at boosting strength and endurance as five to six hours of jogging or moderate cycling.

"From a muscle perspective, when you do long, slow endurance training, you are only recruiting part of your muscle fibers to do the work," Gibala said. "In high intensity exercise, you call upon all of your muscle fibers. They respond and adapt."

Advanced Principles   Interval Training   A Lactate Threshold Program   Exercise Home   Lab analysis of amino acids

Our hormonal system is constantly the 'analyzing our blood' .. looking for changes in O2, CO2, glucose, waste byproducts.

• Huge HGH release associated with increased serum levels of lactic acid.

The American Society of Exercise Physiologists, reported at it's 2001 annual conference in Memphis, Tennessee  that six sets of 10 rep-maximum squats raised peak HGH significantly in the control group from 0.1 to 1.0 ug/L.   A 10X increase in that wonderful hormone, HGH!

Interval Training     Advanced concepts, routines & principles.

Interval Training     Advanced Concepts, Routines & Principles    Circuit Training

• Both aerobic & anaerobic exercise increase the amount of these cellular metabolic byproducts. 

  • The most commonly noted byproducts of the increased muscle / cellular activity are heat buildup & sweating.

  • Increasing the amount of muscle activity ( exercise ) results in increased cellular metabolic reactions which results in increased metabolic byproducts ( in addition to the mentioned heat released by the chemical reactions! )

pH levels are pretty involved chemistry, however all we need to be concerned with is the fact muscle and blood pH are strictly controlled within narrow ranges. Homeostasis (normal) pH is 7.4.  When we subject the muscle to hard exercise  large amounts of glucose are utilized to generate ATP (the energy molecule of the Krebs Cycle) very quickly. To obtain this large amount of energy the glucose molecules are spit in half to produce two molecules of lactic acid. The research on working muscle shows that the accumulation of lactic acid  in the muscle causes pH levels to drop. A lower pH means an increase in Hydrogen ions in the blood and/or muscle (that’s what the ‘H’ stands for). This is shown to interfere with the contractile force of muscle fibers, gradually preventing further contraction until movement ceases.

Higher rep / endurance / aerobic exercise / work includes primarily enzymatic / hormonal adaptation to lactate and ion accumulation first in the worked muscle then systemically.

Lactate threshold is mainly determined by the ability of the circulatory / vascular / excretory systems  to remove the increased metabolic byproducts ( including lactate ) being produced by a 'worked muscle' at the cellular level.

In addition to supplying oxygen & nutrients to the muscle, the circulatory / vascular / excretory systems must efficiently remove the metabolic waste byproducts created in the exercise / calorie burning / aerobic / anaerobic session.

• As the body removes metabolic byproducts from the worked muscles ( venous return blood ), the byproducts flow systemically in the blood until they are excreted from the body.

  • Simultaneously with localized muscle buildup of metabolic byproducts, the systemic 'metabolic byproduct' levels are increasing.

    • The altered chemical makeup of the exercised muscle effects systemic blood chemistry.

• The body is constantly monitoring the chemical composition of the blood. 

  • Increased waste products such as lactate and other byproducts of the energy producing Krebs cycle.

  • Blood gas concentration such as CO2 relative to O2.

  • The body reacts to the altered chemical composition of the blood with increased hormonal secretions, vascular dilation in some areas & vascular constriction in other areas.

Our endocrine system reacts to the exercise induced changes in blood chemistry, increased systemic metabolic byproducts, by releasing a variety of hormones. 

Exercising even one muscle to the 'lactate threshold' has systemic hormonal impact!

Let 'lactate threshold' window be an exercise goal in addition to the aerobic 'pulse rate' window.

  If you’re working at a low-enough intensity, your body will be capable of removing the lactic acid and other metabolic waste byproducts "on the fly" and you will be able to continue indefinitely, :-o.

When you start doing more than six reps, you start fatiguing the muscles. The muscles will start retaining lactic acid because the body  & the circulatory system cannot dispose of this increased level of the waste byproducts of exercise.

Lactic Acid burn is in the true physiological sense is a misnomer.  The burn has to do with a change in pH ( acid / base ) in the muscle due to the increase in lactic acid.  The burn is actually the result of the pH change.  But common usage refers to Lactic Acid Burn & we use that terminology here. 

• The burning sensation we are speaking of is a result of the  influx of lactic acid into the muscle fibers causing a change in pH  while training. This is caused through high repetitions both depleting glycogen in the muscle fibers and exhausting the oxygen supply in your muscles.

• Endurance athletes try bi-carbonate loading. It tends to ‘buffer’ (reduce) the increase in hydrogen ions and keep blood pH levels within the narrow ranges thus delaying fatigue.

Interesting stuff fatigue. It keeps many university faculties employed through the world and the answer is still not definitive!  Probably the clearest explanation can be seen from work by Dr. Hogan and colleagues at the university of California-San Diego and Auburn University. Their research investigated lactic acid accumulation (that burning in muscles when you reach failure) and pH levels. 

This research indicates that the body reacts to lactic acid build up by increasing  vascular capacity ( improved circulation ) & increased hormonal secretions.  It's a well-known fact that endurance training increases capillary density, increased diameter of existing blood vessels in addition to actually creating more blood vessels.

In regard to blood flow, the body has a network of extremely small blood vessels called capillaries. Their primary function deals with the exchange of oxygen, hormones, amino acids, glucose and lipids among other things. The exchange of certain nutrients at the capillary level is sometimes referred to as nutrient transfer. This blood flow through the capillaries remains relatively constant under resting conditions, but as soon as a muscle starts contracting, the blood flow is increased. It's with these extremely small capillaries that the muscles are supplied with all the nutrients they need for recovery.

Increased demand on the nutrient delivery / waste removal system causes the body to adapt by improving this delivery / removal vascular system.  This improvement in muscular circulation will increase ones lactate threshold, the second bodily system involved in endurance.  

• There are increases in HGH associated with relatively hard aerobics and relatively heavy anaerobic exercise ( weight lifting ).   

  • Participants in the  Ultimate Aerobic & Anaerobic Synergistic Exercise  Program will experience increased serum levels of HGH. 

• High-repetition, short-rest interval anaerobic exercise results in a significant amount of lactic acid accumulation within the working muscles.

  • The Anaerobic portion of this program addresses Aerobic / lactate threshold fitness through the use of circuit training principles.

• Short periods of increased intensity during periods of aerobic exercise also result in a significant increase of lactic acid present in the muscles.

  • The Aerobic portion of this program achieves some Anaerobic / lactate threshold benefits through the use of interval training principals.

• Both the anaerobic & the aerobic portions of the complete program are designed to increase HGH releasing lactic acid.

• For hormonal stimulation and weight loss do the aerobics first.   This will deplete blood glucose and stimulate fat metabolism for energy.  

• You will tend to "bonk" or run out of energy during the anaerobic portion of the program.

• The lower your blood glucose is when you exercise the more of a HGH spike you'll get, because HGH is part of the fat metabolism equation. 

  • With low blood sugar the body will need to metabolize / burn fat for energy.

Taking a week off from training every 8 to 10 weeks is very important for overall recuperation

• Many people have a psychological barrier to taking time off from training. They feel like they are going to shrink. Not so. In fact after your week off for complete recovery  you will usually come back stronger and energized.   I am always surprised how many reps I can pump out after several days off!

• As you perform your exercise routine many physiological reactions are taking place to make all this happen. Muscle contraction takes cellular energy, oxygen, chemical reactions within the cells, and a host of other molecular activities. As each rep is performed you deplete your muscles' capacity to contract with the same force as with the first rep. By the time you get to the last rep you have tapped out your muscle intra-cellular energy capacity.

• It is rather critical to let your muscles recover.  We do not recommend hard aerobics on back to back days or lifting weights on consecutive days.  If a muscle is not allowed to recover between workouts muscle growth will be impeded, over-training will occur, and muscle breakdown will be inevitable.  The chance of injury increases greatly if you work the same muscle group / joint hard day after day.

Recuperation is everything.