Threshold Thursday!

Below are two posts by Coach Rachel about lactate threshold. Enjoy!

Lactate Threshold
Happy Threshold Thursday! 
There has been a lot of talk over the last couple of weeks about Lactate Threshold. For those of you who are a bit new to this, lactate threshold or LT refers to the intensity of exercise at which there is a sudden increase in blood lactate (Roberts and Robergs, 1997). Interestingly lactate is actually not the problem but instead protons that accumulate when your body must meet certain energy needs anaerobically. Lactate is actually the buffer but is therefore also an indicator of anaerobic metabolism. 

I wanted to share a recent study with you regarding lactate clearance. As we all know, the key to increasing your performance is MAXIMIZING RECOVERY and for a very long time researchers have not been able to figure out how best to clear lactate after a hard workout. This new article reports faster lactate clearance for active recovery vs. passive (finally a reason for that dreaded cool down). Active recovery at 60-100% seemed to clear lactate most effectively. And of course, the faster we recover, the faster we can train again.

LASTLY, today I contacted Dr. Smith about the possibility of getting some physical tests: LT, VO2max and DEXA. That being said, we would REALLY like for all of you to be consistently completing medals tests before you become infatuated with physical tests. I will keep you posted as to what Dr. Smith says.

One final parting note!! I have noticed just how jazzed everyone is on training. Please remember that another one of those am I getting a positive response to training things is whether you are able to do each workout at your best. If you're being subpar in a workout, it probably means your doing too much.

I am so impressed with your AWESOME, INSPIRATIONAL TRAINING 

Robergs, R.A., & Roberts, S. 1997. Exercise Physiology: Exercise, performance, and clinical applications. St Louis, MO: Mosby.

It's Threshold Thursday!

On this Threshold Thursday I have been pondering an article that Kyle and I discussed a year or so ago. It was a study done in male Junior skiers in Estonia. I will upload this article for all of you to read but the primary data collected were Heart Rate and Blood Lactate during a mixed summer training session. Twelve strength exercises were done and then afterward, the skiers ran a 1500 meter at anaerobic threshold. The data show that although heart rates were relatively similar during the strength exercises and the run, blood lactate levels were substantially different. In the run, they were only around 2-2.7 mmol/L. However, in the strength exercises they were high (between 5.0 and 6.1 mmol/L). The authors of the article are wordy with their possible conclusions, and I would love for all of you to read the article. However, one conclusion that struck me is that we may not be aware of the extent of blood lactate accumulation when we do strength and our Heart Rate monitors are underestimating our lactate levels. So, what are your thoughts on helping our bodies recover from max strength then? Can't wait to hear your thoughts!

Nurmekivi et al. (2008) Biology of Sport, Metabolic Effect of Stength Endurance Exercise complex in Young Cross-country Skiers. 25. 297-306.