A three year old article in the New York Times about lactic acid's role. Completely different than I was taught in health/phys ed. Something to consider when planning your next aerobic/anaerobic workout regime.
Lactic Acid Is Not Muscles' Foe, It's Fuel
Submitted by kdkoors on Fri, 09/04/2009 - 1:40pm
Just wanted you to know that that your article did not go unnoticed.
This was really interesting to read and has changed my coaching program.
#1 Wed, 09/09/2009 - 12:14pm
I too read the article......i think I saw a documentary about it a few years ago but couldnt really remember enough to be able to explain the new theory properly......this article is really good.....thanks for posting it kdkoors
veggies, I'd be interested to know what sort of things you do in your coaching programme (thats Queen's English hehehe) and how its changed.......I'm a coach too....only a hack though!
#2 Tue, 09/22/2009 - 5:51pm
Who are you calling a veggie Hound, we still do threshold training for lactic acid in preparation for marathon racing. What's the go, is that all out the window. I guess I'll have to read the article, I hope it has some nice pictures!!!!!!
When is the new coach arriving Mick, from your other post it is clear you have a plan to abdicate!@@#$$%
#3 Wed, 09/23/2009 - 1:57am
K "Veggies" give me the new training schedule. I was going on the old info and training below my threshold. so now what? you can fill me in on oct 2nd at our meeting :)
#4 Wed, 09/23/2009 - 4:04pm
From the article:
So, mostly nice long interval sessions striving to hit and maintain aerobic equilibrium for longer and longer periods. But transitioning to short anaerobic (burning) sprints the practice before a race.
Though this still does not explain/address muscle soreness. I'd probably plan at least two days of rest between that last practice and race day.
#5 Wed, 09/23/2009 - 7:26pm
The article really doesn't change the way we train, more how we perceive what is going on. High threshold training has always been part of the program, only we thought we were building our tolerance to lactic acid and not actually building the ability to produce more lactic acid. This was the biggest revelation to me from reading the article, as right before states or molokai, intervals would become extremely painful, and I always wondered why, shouldn't my tolerance be increasing? When in fact I was producing more lactic acid at peak then at the start of training.
The whole "sore next day from lactic acid" thing never made sense, the soreness localization is so different then the feeling of reaching your lactic threshold. It must be muscle fatigue/strain (?)
#6 Wed, 09/23/2009 - 8:16pm
Muscle soreness is the result of microscopic tears in the muscle tissue and if severe enough, swelling occurs also. Though painful, it's just of part of our natural strength building program. Research has found that a good warm-up helps some but will never eliminate the soreness. Remember - No pain, no gain?. Interesting that cool-downs have very little effect on reducing the soreness.
Light aerobic exercise the next day or two increases blood flow and repair. Ice or non-inflammatory meds help with the swelling. Massage also helps with recovery but not muscle performance.
Interesting note also - Some research has proven Yoga to be effective in the following days but normal stretching has shown no positive results.
#7 Sat, 09/26/2009 - 3:53pm