See the following NYT article:
http://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/16/health/nutrition/16run.html
(Note that it's an article by Gina Kolata, who has put forward a number of myths as fact in the past.)
OK, have at it, you anaerobic threshold training advocates.
Is lactic acid build up good or bad?
Mon, 05/15/2006 - 11:18pm
Tue, 05/16/2006 - 5:08am
#1
The problem I have with the article is the contradiction on explaining how to increase mitochondria. The first says it is done by intense training. The second says endurance is the key. If both do it then it should be stated there are 2 ways.
Tue, 05/16/2006 - 6:49am
#2
This is interesting. I sometimes notice after a long nycc lunch on a fast ride a tightness in my thighs, which I assume to be lactic acid build up. It will go away soon enough and the muscles will feel sometimes fresher than they did earlier on in the ride. It's like the wall in the marathon. For a while, your muscles are so tight you feel like you can hardly move, and yet not long after that you're running fine again. Maybe it's the switch over from one fuel system to another that causes tightness. Interesting.
Tue, 05/16/2006 - 7:57am
#3
Same here. I don't feel truly warmed up until I go anaerobic. After that, I feel even fresher.
It seems lactic acid, if you are in shape, can be converted to fuel before it builds up. But, after a point, it does slow you down.
Tue, 05/16/2006 - 9:44am
#4
actually (nm)
"that tightness is commonly referred to as ""pump"" and is blood.
cardio, aerobic and anerobic systems are all trainable, specificity is key as are stress levels.
with that comes the adaptability you mention, but ultimately the body safeguards itself and it shuts down."
Tue, 05/16/2006 - 11:00am
#5
thanks, walter, i didn't know about pump. there you go.
karol
Tue, 05/16/2006 - 1:15pm
#6
There WE go!
Tue, 05/16/2006 - 1:32pm
#7
"'Lactic acid:Lactate- ""bad guy"" no longer.....vital fuels'"
Clarifies a lot of what the Times article sought to accomplish.
http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/lactic-acid.html
As an aside I have noticed recently that the Times has been publishing a lot of articles that seem to be devoid of any real substance, like teaser articles with catchy headlines. I wonder am I alone in thinking this??
Case in point 'Impressive New Tricks of Light, All Within the Laws of Physics' May 16, 2006
Tue, 05/16/2006 - 9:36pm
#8
"You're not alone. I agree completely.
And I read a book by this article's author (Gina Kolata) -- title was ""Ultimate Fitness,"" I think. Total waste of time. I routinely devour (and retain, for the most part) books on fitness, nutrition, training, etc. I couldn't tell you the first thing about ""Ultimate Fitness."" Not even sure what its central thesis was (and I'll bet Ms. Kolata would have difficulty explaining it, too). I've tended to stay away from her articles ever since.
--DvB"
Wed, 05/17/2006 - 6:02am
#9
I am so glad I am not alone!!!
I have been feeling the same way about Kolata'a and others from the Times articles for about a year. I went to school for exercise science and I have been noticing that The Times writers contradict themselves in these fitness articles frequently and oversimply (even for a newspaper article) things. For example in the lactic acid article she mentions a lactate threshold test in the category of a misguided test or something only someone behind the times would do - which is just plain not consistent with how top athletes train. They all use Lactic acid threshold tests to measure progress and set training zones. It has nothing to do with lactic acid being good or bad. Also, it may be good but its still ultimately what stops you when you go too hard....
Sorry Gina, used to be a huge fan, now, not so much.
Niko
Tue, 05/16/2006 - 9:21am
#10
High Performance Bicycling Nutrition:Richard Rafoth MD
Great book
Wed, 05/17/2006 - 10:00am
#11
Some missing Factoids
Anaerobic excercise, leading to the buildup of lactic acid lowers muscle pH. The lower pH (higher conc of [H+]) of muscle shifts the equilibrium:
Phosphocreatine + ADP + [H+] <==> creatine + ATP
to the right, making more ATP and depleting phosphocreatine. Normally ATP is what is used as the direct chemical energy source to work muscles (it's made from sugars, lactic acid etc.) and phosphocreatine is there in case the ATP is used up too fast as in anaerobic conditions.
Thus buildup of lactic acid leads to depletion of a muscle's phosphocreatine stores. No mention of phosphocreatine stores at all in the NYT article. (BTW too much creatine eaten as a food supplement to increase phosphocreatine stores somehow makes muscles prone to unpredictably occuring complete muscle tears. I guess to make ATP faster, it must be better to work out and build up the number of mitochondria, the factories that carry out some key steps to make ATP from sugar)
I'm no expert on this, but the NYT article left me with a few questions about how these omitted factoids factor in.
Wed, 05/17/2006 - 4:33pm
#12
Lactate shuttle
"You may find this link interesting Nikko, JMF and the rest, as I your comments on creatine, JMF. Yes, build up more energy producing factories get those fast twitchers to act more like slow twitchers when needed.
http://www.pponline.co.uk/encyc/0175.htm
Could it be an (Times) editorial shift, kind of dumbing down? I don't mind easy reading, but the way arcane subject matter is treated I often find myself saying ""huh""; what was that? To quote JMF ""missing factoids""
"
