What Is The Lactate Threshold?
Lactate Threshold (LT) is the highest steady-state exercising intensity an athlete can maintain for prolonged periods of time (>30 minutes). It relates to the muscle fatigue and loss of performance that endurance athletes like cyclists, rowers, runners, swimmers, and cross-country skiers experience by doing sustained high-intensity exercise. Lactate is a by-product of anaerobic metabolism that is produced during exercise, when lactate acid is produced. During light and moderate-intensity exercise, blood concentration of lactate remains low. The body is, therefore, able to remove (absorb) lactate faster than your muscles produce it. When intensity is high, there’s a point when lactate absorption fails to keep up with the rate of production. This is the LT. Excessive blood lactate and hydrogen ion concentrations combine to interfere with efficient muscle contraction, and as a result, power output drops, suffering increases, and you’re forced to back off. This will increase your body’s ab
