The Lactic Myth

This little blog is about something I have believed since being officially educated in the field of physiology. The belief is that Lactic Acid is a fuel, not a waste product, as people are generally led to believe. It can be the reason we get stiff, the reason we tire, and the reason our muscles scream out to us to stop. But is that really what it is for? I say no. That is more psychological than physiological. It is an early warning system, yes. But that is not how it gets approached. People tend to push it to the ‘lactic burn’ stage, then stop. When all that acid has built up in the muscles. What do we expect will happen when we build all that potential energy up with nowhere for it to go? I will get to the science of it in a moment and provide some external professional information. For now, I will continue to deliver my own as well as speculate.

It is true, no doubt, that there is an onset of perceived weakness resulting from Lactic buildup. But it is not a weakness. It is the body injecting yet more fuel into the muscles. The body has numerous and wonderful ways to supply fuel to our bodies. Especially when we believe there to be none remaining. Out of the three main energy systems and delivery methods. The Lactate is my favourite. I look at it as the ‘Grit your teeth and go’ system. Where the real work gets done. Once you have passed into that Lactic threshold(out of the Aerobic system), you are in a world of work. They say it is sustainable for up to 20 minutes, give or take, and a lot of common knowledge would suggest that once you have exhausted that system, you are on your last legs. But that is poppycock, I tell you. Ask any endurance athlete to read this and see if they agree with what I say. It is entirely possible to return to the Aerobic system once you have used up the Lactic Acid, clearing it from your muscles.
Here is a miniature test for you. We will use a smaller muscle, the calf.

Stand on one foot, preferably on a step or something similar, to increase the range of motion, maintain your balance, and do ten to fifteen full-range calf raises.
If you are not made of metallic machine, then you should feel a little ‘Lactic Burn’ almost instantly. And if you just stop dead without a bit more continual movement, then your calf will cramp a little, yes? This is the basic mechanism of Lactic Acid. It accumulates with effort, and if left unused then it will cause brief problems. Don’t let it be a problem for you. Use it as the fuel it was intended.

Now for a little science on the subject.
Firstly, let us not get Lactic Acid and Lactate confused, as it usually does by folk in the industry. Lactic Acid is a product of Lactate. It is an organic acid that accumulates for a very short time. It doesn’t hang around long and requires to be used up quickly and not left to fade and stagnate. Lactate is a more complex issue concerning the production of Adenosinetriphosphate(ATP)(which I have not had to spell for quite some time :-D). It is a direct product of the Lactate system in action. It is an Acid Salt that accumulates, and this is what is measured in tests. Which causes the initial confusion. But it is still not responsible for hampering performance. Instead, it helps(believe it or not) to regulate the PH of the blood while under stress.
I’m trying not to throw too much scientific terminology at you guys, so finally. Lactic acid can be dealt with in two ways. It can be converted back to its base compound(pyruvate) by well-oxygenated muscles. Or it can be converted into glucose, to be stored or used elsewhere in the body. Either way, it is pretty much a harmless substance, quite the opposite of general opinion, I think you would agree by now. But like anything else, if not regulated correctly, it will start to cause problems. Short term, they are minimal. Long term, well, that’s probably a subject for another blog 🙂
It appears that more and more folks are waking up to the obvious facts and applications of Lactic Acid. With science having to catch up on this occasion, as they need ‘proof’ of everything, and can be quite ignorant about it. “Show me the research”. But there you have it.

Hope you enjoyed this. As always, I try to keep it as short and digestible as possible.