Why does lactate threshold correlate with performance?

[@egehakanarslan]

Dr. Burnley, thanks for amazing content.

[@superturboblufer]

anaerobic glycolysis consumes 18x times more carbohydrates as aerobic to generate ATP. So a bad lactate threshold is an indicator of fast glycogen depletion. this matters even more than the slow component

[@Upsidestrength]

That "worse graph if all time" comment was fantastic 🤣 thanks for another great video 🙌

[@lansseaudulac1601]

Many thanks for all your meaningful content. It's a real pleasure every week! I was wondering, what about the ability of using a higher proportion of lipids into the substrates' mix at those intensities (moderate and heavy)? Would it be correlated to endurance performance as well?

[@all-outphysiology2177]

Yes, it would. There are a few ways to increase fat oxidation. The best way is through training. There is some limited evidence that increasing fat intake might shift substrate utilisation a bit, but this will likely compromise high-intensity endurance performance. Louise Burke has published a lot of work on that aspect of metabolism. L-carnitine can also be supplemented to increase fat oxidation, but it takes a long time (6 months +) and the effects are, in my view, marginal compared to endurance training itself.

[@hikerJohn]

For those of us that dont whant to have lab work done. How do we know what HR to train at. My HR is all over the place because I'm training on trails with hills for 10 miles (1400 ft gain and loss 5 miles out and 5 miles back) and I sometimes do the 10 miles twice. My average HR if I take it easy with no running is 124 bpm and that's about 3hrs. If I add running on the flats I do it in 2:38 with an ave HR of 148. Is that 148 good for a 2:30 time or should I push even harder for a 150 HR average or less or what? My max HR that I can get to is about 183 but I dont do that very often. I'm also 68 years old but I feel like I should be able to do much more. I'm also Keto and near carnivore because every time I try eating carbs for any length of time my A1C climbs up to over 5.6. As I am I can hike slow for 12-15 hrs a day and hike 22-28 miles

[@nitro1sport]

Fabulous, thank you so much. So, if the lactate threshold is so impotant for endurance performance what are the best ways to improve it ? How long does it takes and to what extend it can be improved ?

[@all-outphysiology2177]

The simple answer is aerobic training. Literally everything you do there that is worthwhile should increase LT. Provided the mitochondria are placed under stress they will adapt. This will reduce lactate production in muscle under stress and increase lactate clearance in muscle that is not.

[@bestrabbits6208]

Is aerobic training ,training at low intensities for long hours or is it the short high intesity intervals ,thanks

[@PhiyackYuh]

If lactate threshold correlate with performance in endurance sports, would the so called “sweet spot” training where you generate 88-94% of your lactate threshold power be the best bang for buck for time crunched athletes rather than focusing on 80/20 polarise training? I would assume if an individual has time in their hands 80/20 polarised training would be best suited on top of full time work and other commitments outside training? Will you be discussing science behind foam rolling in endurance sports as an exercise physiologist? Seems like lots of physios do not believe helps with tissue work but then these so called physios never train or do any volume work like endurance athletes does. Curious to know your take on it. Many thanks.

[@bogdanpetrica]

I am not expert, but my understanding is that the Lactate Threshold the speaker is referring in these videos is much lower than the "Sweep Spot" Intensity Domain in the 5 zone training model from Andrew Coggen. The Lactate Threshold here is more the boundary between Zone 2 and Zone 3 in the 5 zone model.