[Final blood lactate concentration after incremental test and aerobic performance]

The aim of the study was to check the hypothesis that elite endurance athletes (junior and national team) show the decreased final blood lactate concentration after incremental test till exhaustion with increased aerobic performance level. 20 physical active men and 45 elite middle and long distance endurance athletes (speed skaters, triathletes, cross country skiers) participated in the study. Significant negative correlations (r = -0.59--0.87) were found between final blood lactate concentration after incremental test till exhaustion and aerobic performance (anaerobic threshold (AT)) for athletes groups and not for physically active subjects. Moreover the less final blood lactate concentration and more VO2 at AT have elite speed skates, the higher volume of type I muscle fibers in working muscle they have (r = -0.84 and r = 0.7, accordingly).