Lactate accumulation in response to supramaximal exercise in rowers

Area of Science:

• Exercise Physiology
• Sports Science
• Biochemistry

Background:

• Accurate assessment of energy supply during supramaximal exercise is crucial for performance analysis.
• The nonoxidative energy pathway's contribution is significant but challenging to quantify.
• Existing methods for estimating lactate accumulation have limitations.

Purpose of the Study:

• To evaluate three distinct methods for quantifying accumulated lactate (QLA) post-supramaximal exercise.
• To determine the correlation between QLA estimates and the accumulated oxygen deficit (AOD), a measure of nonoxidative energy supply.
• To validate the reliability of different QLA estimation techniques.

Main Methods:

• Nine athletes completed a 3-minute all-out rowing ergometer test.
• Accumulated Oxygen Deficit (AOD) was calculated.
• Lactate accumulation was estimated using three methods: Margaria's method (QLA(m1)), and two bicompartmental model-based methods (QLA(m2), QLA(m3)) applied to blood lactate recovery curves.

Main Results:

• Peak blood lactate concentration ((La)peak) showed no significant correlation with AOD.
• All three lactate accumulation methods (QLA(m1), QLA(m2), QLA(m3)) correlated with AOD.
• QLA(m2) (r=0.85) and QLA(m3) (r=0.92) demonstrated strong correlations with AOD, indicating their reliability.

Conclusions:

• Peak blood lactate concentration is an inadequate indicator of nonoxidative energy supply during supramaximal efforts.
• Blood lactate recovery curve analysis, particularly using bicompartmental models, provides a reliable method for estimating lactate accumulation.
• These findings support the use of lactate kinetics to quantify the nonoxidative energy contribution during high-intensity exercise.