Maximal Lactate Steady State's Dependence on Cycling Cadence

The maximal lactate steady state (MLSS) depicts the highest blood lactate concentration (BLC) that can be maintained over time without a continual accumulation at constant prolonged workload. In cycling, no difference in the MLSS was combined with lower power output related to peak workload (I_MLSS) at 100 than at 50 rpm. MLSS coincides with a respiratory exchange ratio (RER) close to 1. Recently, at incremental exercise, an RER of 1 was found at similar workload and similar intensity but higher BLC at 100 than at 50 rpm. Therefore, the authors reassessed a potential effect of cycling cadences on the MLSS and tested the hypothesis that the MLSS would be higher at 105 than at 60 rpm with no difference in I_MLSS in a between-subjects design (n = 16, age 25.1 ± 1.9 y, height 178.4 ± 6.5 cm, body mass 70.3 ± 6.5 kg vs n = 16, 23.6 ± 3.0 y, 181.4 ± 5.6 cm, 72.5 ± 6.2 kg; study I) and confirmed these findings in a within-subject design (n = 12, 25.3 ± 2.1 y, 175.9 ± 7.7 cm, 67.8 ± 8.9 kg; study II). In study I, the MLSS was lower at 60 than at 105 rpm (4.3 ± 0.7 vs 5.4 ± 1.0 mmol/L; P = .003) with no difference in I_MLSS (68.7% ± 5.3% vs 71.8% ± 5.9%). Study II confirmed these findings on MLSS (3.4 ± 0.8 vs 4.5 ± 1.0 mmol/L; P = .001) and I_MLSS (65.0% ± 6.8% vs 63.5% ± 6.3%; P = .421). The higher MLSS at 105 than at 60 rpm combined with an invariance of I_MLSS and RER close to 1 at MLSS supports the hypothesis that higher cadences can induce a preservation of carbohydrates at given BLC levels during low-intensity, high-volume training sessions.