Tuesday, April 14, 2015

Lactic Acid

Here is a great article on Lactate that I thought would be helpful to those that do a lot of running.  Information courtesy of Jeff Gaudette.

Ditch the 1970’s physiology. Lactate is your friend

Lactate, or lactic acid as it is commonly known, gets a bad rap thanks to some faulty science from the 1970′s.

While an excess accumulation of lactate contributes to why runners slow down at the end of races, lactic acid itself isn’t responsible for the muscle fatigue that causes you to do the skeleton dance at the end of a race.

In fact, lactate is actually a source of energy.

Hydrogen ions are the real culprit

The cause of your muscle fatigue is actually the result of a build-up of hydrogen ions.  

For each lactate molecule produced by the body, one hydrogen ion is also formed. Hydrogen ions lower the blood pH and make the muscles acidic. This acidity irritates muscle nerve endings and causes that pain, heaviness, and burning mistakenly attributed to lactic acid.

How lactate really works

As you probably already know, your body breaks down glucose for energy, and a byproduct of this process is lactate.

During easy running, your body reconverts and recycles this lactic acid back into energy (through the Cori Cycle) and carries away hydrogen ions with it.

Therefore, the production of lactate, and the clearance of hydrogen, will remain relatively constant while running at an easy aerobic pace, which doesn’t require a huge demand for energy.

As you continue to run faster and demand more energy, the production of lactic acid will slowly increase. At some point, whether it be too fast a pace or holding a steady pace for too long, the production of lactic acid will soar and your body will no longer be able to convert lactate back into energy.

At this point, lactate can’t grab its hydrogen ion to reduce the concentration of hydrogen in the muscle cell. And, as we learned previously, hydrogen is what causes the muscles to seize up.

How this knowledge changes your approach to lactate threshold training

Now that we understand how lactate really works in the body, and have discovered the true culprit of our muscle fatigue, how does that change our approach to training?

Recent research indicates that the goal of endurance training shouldn’t be to reduce the production of lactic acid but to improve the ability to clear lactate from the blood.

Simply speaking, we shift from the idea of increasing our tolerance for lactate production to the idea of increasing how efficiently our body utilizes lactate as an energy source.

The faster we can train our body to reconvert lactate back into energy in the liver, the longer and faster we can run at a given pace.

Therefore, the goal of your lactate threshold training shouldn’t be on how to reduce lactic acid production, but train your body to use it efficiently.  

While this shift in thinking is slight, it radically changes how you approach your lactate threshold workouts.

Lactate clearance workouts

Of course, traditional tempo runs, tempo intervals, and cruise intervals help increase your body’s ability to clear or reconvert lactate. However, you can implement special lactate clearance workouts into your training to more specifically target this niche of your training.

My favorite lactate clearance workout is what I call the lactate clearance tempo.

Lactate clearance tempo

The purpose of the lactate clearance tempo is to spike lactic acid production by starting with faster miles and then train your body to efficiently process the lactate while still running at a reasonable pace (CURRENT marathon pace).

This will help make you more efficient at reconverting lactate to energy on race day.

The lactate clearance workout is a great tempo effort for runners training for the 5k or 10k. It allows you to run at or near goal pace for part of the workout and still get the benefit of a threshold run.

The objective is to run the first mile or two of a tempo run at about CURRENT 10k fitness pace and then back off the last mile or two miles at current half marathon or marathon fitness pace.

Here’s how the workout might look for a 3:30 marathoner:

2 mile w/u, 2 x 3 miles (first 2 miles at 7:20 last mile at 7:50 pace) w/3 min rest, 1 mile c/d

To increase the total length of the workout, you can break the tempo into two or three 3 to 4 mile sessions. This will allow you to keep your volume high without going overboard with the workout.

Notes
  • This workout serves as good practice for those runners who can’t control their pace early in a race. This will help you “recover” if you go out too fast.

  • Doing more than 4 miles in one “set” is difficult. We keep the sets to 3 or 4 miles.

  • Remember, the “slow” mile is designed to teach your body how to become efficient at processing lactate. Running faster just because you can reduces the effectiveness. Faster is not always better.
We’ll implement these workouts in your schedule to spice things up and improve your lactate clearance rate.

Try them out yourself. I guarantee it will be a great training stimulus and a neat way to "feel" lactate clearing.

Wednesday, April 1, 2015

Supernutrients: Everything you Need to Know

Shakeology is packed with supernutrients. Now we know you are probably like, “say whaaaaat, what’s a supernutrient?” Well, you’re not alone. Take a look:






Okay, that video may have only left you more confused. Allow us to explain. What is a supernutrient? Supernutrients are powerful nutritional components within superfoods that provide vital health benefits. Basically, they are the parts of superfoods that actually cause the foods to be “super.” For example, a bilberry is a superfood. One of the components of bilberries (which are an ingredient of Shakeology) that make them “super” is anthocyanins, which help support eye health. Therefore, anthocyanins are one of bilberry’ssupernutrients. Got it? Great!Shakeology has a smorgasbord of supernutrients in its ingredients, which is why you really do get your daily dose of dense nutrition with each delicious glass. Throughout the month we will be going into detail about which foods have which supernutrients, but here are a few examples now to give you an idea. Supernutrient: AMINO ACIDS What it does: Are the building blocks of proteins which help build and maintain muscle health Which ingredients in Shakeology have this: Whey, Pea, Chia, Quinoa, Amaranth, Flax, Sacha Inchi; Vegan Protein blend also includes Oat and Rice Proteins Supernutrient: PUNICALAGIN What it does: May help benefit the heart and the health of blood vessels Which ingredients in Shakeology have this: Pomegranate Supernutrient: FLAVONOIDS What it does: Protects the body form oxidative stress Which ingredients in Shakeology have this: Spinach and Kale Supernutrient: SAPONINS What it does: May help promote nutrient absorption Which ingredients in Shakeology have this: Astragalus, Ashwagandha, Schisandra, Ginkgo, Tulsi [Holy Basil] Supernutrient: TANNINS What it does: May help support cardiovascular health Which ingredients in Shakeology have this: Blueberries, Bilberries, Yacon, Pomegranate These are only SOME of the supernutrients in Shakeology that you consume every time you blend up a yummy shake. Not only is Shakeology a treat to your taste buds, but it is also a great way to treat your body to the nutrition it deserves. Are you heading to the kitchen right now to make a shake? We thought so. We put Shakelogy’s supernutrients to the test this month. Bilberry and Maitake battled foods masquerading as healthy, ahem sugary smoothie and blueberry muffin, and Yacon Root, Pomegranate, Ginkgo, and Moringa took on traditional unhealthy staples – Cheeseburger and Donut. The result of the first two battles are in. Watch below to find out!





Most people are nutrient deficient and just one serving of  Shakeology has enough nutrients to satisfy the recommended daily allowance. Not to mention the energy, reduced cravings and the regularity that goes along with it. For more information and your free account click the link below.
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