Chemical to neutralize lactic acid quickly?

[wasteofo2]

After doing my first track practice today (and running about 4 miles), I began thinking about what a pain it is that lactic acids can't be neutralized quicker than they currently are. Is it known what chemical in the body eventually breaks them down, and is it available as a suplement?

 

[nautica]

Stretching and working the muscles will help.

If you don't mind me asking, where do you run track? Which event??

Nautica

 

[wasteofo2]

I know stretching/warming up will help, I was just hoping someone could say "dicarbon calcitide[totally made up] neutralizes lactic acid and is found in guava and lamb". This is my first year running track, I'm bassically just doing it to stay in shape, so I'll do whatever it turns out I'm best at. As of now, the team is still in the conditioning phase, but based on the fact that I'm over 6 feet tall, most people have said javalin/discus/high jump would be things I'll have a natural advantage at. I'm just going to try random events and see which I'm best in and concentrate on that I guess.

 

[zpenguin]

Eating stuff with lotsa potassium, such as bananas, will help.

 

[nautica]

Are you nuts? If so vaulting is cool.

I vaulted for the Razorbacks in 92'. One of the 36 times they won a national championship.

Nautica

 

[Monique]

How about drinking a cup of black coffee before a sprint? I've heard that it helps the performance somehow, but I am not sure anymore exactly how..

 

[nautica]

I believe the coffee only acts as a stimulant, which would speed up overall metabolism. But, don't get started on that b/c if you make it to the college level your dependence for a stimulant before a race will have elevated to substances besides coffee. And the NCAA test for every thing including caffiene.

Nautica

 

[adrenaline]

The problem with lactic acid buildup is to find a way to increase the anerobic threshold (so you don't build as much up in the first place ) or find a way accellerate the diffussion of lactic acid across the muscle celll membrane so that it gets taken up by the liver and converted back to glucose in the Cori cycle. Right now, and I'm trying to remember all the different kreb's cycle, cori, etc. that was rammed down our throats but the elimination of lactic acid just does not happen in the muscle cell. Remember, if muscular activity continues, the availability of oxygen for use at the end of the electron transport chain becomes the limiting factor and the cells soon exhaust their supplies of oxygen. When this happens, the citric acid cycle is inhibited and causes pyruvic acid to accumulate.
However, glycolysis continues even under anaerobic conditions even though the citric acid cycle works only under aerobic conditions. (when the cells become anaerobic, glycolysis continues if pyruvic acid is converted to lactic acid . The formation of lactic acid buys time and shifts part of the metabolic burden to the liver)


What I do as an athlete and with my athletes is tell them that lactic acid (post event, such as sprinting ) is best cleared with low intensity aerobic (with oxygen) movements. Though high intensity aerobics would supply ample amounts of oxygen to your body, it would also induce higher levels of lactic acid, which is counter productive. The first lactate threshold has been shown to be between 40 % and 60% of ones VO2 max, but may be higher for the elite athlete. For recovery, you would want to perform movements below your lactic threshold, so that lactic acid production is minimal, while oxygen consumption, and hence lactic acid clearance is maximized.



Several scientific journals support the notion of applied active recovery between working sets. A perfect example would be sprinters,(such as track and field if you are thinking of sprinting)which are often dubbed the cousins to bodybuilders due to their massive muscles achieved from high intensity, hypertrophy elicited movements. Active recovery was examined during repeated sprints in a study using college athletes that performed 2 maximum intensity sprints, separated with 4 minutes of either active recovery (cycling at 40% of their VO2 max), or passive recovery, on two separate occasions. Those who performed active recovery in-between sprints showed a much greater power output on the second sprint. They concluded that active recovery is superior to passive recovery for performance. If you want the referance journal I can dig it up. I have a vested interest in this since I see a lot of athletes as well.

 

[nautica]

Body builders are, also, using this technique. Sprinters have been using it for years, but didn't know it.

Also, as far as the relationship of bodybuilders to sprinters - bodybuilders have switched from low intenisty areobic exercise for fat burning to using sprint training. Though highly debateable, this seems to be a more effecient method of burning fat while maintaining muscle. (Besides, what body builder wouldn't love to look like Mr. Johnson, himself)

Nautica

 

[wasteofo2]

Eating stuff with lotsa potassium, such as bananas, will help.

I've heard that before, and I might as well try it, but do you have anything showing how/why potassium helps people not camp up?

Are you nuts? If so vaulting is cool.

I vaulted for the Razorbacks in 92'. One of the 36 times they won a national championship.

Nautica

Well, I actually ended up trying vaulting, but I had suspicions about being nuts anyway. Vaulting's lots of fun, but it showed me just how weak my upper body was. Looks like I'll be doing some weight training along with cardio during practice from now on.

How about drinking a cup of black coffee before a sprint? I've heard that it helps the performance somehow, but I am not sure anymore exactly how..

Monique - Even if I needed a stimulant, I'd probabally choose something like red bull, I can't stand coffee. Though I'm not looking for any sort of preformance enhancer, just a way to avoid cramps.

Adrenaline - I have no idea what Vo2 max is, could you elaborate upon it? Also, how do I determine mine? Bassically I gathered from your post that after extreme exercise you want to do light exercise that wouldn't exhaust you in order to get o2 to the muscles, something like a slow jog, right?

 

[adrenaline]

sorry about that, just assumed about the vo2 max, (maximum rate or oxygen consumption) here is a link on what it is and another link on how to calculate it.
http://www.coolrunning.com/major/97/training/hampson.html

http://www.runnersweb.com/running/vo2.shtml

 

[wasteofo2]

That site with the calculator says that if I run anything under an 11 minute mile, I'm exceeding my VO2 max, that can't be right...

 

[adrenaline]

Try this link from brigham young...it is really not as accurate as having it done in a exercise kinesiology lab, (you may have one at a university near you and for the price a an expensive pair of sneakers, you can get it done.)

the above link said my VO2 max is about 59 which is a little under where I've been told it was during last years bike race season...I wish they had numbers for biking instead since I hardly run!

http://www.templerepair.com/VO2%20max/calculating_vo2.htm

 

[nautica]

That site with the calculator says that if I run anything under an 11 minute mile, I'm exceeding my VO2 max, that can't be right...

11 minutes - you could walk backwards faster than that.

Nautica