What is the Lactate Threshold?

As you exercise, your body takes carbohydrates and uses them for energy, and lactate is produced when your body breaks down the carbs. At a steady rate of exercise, your body can produce and remove the lactate well so it doesn’t build up. But there is a point of exercise where blood lactate levels will abruptly increase, and your body cannot remove the lactate anymore. It will accumulate and make you fatigue more quickly. This point is referred to as your lactate threshold.

Knowing your lactate threshold can give us great insight into how your body uses energy and can manage physical stress. The higher your lactate threshold is, the better your aerobic energy and endurance can perform (lactate threshold and VO2Max work hand-in-hand to evaluate aerobic endurance).

But how can we use lactate threshold at Center for Movement and Wellbeing? 

• Knowing your lactate threshold can give us a maximum intensity to work at or just below. We know when you will fatigue, so we can prevent you reaching that point. 
• Training just below your lactate threshold can teach your body to clear lactate more efficiently, and it burns high amounts of calories for weight loss.
• Knowing your lactate threshold can help to prevent overtraining or going too hard unnecessarily; it encourages progression at controlled rates.
• Lactate threshold is trackable and reveals genuine progress of aerobic endurance.