Lactate: Friend or Foe?
Changing the way we think about lactate by discovering it's true uses in recovery.
You're working out, you feel great while engaged in exercise, then after your workout you are physically drained and impossibly sore. If you bring this up to your gym friends you will inevitably hear someone say it's a lactic acid build up that is causing your discomfort. The truth is lactate (or lactic acid) isn't causing your muscle soreness and in years past has gotten a bad rap, another phenomenon we now have a better understanding of and have yet to break the "common knowledge". Your muscle soreness is more likely caused by a breakdown of the muscle tissue, or micro tears in order to rebuild, forming new connections and becoming stronger not a lactic acid build up.
George Brooks, a professor at the University of California Berkeley, is helping to spread the knowledge of what lactate really is and what benefits it has for the human body. Lactate is a major energy source, it supports blood sugar levels, and signals a metabolic adaptation to stress. It is an alternative energy source to glucose, and higher levels are noted in the blood in connection to intense bouts of exercise. Studies have shown lactate to actually benefit recovery time after injury or intense exercise instead of being a waste byproduct. Hopefully now we can all stop blaming Lactate for our soreness, and thank it for healing our bodies and keeping us going when glucose isn't quick enough.
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