The Science of Lactic Acid Production in Athletes

Your lungs ache. Sweating buckets, you keep pumping your legs. It's hard, but you're almost at the top. Your legs hurt, they really hurt. "Is this normal?!" you ask yourself, as your legs feel more and more like solid rocks than something that you can actually move. The feeling in your legs seems to drain you of your energy, but actually, it is meant to give you energy. This is part of the lactic acid cycle and ATP.

What is lactic acid?

Lactic acid as we know it is basically lactate, which is a byproduct of lactic acid fermentation. We mostly know lactic acid in the form that builds up in our muscles, which often happens during exercise because our bodies are in an oxygen-deprived state.

How do we normally get our energy?

Normally, our bodies use oxygen in a cycle called oxidative phosphorylation, where the biggest of three parts that produce ATP, without this cycle, the body doesn't produce nearly as much ATP, as it can only undergo glycolysis.

Why do we produce lactic acid?

Our bodies need energy, especially when exercising, when you exercise, your cells break down various macromolecules to synthesize ATP in a process called cellular respiration. Cellular respiration requires, among other things, oxygen. In a lack of oxygen, such as when one exercises, the body resorts to breaking down carbohydrates (such as glucose) to make the needed energy. There are various stages of energy usage which I won't go in to because it makes everything more complicated, but you can find information here.

The real culprit behind the burning

Although lactic acid is really critical to the production of ATP and exercise, research has indicated that it is not actually the lactic acid that burns, although it does make you sore. The real culprit is hydrogen. As a result of the breakdown of ATP, hydrogen is released, hydrogen is acidic, and with the body not being able to clear it fast enough, builds up in your muscles, and burns. This may seem to make everything even more confusing, but just remember its all part of the same process, which is the producion and usage of ATP.

How do athletes treat lactic acid?

In competitive athletes and across a variety of sports (such as endurance and strength endurance sports like running, cycling, rowing, etc) lactic acid can often be viewed as a negative thing, despite its overall positive effects. This is because it hurts, and that pain may prevent even better performance in athletes. So what can you do? One solution for athletes is lactate threshold training. It may seem complicated at first, but the basic premise is to train in a certain intensity level so that an athlete can build up their 

Conclusion

Lactic acid may hurt, but it is a necessary part of a lot of sports. When we know the science, we can really see how lactic acid helps us in the end, by producing energy in the absence of oxygen. Learning to deal with lactic acid can greatly help an athlete and give them an edge up on the competition, but when you are in pain and doubt, you may use the wise words of my coach, "Just get on with it."

Writers comments/Why I wrote this article

Lactic acid is something that I often deal with as a rower, and it constitutes a good deal of the pain that comes with rowing. I wanted to seek out more information about it that might possibly help me and other athletes.