Lactate Removal from the Blood of Trained Distance Runners Following Strenuous Intermittent Exercise

The purpose of the study was to investigate the rate of lactate removal from the blood of trained distance runners, during recovery from maximal intermittent exercise. Five well trained male subjects (mean VO2 max of 69.79 ml/kg/min) were selected for the study. Four of the subjects were members of the 1975 Intercollegiate Cross Country team and one was a member of the 1975 Intercollegiate Soccer team at Eastern Illinois University. Each subject received an orientation to the treadmill and a maximum oxygen consumption test prior to the actual test procedure. The test procedure consisted of three separate warm-down periods following maximal intermittent exercise. The three warm-down periods were 30 minutes in duration and consisted of sitting, walking at four miles per hour, and jogging at eight miles per hour. Blood samples were drawn from an arm vein of the subject five, 15, and 30 minutes following exercise and were analyzed for lactate. A Friedman two-way analysis of variance by ranks was used to test whether there were any significant differences between the blood lactate concentrations of the different warm-down procedures. It was concluded that the 30 minute, eight mile per hour jog was a better warm-down procedure than the 30 minute, four mile per hour walk for removal of lactate from the blood of trained distance runners. Sitting for 30 minutes was the least effective method