Does lactate really cause muscle fatigue during intense exercise?


No. Accumulation of lactate was long blamed for a type of muscle fatigue, but recent thought disputes this idea. During intense activity, anaerobic breakdown of glucose produces lactate. Muscles release lactate formed during exercise into the blood, and it travels to the liver. There, liver enzymes convert the lactate back into glucose. Glucose can then return to the muscles to fuel additional activity. At low intensities, lactate is readily cleared from the blood by the liver, but at higher intensities, lactate accumulates. When the rate of lactate production exceeds the rate of clearance, intense activity can be maintained for only one to three minutes (as in a 400- or 800-meter race or a boxing match). It is true that muscles produce lactate during a type of fatigue, but the lactate does not cause the fatigue.

Nutritional Science

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