On Sunday 17th October Dr Malcolm Robson will be giving us a talk about some sport sciencey stuff, writes Gavin Stephens.
He will be doing regular lactate testing this year (don't worry, I don't think he measures the level of alcohol in your blood!). The talk will now take place at the House of Sport from 13:00.
For those of you who don't know, it's the white building near van Mildert, but don't worry because we'll all be walking up together after training. There will be a light buffet, put on by Gary, before the talk starts. For recreational guys, this buffet is also available for you for when you come to sign up. You are all expected to be there!
Can everyone (recs and competitives) please bring passport photos (with your name printed clearly on the back in pencil) with your money. This is for a membership card.
Here's a basic summary of lactate testing courtesy of Jay Quayle, University of Salford:
Lactate testing is quite common within many sports and has been utilised for many years, and I myself have tested several athletes/students! It is essentially a test of endurance, but may be adapted. There are several forms of lactate testing, including the general test and also alactic and lactate clearence tests, all serving a variety of puposes.
It is often used within swimming for a variety of sets, not just 7*200m. By doing this at several speeds the coach can view the interaction of lactate build up and pace, which provides the coach with valuable info about swimmers training zones.
Initially lactate concentrations rise slowly, before increasing sharply at a clearly defined point, the 'lactate threshold', which corresponds to the shift in metabolism from aerobic to anaerobic within the muscle cells after exercise has begun. The lactate threshold is the point at which lactate is being produced faster than it can be metabolised and it so accumulates, passing into the blood and causing fatigue (and the pain in your muscles often felt when swimming).
By identifying your threshold, very accurate intensities can be set for your training session. This will allow you to train at maximum speeds with minimal build up of lactate, whilst also increaing your tolerance to lactate and allowing you to swim faster for a prolonged period. It will also help you to prevent over training and undue fatigue caused by long ineffective training programmes.
I believe this is a very useful testing protocol, although specialist equipment is required.
That is essentially the basics of it, hope it helps!
