Biosen C-Line Glucose and Lactate analyzers for athletes

During endurance exercises such as long-distance running and cycling, when the demand for energy is high, lactate is produced faster than the ability of the tissues to remove it. As a result lactate concentration in the blood begins to rise.

The use of a lactate analyzer helps coaches and athletes to determine optimum training programs, define training zones, and avoid inefficient training exercises.

Intense training teaches the body to use lactate as a source of fuel on a par with the carbohydrates stored in muscle tissue and blood sugar. Athletes increase their lactate threshold by training harder, this means their blood lactate increases later and they can maintain a higher work-load.

In fitness, sports, and cardio-rehabilitation measuring lactate is supportive to define training intensities for maximum fat catabolism, increases in endurance, and avoid critical over-exhaustion.

Lactate is produced when the muscles use carbohydrates to create energy for exercise. The underlying metabolic process is the glycolysis. It happens continuously but increases when energy demand is high for a prolonged period of time and availability of oxygen to the cells is limited.

Increased glycolysis produces hydrogen ions and lactate, and it's the hydrogen ions that cause pain, sore muscles, cramps and fatigue. The body protects itself by telling you: "I can't do this anymore".

Regular endurance sports should only take place within the respective 'lactate steady-state' - a well-balanced relationship between lactate production and elimination.

Lac [blood] = Lac [produced] ­ Lac [eliminated ]

With higher exercise intensity the lactate level in the blood reaches the anaerobic threshold or the onset of rapid blood lactate accumulation. This point can be determined in step tests with increasing training intensity in defined intervals e.g. on a tread-mill, bicycle or in a field test. The higher the level of effort is when the rise of lactate indicates the anaerobic threshold the better is the performance status of the athlete.

Intense training teaches the body to use lactate as a source of fuel on a par with the carbohydrates stored in muscle tissue and the sugar in blood. Athletes increase their lactate threshold by training which means their blood lactate increases later and at higher intensities.

There are many uses of lactate in healthcare. Some of these are well established, for example lactate measurement in fitness and cardio training. As a world-leader in lactate, EKF has been closely involved in recently developed applications of lactate in obstetric medicine.  

Regular endurance exercise has many benefits for health and well-being. It has been proven to lower systolic and diastolic blood pressure, improve insulin sensitivity and lower HbA1c levels, lower triglycerides and increase HDL-cholesterol. Regular power exercise, meanwhile, can increase insulin sensitivity.

The maximal fat oxidation rate is reached under long term aerobic conditions because this is when predominantly free fatty acids are used as the energy source. In contrast, under anaerobic conditions mainly carbohydrates are used for generating energy.

The measurement of lactate during step tests reveals the shift from aerobic (oxygen dependent) to complementary anaerobic (non-oxygen dependent) metabolism.  The knowledge of this ‘anaerobic threshold’ can be used for the definition of training intensities and conditions to achieve optimal fitness and weight reduction.

Furthermore, lactate testing can support a secure and efficient training avoiding critical over-exhaustion.

Lactate testing in the veterinary field works in a very similar way to the human application. Lactate measurements are carried out to determine the performance of racing animals like horses or dogs, to monitor organ dysfunction, inflammatory processes in critically ill animals or in a multitude of basic research applications.

EKF's lactate analyzers, Biosen and Lactate Scout+, meet the demands of veterinary. A wide measurement range covers the typical values of different species. E.g. racing horses have a very high 'maxlass' (being the highest stable or balanced lactate level during exercise) of above 20 mmol/L, a level at which both devices deliver accurate results.