Liverpool FC use the Biosen for pre-season lactate threshold training program

Liverpool players were put through their paces in training ahead of the new season after taking part in a ‘lactic acid’ test – and not-so-surprisingly, Dominic Solanke and James Milner came out on top.

Liverpool players were instructed to jog around the pitch. After completing a lap, they had a blood sample taken. If the level of lactic acid in their blood exceeded a certain amount, they were out of the drill.

Testing and training to improve lactate threshold are among the most common and effective performance markers that many football teams and coaches use. It is widely used as a fitness marker in endurance sports and football in Europe, so it’s no surprise that coaches like Klopp are incorporating these practices in the Premier League. The point is to learn the highest intensity at which a footballer can train or compete before hitting the wall from high blood lactate levels. Football teams know that one key to success is increasing sustainable power and speed while playing at the lactate threshold.

Lactate threshold, or Lactate inflection point (LIP), is “the exercise intensity at which the blood concentration of lactate and/or lactic acid begins to increase” [1] exponentially.

Once you surpass this threshold, lactic acid builds up in your muscles faster than your body can remove it, eventually leading to fatigue.

Testing and improving lactate threshold within a training program can be used to make stronger and faster athletes. If the pace and work rate a footballer can maintain at your lactate threshold is higher than that of your competitor, then over 90 minutes, you go faster, get back in position quicker, make hard yards towards the end of the game, and win!

The Biosen C-Line glucose and lactate analyzer is the perfect solution for sports clubs and institutions looking for a lab-accurate method of testing lactate in a point-of-care setting.

References:

• [1] Matthew L. Goodwin, M.A., James E. Harris, M.Ed., Andrés Hernández, M.A., and L. Bruce Gladden, Ph.D. (Jul 2007). “Blood Lactate Measurements and Analysis during Exercise: A Guide for Clinicians”
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