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[RC] Recommended Reading - Ridecamp GuestPlease Reply to: Tom Ivers Tivers@xxxxxxx or ridecamp@xxxxxxxxxxxxx ========================================== Tom - Can you elaborate on this? There was a discussion a while back on lactic acids being the catalyst behind successful negative splits but I am still interested in more detail.
Kristen in TX>>
The old paradigm: "Lactic acid is a nasty waste product from anaerobic exercise
that causes fatigue."
The new paradigm: "Lactic acid is produced by activation ("recruitment")of
muscle cells able to use the glycolytic pathway of energy metabolism (FT and
FTH muscle cells)and, far from being detrimental to performance, is a
fast-acting fuel available to muscle cells capable of oxidative metabolism
(FTH, ST)and, withing the muscle cell, acts as a buffer, enabling faster fuel
processing."
In a sub-maximal Standardized Exercise Test, the athlete demonstrating lower
post-ex lactate is the fitter athlete, not because he has produced less lactic
acid, but because he has been able to use more lactic acid during the work. At
the same time, athletes winning maximal effort races or time trials produce
more lactic acid than the losers--because they have been able to burn more
glycogen through the glycolytic pathway.
Thus, lactic acid is friend, not foe, of all athletes. This new paradigm has
arisen through a series of studies (some of them cited in my Ebook on the
subject)that have appeared over the past five years.
Nevertheless, Carmichael gets the nutritional support for his athletes right.
The base diet is basically 10 to 1 carbohydrate to fat, 3 to 1 Carbohydrate to
Protein, and carbs are supplemented throughout each stage as well as
immediately post-ex.
With higher muscular glycogen stores going into a race or a stage of a race,
the athletes will produce more lactic acid--and use it for fuel during the race
due to strong oxidative capacity and the ability to recruit a variety of
glycogen-stuffed muscle cell types, ranging from 100% glytcolytic to 100%
oxidative.
The biggest threat to the cycling athlete is the same as with endurance
horses--bonking--where the blood glucose drops below performance levels, and
sometimes below survival levels. Carb supplementation during the race can solve
this problem if the athlete goes into the race with adequate muscle and liver
glycogen supplies. Fat cannot be used as a muscle fuel (or a brain (central
nervous system) fuel) unless glycogen is available as the "flame". Lactic acid
can be used as a fuel under all circumstances--lactic acid is partially-burned
glycogen.
After hard work, the body is looking for supplies to repair damaged tissue and
refuel the organs that have been depleted of glycogen. It can do so by using
nutrients being delivered by the blood, or if those nutrients are low, through
catabolism (breakdown) of other tissues throughout the body.
The "decision" to catabolize takes place quickly post-ex. Once cortisol
production has been triggered, the athlete is in a catabolic state for at least
48 hours. This can be prevented by supplementing fast-acting carbs immediately
post-ex. These carbs bump up blood glucose and trigger the activities of both
insulin (for moving glycogen into muscle cells) and IGF-1(Insulin-like Growth
Factor)for the rebuilding of damaged tissues.
For an expanded discussion of these concepts, you can buy my Ebook, Optimized
Nutrition for Equine Athletes, a 100-page monograph with more than 130
references, dealing with both race horses and endurance horses, at
www.equineracing.com. This book has been available for some time and has proven
its worth to many endurance athletes.
But I would strongly advise Carmichael's book, The Ultimate Ride, as a key
reference in the building of winning endurance athletes. It is comprehensive,
detailed and gets right down to the practical applications, workouts, and a
variety of nutritional protocols.
Remember, the horse is not from Mars. It is a mammal, sharing more than 95% of
the human genome, with the same muscle fiber types (distributed somewhat
differently) and general energy metabolism as the human. The same conditioning
protocols apply, with minor differences. The same supportive nutritional
protocols apply, with minor differences.
The above is a comprehensive overview of the subject and the books recommended
represent the state of the art. I will have no more to say on this subject
here, in order to avoid conflict with the alpha cows of Ridecamp and to avoid
having to respond to the idiocies of the religiously-dedicated losers of the
American endurance establishment.
To win is to win.
ti
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