Oosthuyse, T., & Carter, R. N. (1999). Lactate decline during passive recovery from high intensity exercise. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 31, 670-674.

"An athlete's ability to repeatedly perform at high intensities during intermittent exercise could be related to an accelerated plasma lactate removal ability during recovery periods." This study determined the decline in plasma lactate levels during passive recovery after an incremental exercise test to exhaustion on a bicycle ergometer in trained (N = 5) and untrained (N = 5) males. Venous blood samples were taken during exercise and recovery to analyze plasma lactate concentration. Endurance fitness of the Ss was characterized using a variable known as the maximum turn point power output measured in W/kg. It describes the workload at which lactate levels rise significantly above resting concentrations. The decline in plasma lactate levels during recovery was determined at selected intervals from the exponential recovery curve plotted as a percentage of peak plasma lactate versus time.

No significant relationships were found between the recovery parameters measured from the curve and the maximum turn point power output values of the trained or untrained Ss.

Implication. Training does not influence the decline in plasma lactate while recovering passively after exercise at equivalent relative maximal work intensities.

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