Blood Lactate: Friend, Foe, or Fuel? Improving Our Understanding of a Misunderstood Substance

Lactate is sometimes referred to colloquially as the "burn"and is often blamed as the reason runners hit the wall or why people exercising experiencemuscle soreness or fatigue. No doubt you have heard this term used by athletes, coaches, and even scientists to describe a negative, harmful, and/or annoying substance produced in our bodies during intense exercise. Lactate has a long history in published literature. In recent years, our understanding of the role that lactate serves (especially during exercise) has expanded how we can use this information for athletes. In this article, we will provide a brief review of the history of lactate research, discuss the role of measuring and using lactate levels during exercise training, and discuss emerging technologies for assessing lactate levels. By the end of this article, we hope to challenge existing notions about lactate and improve the reader's understanding of how to utilize this information to inform coaching and training methods.