Question

Backround: A subject was put on a stationary bicycle and their respiration, skin temperature and heart rate were measured before during and after exercising and reaching 80% of their heart rate.

How do you know a subject reached anaerobic threshold (the point at which lactate production exceeds the body’s ability to utilize it, and blood lactate levels start increasing) during exercise? What physiological markers could we have measured that would have enabled you to KNOW whether or not your subject reached anaerobic threshold? If your subject didn’t reach anaerobic threshold, and you wanted them to (say you are a personal trainer and want to help your client improve their anaerobic ATP pathways….), what could you ask them to do differently during exercise that would get them to anaerobic threshold?

Answer 1

Answer: When a subject was put on a stationary bicycle and their respiration, skin temperature and heart rate were measured before during and after exercising and reaching 80% of their heart rate:

Subject reached the anaerobic threshold:

· During resting exercise, the pattern of flow is completely different, it is almost at about 20 percent of the cardiac output which usually the skin and skeletal muscles can receive.

· Whereas, in the case of exercising, more blood circulates in the active skeletal muscles and skin on demand. As a result, body temperature also increases. This actually increases because of the increase in cardiac activity i.e. cardiac output increases. This process allows about 80 percent of the cardiac output to go to active skeletal muscles and skin. This is the maximal limit.

· Therefore, this is the point at which lactate production exceeds the body’s ability to utilize it, and blood lactate levels start increasing.

Physiological markers that can be measured:

· V02 max is one marker that can be used to determine the maximal volume of oxygen body effectively delivers to the muscles/minute while exercising. It is considered to be one of the best measures to be taken as it gives a metric of efficiency.

· Another effective and most accurate measure would be, Lactate Threshold. It is the determine exactly where your anaerobic (lactate) threshold lies. When the level of lactic acid increases for long periods, the body eventually slows down. The related test would help determine the athlete's lactate threshold for build-up lactate levels in the body.

· Another approach could be, to measure speed, cadence, power, and heart rate. This can be evaluated by the Functional Threshold Power Ramp Test.

Client improves their anaerobic ATP pathways by:

· The client can improve his/her capacity to increase the blood flow in the active muscles via Endurance training. As it also increases the number of capillaries involved in trained skeletal muscle, thereby allowing a greater capacity for blood flow in the active muscle by acquiring significant metabolic adaptations to his body that occur in skeletal muscles as a response to endurance training.

· In this, both the size and number of mitochondria increase substantially that also increases the activity of oxidative enzymes.

· Secondly, myoglobin is preferably increased in the muscle, this helps in increasing the oxidative capacity.

The different exercise that would get them to the anaerobic threshold would be:

· The client can ask to make his/her body adaptable to increased activity by some different forms of exercise. This can be effectively and possibly achieved by Endurance training. This elevates the size and number of mitochondria as well as the activity of oxidative enzymes. That ultimately meets the high demands of oxygen in the endurance-trained muscle body.

· Through consistent exercise also, one can be possibly able to attain the anaerobic threshold. It is important for longer duration activities to elevate one’s performance at a higher level.

· Aerobic exercises can also effectively help improve the anaerobic threshold

· These metabolic adaptations to the body can help the client reach to anaerobic threshold and elevates his/her performance effectively.