One of the many things that confuse me about lactate is that we don't know where the lactate was produced. For example, in a sport where the entire body is used (eg, rowing, cross-country skiing, swimming), the lactate can be produced in legs or in upper body, but we don't know where it was produced. Say that we determined our "threshold" (using one of 30 methods out there) and use it for training guidance. But isn't that rather meaningless unless we know how we got that lactate? If we measure 3.5 mmol/L and it was produced by arms (one mode in cross-country skiing), the intensity of exercise is certainly very different than if it was produced by both legs and arms (another mode in cross-country skiing). We sure are producing a lot of lactate in the first case and much less in the second case.
Hi Ales, that's correct. Lactate is measured in the systemic circulation, not at the source where it is produced (i.e., the working muscles). During activities like cycling this isn't a big concern since we know [largely] where the lactate comes from, but with fully body endurance sports like Crossfit, rowing, etc, we can only make assumptions. SmO2 does help address this problem because SmO2 measurements on different muscles will be heterogeneous. For example, if I'm cycling and monitoring SmO2 in my quadriceps and biceps I may see that my quadriceps and surrounding tissues are at a maximal steady state intensity (which approximates the MLSS), but that will not be the case in my biceps which are not being meaningfully stressed. Now, if I was rowing, this becomes a bit more complex. In my experience though the larger primary working muscles are a better predictor of systemic intensity thresholds, so in most cases we'd see those muscles at a maximal steady state while less involved muscles may not be.
The NNOXX app is already in the IOS store. If you're having trouble finding it you can shoot me an email at Evan.peikon@nnoxx.com. It may be that it's not yet available in your location if you're outside the US.
One of the many things that confuse me about lactate is that we don't know where the lactate was produced. For example, in a sport where the entire body is used (eg, rowing, cross-country skiing, swimming), the lactate can be produced in legs or in upper body, but we don't know where it was produced. Say that we determined our "threshold" (using one of 30 methods out there) and use it for training guidance. But isn't that rather meaningless unless we know how we got that lactate? If we measure 3.5 mmol/L and it was produced by arms (one mode in cross-country skiing), the intensity of exercise is certainly very different than if it was produced by both legs and arms (another mode in cross-country skiing). We sure are producing a lot of lactate in the first case and much less in the second case.
How does SmO2 address this problem?
Hi Ales, that's correct. Lactate is measured in the systemic circulation, not at the source where it is produced (i.e., the working muscles). During activities like cycling this isn't a big concern since we know [largely] where the lactate comes from, but with fully body endurance sports like Crossfit, rowing, etc, we can only make assumptions. SmO2 does help address this problem because SmO2 measurements on different muscles will be heterogeneous. For example, if I'm cycling and monitoring SmO2 in my quadriceps and biceps I may see that my quadriceps and surrounding tissues are at a maximal steady state intensity (which approximates the MLSS), but that will not be the case in my biceps which are not being meaningfully stressed. Now, if I was rowing, this becomes a bit more complex. In my experience though the larger primary working muscles are a better predictor of systemic intensity thresholds, so in most cases we'd see those muscles at a maximal steady state while less involved muscles may not be.
Can we use and apply this for crossfit workouts?
When will there be a NNOX app for Apple IOS. The search turns up nothing on the App Store
The NNOXX app is already in the IOS store. If you're having trouble finding it you can shoot me an email at Evan.peikon@nnoxx.com. It may be that it's not yet available in your location if you're outside the US.