Aerobic Respiration: MHR, LT, and VO2

I think the three key maximums in Exercise are MHR, LT, and V02.

Once you move above your anaerobic threshold, lactic acid starts to accumulate, which gets to a point around 85% to 90% of your MHR (max heart rate). So here's the process of how lactic acid builds up kind of like gears on a car:

1. Aerobic respiration -- Glucose undergoing glycolosis has enough 02 molecules to convert to pyruvate to ATP (the mitochondria don't max out)

2. You go very fast in a short amount of time -- Anaerobic respiration -- Glucose undergoing glycolysis struggles to convert all the pyruvate to ATP (the mitochondria max out without enough 02 molecules) resulting in lactic acid

3. You continue going very fast/hard in a short time of Anaerobic respiration resulting in -- Lactic Threshold -- where the muscles cramp up and fatigues --The lactic acid gets produced and leaks out into the blood and if continues will impair the muscles.

4. You rest/slow down -- Oxygen is restored -- lactic acid is converted to pyruvic acid then to c02, water, and ATP (normal glycolysis output)


1. Aerobic Respiration
2. Anaerobic Respiration
3. Lactic Threshold

If you're just doing aerobic respiration, it will be hard to reach the lactic threshold in under 30 minutes, but if you do a 100 MHR 10 second sprint, you could be dealing with lactic build-up already, so watch the sprints early on, that's like piling on ice on the road before you get out of the driveway, when you're moving on the high-way that's okay.

You can improve Lactic threshold by doing 100% MHR reps. (800-200 meter reps, 15,30, 45, second reps, etc.

Endurance training converts the fast twitch fibers (IIb) that have no aerobic ability into (IIa) fast twitch fibers that have aerobic ability. it also speeds up your ability to do "clearance", moving lactacte around the muscles, which is a very good thing to speed up!

Endurance training also increases the size and quantity of mitochondria.

Clearance++ -- The increased number of mitochondria ensures more pyruvic acid will get converted into ATP, C02, and water, but if some doesn't and you have lactic acid circulating the blood, endurance training actually increases the capillaries around the muscle fibers, to expedite clearance. So the lactate escapes the fast twitch fibers more quickly, recirculating back into the bloodstream where the mitochondria can give it a go.

Clearance is helpful with ALL training, game-playing, exercise, etc. even if it is (actually, especially if it is) anaerobic. So endurance training will always help long-distance events and also short-distance sprints, or all surging moves in a soccer game because the athlete literally will not fatigue easily because lactate won't have time to get to the fast twitch fibers (the cause of so-called physical fatigue)!

Fatigue is an interesting concept that has, no doubt, roots in the physical and psychological. People are astonished at how I don't seem to fatigue and that's because my writing and math focus resolves and avoids all psychological fatigue; any problem I have, I work out and don't let it bog me down and endurance avoids physical fatigue thanks to the increased clearance from the extra capillaries!