Effect of six months resistance training on lactate threshold in distance runners

Abstract

The lactate threshold (LT) is the highest level of effort an athlete can sustain for an extended period without causing a substantial increase in blood lactate levels. During prolonged-distance running, muscles increase their utilization of lactate, which contributes to the removal of lactate from the bloodstream. This study aimed to investigate the effect of six months of resistance training based on lactate threshold in distance runners. It involved 100 subjects (57 male and 43 female), randomized into experimental (age 24.72±3.26) and control group (age 24.56±3.07). Pre and post data collected at 0 and at the end of 6 months with warm up and cool down for 10 mins each. Statistically significant differences were seen in experimental group compared with control group in outcomes such as LT stage (3.82 vs 3.18), mean HR (160.02 vs 157.02), time taken to complete 5000m (18:13.8 vs 19:00.1) and running pace (4.5 vs 4.3) (p<0.005). The result of the study suggests that the six months of resistance training on lactate threshold improve the distance running performance. It would be helpful for researchers to further investigate how different resistance training protocols and durations influence lactate threshold and endurance performance in diverse athletic populations.