09 September 2019, by i-sopod
For some of us, exercise can be a good walk with the dog or a yoga class but, if you are someone who participates in some kind of demanding sport, such as running, cycling or football, or seriously working out at the gym, you are probably aware of blood lactate. But what really is it?
When you participate in strenuous exercise, your breathing rate increases, delivering extra oxygen to the necessary muscles. Some exercise is so intense that the body can’t produce oxygen fast enough and moves into anaerobic mode. The energy stored in the body is then broken down into a compound called pyruvate, which is, rather handily, turned into lactate to fuel the muscles, making it possible to push a little bit harder and get through a difficult race, cycle, or other vigorous workout.
Blood lactate has been blamed for the familiar burn during intensive exercise, but the truth is that the body produces lactate to prevent too much damage to muscle cells. It is also popularly believed to cause intense muscular fatigue, but it is not the lactate that causes the fatigue. It is the inability of the body to clear the lactate quickly enough, and this is where floating can be invaluable.
Research at the University of Illinois, found that floating reduced blood lactate levels by 37% and significantly reduced perceived muscular pain, when compared to a 1-hour passive recovery session, indicating that floatation is a valuable tool for those who train and work-out hard, and also, essentially, for professional sportspeople needing to maintain optimal levels of fitness.
As well as helping to clear lactate from the body more efficiently, the Epsom-salts are detoxifying and anti-inflammatory, and the weightlessness of floating and improved blood circulation in the float pod helps muscles to recover more quickly. If you take your sport seriously, or sport is your career, book in for a float and amaze yourself.
