Many coaches and athletes routinely perceive lactic acid, or more specifically lactate, as a dead end waste product that is completely unfavourable to all athletic performance. This assumption however, may longer be considered accurate - so much so that it has been labelled the mythology of lactic acid (1).
While Sports Scientists are largely in agreement that lactate behaves more like an athletes friend than foe, recent research has now begun to question one of the basic tenets of muscular fatigue increased acidity or lactic acidosis.
This article explores some of the current understanding about how lactate and lactic acid functions in the human body, particularly during exercise. It examines the compounds roles in fatigue and energy metabolism and as a limiting factor in performance.