This is Perform with Dr. Andy Galpin.
I'm Dr. Andy Galpin, a professor and director of the Human Performance Center at Parker University.
With this podcast, my goal is to help you better understand and maximize your own physical and mental performance, leveraging my two decades of experience with elite performers, including Olympians and world champions across numerous sports. The goal is to cover a range of tools, technologies, and strategies designed to help everyone—from beginners to record-breaks, and everyone in between.
I’ll use a format that I call the "3 I's.” For every topic, we'll explore how to 1) Investigate (measure it), 2) Interpret (determine what’s bad, ok, good, or even elite!), and 3) Intervene (implement changes). This framework will guide our discussions on both the science and actionable insights—the do’s and don’ts.
In the upcoming episodes of Season 2, we'll dive into topics such as how metabolism and metabolic rate truly work, how to maximize brain function and health, what sports nutrition looks like in the world’s best athletes, how to improve bone health and accelerate healing, the science of strength training for kids, and much more.
While not all of us are elite athletes—myself included—there are countless lessons and tools we can learn from those performing at the highest levels. And remember, as legendary coach Bill Bowerman stated, "If you have a body, you are an athlete." If you're not already, I hope you'll consider starting to train and recover like one.
All content for Perform with Dr. Andy Galpin is the property of Scicomm Media and is served directly from their servers
with no modification, redirects, or rehosting. The podcast is not affiliated with or endorsed by Podjoint in any way.
This is Perform with Dr. Andy Galpin.
I'm Dr. Andy Galpin, a professor and director of the Human Performance Center at Parker University.
With this podcast, my goal is to help you better understand and maximize your own physical and mental performance, leveraging my two decades of experience with elite performers, including Olympians and world champions across numerous sports. The goal is to cover a range of tools, technologies, and strategies designed to help everyone—from beginners to record-breaks, and everyone in between.
I’ll use a format that I call the "3 I's.” For every topic, we'll explore how to 1) Investigate (measure it), 2) Interpret (determine what’s bad, ok, good, or even elite!), and 3) Intervene (implement changes). This framework will guide our discussions on both the science and actionable insights—the do’s and don’ts.
In the upcoming episodes of Season 2, we'll dive into topics such as how metabolism and metabolic rate truly work, how to maximize brain function and health, what sports nutrition looks like in the world’s best athletes, how to improve bone health and accelerate healing, the science of strength training for kids, and much more.
While not all of us are elite athletes—myself included—there are countless lessons and tools we can learn from those performing at the highest levels. And remember, as legendary coach Bill Bowerman stated, "If you have a body, you are an athlete." If you're not already, I hope you'll consider starting to train and recover like one.
In this episode, I discuss lactate (or “lactic acid”) and its essential roles in metabolism and athletic performance. Lactate is commonly misinterpreted as the waste product responsible for muscle soreness and exercise fatigue. However, I explain why it is produced, how lactate positively affects multiple organ systems, and its critical function in metabolism and as a signaling molecule.
I explain the concept of metabolic flexibility and how lactate helps cells effectively transition between energy sources (carbs vs. fats). I describe why lactate is essential for mitochondrial health and how different muscle fiber types use lactate. I also discuss how lactate relates to endurance performance and training “zones,” the cause of exercise fatigue, and whether more lactate or lactate supplementation improves exercise performance.
I explain the three I’s (investigate, interpret, intervene) to determine your lactate levels and lactate threshold and how to use different exercise intensities to improve mitochondrial health and reduce fatigue.
This episode will help listeners appreciate the vital role of lactate in overall health and understand how lactate levels should inform training and exercise to improve metabolic flexibility, increase energy, and enhance performance.
Access the full show notes for this episode at performpodcast.com.
Thank you to our sponsors
AG1: https://drinkag1.com/perform
Momentous: https://livemomentous.com/perform
David Protein: https://davidprotein.com/perform
Renaissance Periodization: https://rpstrength.com/perform
Continuum: https://www.continuum.club/perform
Timestamps
00:00:00 Lactate
00:04:21 History of Lactate Discovery
00:11:00 Sponsors: Momentous & David Protein
00:13:58 Lactate vs. Lactic Acid
00:17:00 L- vs D-Lactate, Gut Microbiome
00:19:46 Lactate & Metabolic Acidosis, Ringer’s Solution
00:22:43 3 Primary Roles of Lactate, Metabolism
00:29:04 Glucose, Mitochondria & Lactate
00:36:09 Metabolic Flexibility, Carbs vs. Fat
00:40:25 Fat Metabolism
00:44:07 Carbohydrate Metabolism, Lactate Shuttle
00:50:29 Lactate Efflux, Fast- vs. Slow-Twitch Fibers
00:53:01 Sponsors: AG1 & Renaissance Periodization
00:55:42 Alcohol, Fat, Hangover & Exercise
01:02:54 Is More Lactate Better?, Lactate Supplementation
01:08:50 Sponsor: Continuum
01:10:21 Cause of Exercise Fatigue
01:14:52 Investigate: Lactate Analyzers, Lactate Threshold
01:19:37 Lactate Threshold, Fatigue, Endurance Performance; Zone 2 Training
01:26:52 Tools: VDOT Calculation, Measure Lactate & Lactate Threshold
01:33:01 Interpret: Lactate Levels, Metabolic Flexibility
01:36:12 Interpret: Lactate Threshold
01:38:24 Intervene: Metabolic Flexibility, Training & Mitochondria; Fatigue
01:46:52 Zero-Cost Support, YouTube, Spotify & Apple Subscribe & Reviews, Sponsors, YouTube Feedback, Perform Newsletter, Social Media
Disclaimer & Disclosures
Perform with Dr. Andy Galpin
This is Perform with Dr. Andy Galpin.
I'm Dr. Andy Galpin, a professor and director of the Human Performance Center at Parker University.
With this podcast, my goal is to help you better understand and maximize your own physical and mental performance, leveraging my two decades of experience with elite performers, including Olympians and world champions across numerous sports. The goal is to cover a range of tools, technologies, and strategies designed to help everyone—from beginners to record-breaks, and everyone in between.
I’ll use a format that I call the "3 I's.” For every topic, we'll explore how to 1) Investigate (measure it), 2) Interpret (determine what’s bad, ok, good, or even elite!), and 3) Intervene (implement changes). This framework will guide our discussions on both the science and actionable insights—the do’s and don’ts.
In the upcoming episodes of Season 2, we'll dive into topics such as how metabolism and metabolic rate truly work, how to maximize brain function and health, what sports nutrition looks like in the world’s best athletes, how to improve bone health and accelerate healing, the science of strength training for kids, and much more.
While not all of us are elite athletes—myself included—there are countless lessons and tools we can learn from those performing at the highest levels. And remember, as legendary coach Bill Bowerman stated, "If you have a body, you are an athlete." If you're not already, I hope you'll consider starting to train and recover like one.
