Reliability of estimating maximal glycolytic power using the maximal lactate accumulation rate (VLamax): a systematic review
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.47197/retos.v66.110040Keywords:
exercise, physiology, metabolism, performance, ejercicio, fisiología, metabolismo, rendimientoAbstract
Introduction: In recent years, maximal lactate accumulation rate (VLamax) has received increasing attention as an estimator of maximal glycolytic power. The VLamax could enhance physiological profiling by aiding in athlete assessment, training prescription, and talent identification.
Objective: This systematic review aims to synthesize and analyse studies that have assessed the reliability of the VLamax as a representative parameter of maximal glycolytic power in healthy adult subjects.
Methodology: The proposed PICO question was: Is VLamax a reliable metric for estimating maximal glycolytic power in healthy adults? Systematic literature searches on PubMed, Google Scholar, Scopus, SPORTDiscus and Web of Science were conducted. Five articles were included. The quality of the included articles was assessed using a modified Downs and Black Checklist.
Results: All articles were considered to be high quality (76,9-84,6%). The intraclass correlation coefficient (ICC) of VLamax was 0.66-0.96.
Discussion: The reliability of VLamax is influenced by factors that affect lactate accumulation and the estimation of alactic time. VLamax strongly correlates with the power or speed of maximal efforts lasting 20-31 seconds, aligning with the glycolytic energy system's peak contribution range.
Conclusions: This systematic review shows that the VLamax estimates maximal glycolytic power with moderate to excellent reliability, although further research is needed to better understand this metric: the most appropriate test to determine it in a practical way, its relationship with other markers of anaerobic performance, its response to certain training methods and its influence on maximal metabolic steady state, among others.
References
Akoglu, H. (2018). User's guide to correlation coefficients. Turkish journal of emergency medici-ne, 18(3), 91–93. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tjem.2018.08.001
Armstrong, L. E., Costill, D. L., & Fink, W. J. (1985). Influence of diuretic-induced dehydration on com-petitive running performance. Medicine and science in sports and exercise, 17(4), 456–461. https://doi.org/10.1249/00005768-198508000-00009
Bonetti, L. V., Hassan, S. A., Lau, S. T., Melo, L. T., Tanaka, T., Patterson, K. K., & Reid, W. D. (2018). Oxyhemoglobin changes in the prefrontal cortex in response to cognitive tasks: a systematic review. The International journal of neuroscience, 129(2),195–203. https://doi.org/10.1080/00207454.2018.1518906
Brooks, G. A. (2018). The Science and Translation of Lactate Shuttle Theory. Cell metabolism, 27(4), 757–785. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cmet.2018.03.008
Brooks, G. A., Curl, C. C., Leija, R. G., Osmond, A. D., Duong, J. J., & Arevalo, J. A. (2022). Tracing the lac-tate shuttle to the mitochondrial reticulum. Experimental & Molecular Medicine, 54, 1332–1347. https://doi.org/10.1038/s12276-022-00802-3
Buchheit, M., & Laursen, P. B. (2013). High-intensity interval training, solutions to the programming puzzle. Part II: anaerobic energy, neuromuscular load and practical applications. Sports medi-cine (Auckland, N.Z.), 43(10), 927–954. https://doi.org/10.1007/s40279-013-0066-5
Costill, D. L., Dalsky, G. P., & Fink, W. J. (1978). Effects of caffeine ingestion on metabolism and exercise performance. Medicine and science in sports, 10(3), 155–158.
Downs, S. H., & Black, N. (1998). The feasibility of creating a checklist for the assessment of the met-hodological quality both of randomised and non-randomised studies of health care interven-tions. Journal of epidemiology and community health, 52(6), 377–384. https://doi.org/10.1136/jech.52.6.377
Gastin, P. B. (2001). Energy system interaction and relative contribution during maximal exer-cise. Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.), 31(10), 725–741. https://doi.org/10.2165/00007256-200131100-00003
Harnish, Christopher R., Thomas C. Swensen., & Deborah King. (2023). Reliability of the 15-s Maximal Lactate Accumulation Rate (VLamax) Test for Cycling. Physiologia 3, no. 4: 542-551. https://doi.org/10.3390/physiologia3040040
Hauser, T., Adam, J., & Schulz, H. (2014). Comparison of calculated and experimental power in maxi-mal lactate-steady state during cycling. Theoretical Biology & Medical Modelling, 11, 1. https://doi.org/10.1186/1742-4682-11-25
Heck, H., Schulz, H., & Bartmus, U. (2003). Diagnostics of anaerobic power and
capacity. European Journal of Sport Science, 3(3), 1-23. https://doi.org/10.1080/17461390300073302
Held, S., Rappelt, L., Brockherde, J., & Donath, L. (2024). Reliability of the Maximal Lactate Accumula-tion Rate in Rowers. International journal of sports medicine, 45(3), 238–244. https://doi.org/10.1055/a-2206-4959
Hill, A., Long, C., & Lupton, H. (1924). Muscular exercise, lactic acid and the supply and utilisation of oxygen. Parts VII–VIII. Royal Society, 97(682). https://doi.org/10.1098/rspb.1924.0048
Ivy, J. L., Costill, D. L., Van Handel, P. J., Essig, D. A., & Lower, R. W. (1981). Alteration in the lactate threshold with changes in substrate availability. International journal of sports medicine, 2(3), 139–142. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-2008-1034600
Koo, T. K., & Li, M. Y. (2016). A Guideline of Selecting and Reporting Intraclass Correlation Coefficients for Reliability Research. Journal of chiropractic medicine, 15(2), 155–163. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jcm.2016.02.012
Kozina, Z., Prusik, K., & Prusik, K. (2015). The concept of individual approach in sport. Pedagogics, Psychology, Medical-Biological Problems of Physical Training and Sports, 19(3), 28-37. https://doi.org/10.15561/18189172.2015.0305
Kubera, B., Hubold, C., Otte, S., Lindenberg, A. S., Zeiss, I., Krause, R., Steinkamp, M., Klement, J., Entrin-ger, S., Pellerin, L., & Peters, A. (2012). Rise in plasma lactate concentrations with psychosocial stress: a possible sign of cerebral energy demand. Obesity facts, 5(3), 384–392. https://doi.org/10.1159/000339958
MacDougall, J. D., Reddan, W. G., Layton, C. R., & Dempsey, J. A. (1974). Effects of metabolic hypert-hermia on performance during heavy prolonged exercise. Journal of applied physiology, 36(5), 538–544. https://doi.org/10.1152/jappl.1974.36.5.538
Mader, A., & Heck, H. (1986). A theory of the metabolic origin of "anaerobic threshold". International journal of sports medicine, 7, 45–65. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-2008-1025802
Mavroudi, M., Kabasakalis, A., Petridou, A., & Mougios, V. (2023). Blood Lactate and Maximal Lactate Accumulation Rate at Three Sprint Swimming Distances in Highly Trained and Elite Swim-mers. Sports (Basel, Switzerland), 11(4), 87. https://doi.org/10.3390/sports11040087
Quittmann, O. J., Appelhans, D., Abel, T., & Strüder, H. K. (2020). Evaluation of a sport-specific field test to determine maximal lactate accumulation rate and sprint performance parameters in run-ning. Journal of science and medicine in sport, 23(1), 27–34. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsams.2019.08.013
Quittmann, O. J., Schwarz, Y. M., Mester, J., Foitschik, T., Abel, T., & Strüder, H. K. (2021). Maximal Lac-tate Accumulation Rate in All-out Exercise Differs between Cycling and Running. International journal of sports medicine, 42(4), 314–322. https://doi.org/10.1055/a-1273-7589
Quittmann, O. J., Abel, T., Vafa, R., Mester, J., Schwarz, Y. M., & Strüder, H. K. (2021). Maximal lactate accumulation rate and post-exercise lactate kinetics in handcycling and cycling. European journal of sport science, 21(4), 539–551. https://doi.org/10.1080/17461391.2020.1756420
Rodriguez, F., & Mader, A. (2011). Chapter 11: Energy Systems in Swimming. Seifert, L. Chollet, D. Mu-jika, The world book of swimming, Nova Science Publishers, Inc.
Taylor, H. L., Buskirk, E., & Henschel, A. (1955). Maximal oxygen intake as an objective measure of cardio-respiratory performance. Journal of applied physiology, 8(1), 73–80. https://doi.org/10.1152/jappl.1955.8.1.73
Tesch, P. A., Daniels, W. L., & Sharp, D. S. (1982). Lactate accumulation in muscle and blood during submaximal exercise. Acta physiologica Scandinavica, 114(3), 441–446. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1748-1716.1982.tb07007.x
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Ignacio Fernandez-Jarillo, Tomàs Lomero-Arenas
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License.
Authors who publish with this journal agree to the following terms:
- Authors retain copyright and ensure the magazine the right to be the first publication of the work as licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution License that allows others to share the work with an acknowledgment of authorship of the work and the initial publication in this magazine.
- Authors can establish separate additional agreements for non-exclusive distribution of the version of the work published in the journal (eg, to an institutional repository or publish it in a book), with an acknowledgment of its initial publication in this journal.
- Is allowed and authors are encouraged to disseminate their work electronically (eg, in institutional repositories or on their own website) prior to and during the submission process, as it can lead to productive exchanges, as well as to a subpoena more Early and more of published work (See The Effect of Open Access) (in English).
This journal provides immediate open access to its content (BOAI, http://legacy.earlham.edu/~peters/fos/boaifaq.htm#openaccess) on the principle that making research freely available to the public supports a greater global exchange of knowledge. The authors may download the papers from the journal website, or will be provided with the PDF version of the article via e-mail.
