Lactic acid

1
The Composition and Flow of Blood
Lactic acid
Oxygen Debt
Blood Flow
Exercise
Recovery Rate
Composition
Vessels
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Contents
What is Lactic Acid? - An explanation of how
Lactic acid is formed and how it affects
participation in sport. All about Anaerobic
Metabolism - A page telling us about what
Anaerobic Metabolism is and how effective this
system is. Different types of Blood Vessels - An
explanation on the main types of blood vessels,
Arteries, Capillaries and Veins. What is the
blood made up of? - It covers the 3 main types of
blood cells present in the body and gives a short
description of plasma also. All about oxygen debt
- An explanation and example of what oxygen debt
is, and also a brief description of tolerance to
the build up of lactic acid. All about Recovery
Rate - Technical explanation of what recovery
rate is and examples of how it affects both high
intensity athletes and endurance athletes. FACT
SHEET - A number of various interesting facts.
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What is Lactic acid?

• Lactic acid is a by product of anaerobic
  activity e.g a 400 metre run.
• If enough oxygen is not available, then the
  lactic acid is produced and it begins to build up
  in the muscles.
• When you feel your muscles burning during high
  intensity exercise this is caused by the lactic
  acid, it stops the muscles working to the best
  possible standard.
• You can reduce the lactic acid build up faster if
  you perform light exercise after an intense
  effort, also known as a cool down.
• LACTIC ACID AND HOW IT AFFECTS PERFORMANCE!
• It reduces the ability to perform at maximum
  potential.
• It Inhibits skilful muscle contraction.
• Can create aches and pains and cause injury.
• Some examples of anaerobic activity, and chances
  for Lactic acid build up are
• Long Jump, high jump, javelin, shot put and
  discus, explosive activity.
• Also it can be seen in game situations, I.e.
  sprinting, jumping, shooting.

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All about Anaerobic Metabolism

• During most exercise breathing rates increase and
  in turn increase the amount of oxygen through the
  body.
• During aerobic exercise this increased oxygen is
  enough to meet your energy needs. During intense
  efforts, however there is enough oxygen available
  to the body but it cannot continue using the
  aerobic system to create energy.
• At this point you switch to anaerobic metabolism
  which is also known as glycolysis. Glycolysis
  literally means the breaking down of Glucose, one
  step at a time into different molecules.
• Why Anaerobic Metabolism doesnt last!
• This system works without oxygen to supply energy
  to the muscles for a few minutes of high
  intensity effort. The downside to this, however,
  is that you will soon feel your muscles burning
  and be forced to decrease your intensity and
  return to the aerobic system.

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Different Types of Blood Vessels
The heart pumps blood through the arteries,
capillaries and veins, carrying nutrients from
digested food and oxygen to every cell in the
body. The blood also removes carbon dioxide and
waste products. Arteries - The largest and
thickest of the blood vessels, these carry blood
from the heart to all cells in the body. The
largest artery is called the aorta. This
originates from the heart and then branches out
into smaller arteries. Capillaries - The
smallest blood vessels. It is in the capillaries
that the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide
take place. This takes place via diffusion and it
is easier to diffuse 1 cell than a number of
cells at a time. Veins These are similar to
arteries but not quite as strong. Very small
veins called venules receive blood from the
capillaries after the exchange of oxygen and
carbon dioxide has taken place.
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What is the Blood made up of?
Everyones blood is made up of fluid called
plasma and 3 types of blood cells, Red, White and
Platelets.
Plasma - Plasma is the liquid portion of the
blood, it is clear, yellow fluid, and 90 of it
is made up of water, and the rest salts. The Red
and White Blood cells travel through the body in
the plasma.
Red blood cells - Their functions are to carry
oxygen from the lungs to the cells around the
body and also to remove the waste product of
carbon dioxide.
Platelets - These are the smallest of all the
blood cells. They are irregularly shaped, they
are colourless and their sticky surface is their
main feature. This surface allows clots to form
which helps to stop the flow of blood and stops
us from bleeding. White blood cells - Their
main function is to help our body fight
infection. There are 5 different types of white
blood cells produced by the bone marrow. The main
two are
Neutrophils The most numerous of the white
blood cells, there function is to defend the body
from bacteria.
Lymphocytes These are the second most numerous
of the white blood cells, these make antibodies
as part of an immune response to the bacteria.
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All about Oxygen debt
Oxygen debt is where the demand for oxygen is
greater than the supply or the amount available.
You breath in a lot of oxygen but you cannot
absorb enough to cope with the level of activity.
If this happens, your body is mainly using the
anaerobic energy system and as a result, lactic
acid builds up as an unwanted waste product. The
amount of oxygen owed to the body in order to
recover is oxygen debt. An example of this is If
you run a hard race like the 400 metres where you
start and finish using mainly the anaerobic
systems. Soreness and fatigue sets into the
muscles and you need to repay your body with
oxygen after the race in order to recover.
Tolerance It is possible to increase the bodys
tolerance to lactic acid build up and oxygen debt
by improving fitness. Regular exercise that
gradually increases in duration and / or
intensity will help to develop and affect the
efficiency of both the circulatory system and the
respiratory system. If you can improve the amount
of oxygen that the lungs can deliver to the blood
and make your heart stronger then this will
increase your tolerance to lactic acid build up
in muscles.
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All about Recovery Rate
When you exercise, your body temperature goes up,
so your body needs to bring this back down again.
The homeostatic responses that are involved
are Dilation (increase in diameter) - The blood
vessels closest to the skin, bringing blood, and
heating the blood, carries it to the surface of
the body. Production of sweat by sweat glands -
Evaporation then cools the skin, and the blood
that had been carried to the bodies surface is
then cooled. Increased breathing rate - This also
helps to expel any unwanted heat from the
body. Example A sprinter can recover from an all
out effort, for example a 100m race, in about
three minutes. The reason for this is because
this is how long it takes for the build up of
lactic acid in the muscles to fall back down to a
reasonable level for the muscles to start working
at maximum effectiveness again. However, Activity
of a longer duration, such as a marathon run or a
long distance cycle ride will require a much
longer period of recovery. For the runner or the
cyclist the oxygen they take in during their
recovery time helps to remove the build up of
lactic acid. In some cases, it can be a couple of
hours before the heart rate return to a normal
level.
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FACT SHEET

• The adult human body contains approximately 5
  litres of blood and accounts for approximately
  7-8 of our total body weight.
• Blood cells are produced in the bone marrow,
  which is a soft spongy material that fills up the
  cavities of the bones.
• In a healthy person millions of red and white
  cells are produced and formed daily in the bone
  marrow.
• Nearly half the blood, approximately 45 is made
  up of blood cells and the rest 55 is made up of
  plasma.
• In 1901, scientist Karl Land Steiner reported
  that blood could be split up into blood types.
• There are 4 main blood groups, A, B, AB and O.
• Type O is the most common with 47 of the
  population having it.
• The blood contains more red blood cells than any
  other type of cell. In a single drop of blood
  there are millions of red blood cells.