Lactate and muscle strength as indicators of training effectiveness in population with cardiac risk

Abstract

Introduction: The traditional way of measuring strength through 1RM is an inefficient dynamic in patients undergoing cardiac rehabilitation. Objectives: The aim of this study was to assess strength through lactate levels and determine a specific load that would allow for strength development in a moderate to low intensity aerobic zone in patients at cardiovascular risk. Materials and Methods: Through intentional non-probabilistic sampling, 5 male participants were selected with the following characteristics: Age 48.80 ± 4.49, Weight 95.40 ± 5.54, Height 1.74 ± 0.06, Body Fat % 37.58 ± 2.68, Muscle Mass % 38.62 ± 1.52, VO2/kg 38.00 ± 2.73 min. They underwent two tests. Results: The results of the ANOVA analysis showed no significant differences between the different groups in lactate F (4, 17.1) = 0.524, p = 0.720. Heart rate F (4, 16.4) = 0.457, p = 0.766. Post hoc analyses using the Tukey test showed no differences between group variables. Mean heart rate during constant load strength exercise: 133.9/5.48 (bpm), p = 0.000. Blood lactate concentrations during exercise: Mean 2.52/0.28 (mmol/l), p = 0.000. Constant load: 30/00 (kg). The results indicate that these metabolic and cardiac variables remained partially stable within aerobic energy ranges during the measurement of sets 1, 3, 5, 7, 9, 11, 13, and 15. Conclusions: The values obtained from the constant load test show that metabolic and cardiorespiratory variables remain stable in a predominantly aerobic metabolism. This could suggest that measuring strength through lactate is effective for strength training in patients with cardiovascular risk factors.