Welcome to the Tribal Freediving newsletter. Every week, we explore different topics that can help you improve your freediving performance, by training smarter. From the latest training techniques and nutritional advice to expert tips, our goal is to help you achieve your goals with less than 5 minutes of reading. If you were forwarded this message, you can join the tribe and receive the free weekly email here.
How sprints can improve performance and why you want to speed up late in your dive. Today we learn why lactic acid plays a vital role in our freediving training and performance.
Let’s start with everyone’s goal: a long dive. During such a dive, the body relies heavily on anaerobic metabolism due to limited oxygen availability, leading to the production of lactate. Contrary to common misconceptions, lactate does not cause muscle fatigue or soreness; instead, it serves as a buffer to neutralize the acidity produced during intense anaerobic activity. This buffering capacity helps to maintain muscle function and delay fatigue, allowing divers to extend their time underwater.
In this article we explore how a better understanding of lactic acid can help us improve our dives.
Learnings
Lactate acts as an efficient fuel source for vital organs, including the heart and brain. When we start to become hypoxic, the brain's reliance on efficient fuel sources becomes critical. Lactate serves as a particularly valuable energy source under these conditions because the brain can utilize lactate as an alternative to glucose.
What is so interesting about this, is that lactate metabolism does not require oxygen. By converting lactate into pyruvate, the brain can sustain its energy needs even when oxygen levels are low. This metabolic flexibility helps maintain cognitive function, enhancing the diver's ability to stay focused and responsive.
Putting this into practice
In order to build this metabolic flexibility and enhance your body’s ability to utilize lactate as an energy source, you can incorporate high-intensity interval training, sprint intervals, and resistance training with short rest periods into your gym routine. By mixing these training methods, you can improve your body's efficiency in using lactate as fuel.
Second, in the final meters of a long dive, speed up when you start feeling the effects of lactic acid build up. The fact that your body does not require as much oxygen for anaerobic metabolism makes that you can speed up a lot, without spending considerably more oxygen. The same acceleration can help you make better use of the lactate produced to maintain cognitive function.
Conclusion
Incorporating high-intensity workouts into your training regimen will help grow your adaptation to lactate buildup, and why this is so important to maximize your performance. Put in the effort, and speed up at the end of your dive to make the best use of this fact.
Love the game.