Lactic Acid

System
DEFINITION OF TERMS
• Adenosine triphosphate (ATP),
energy-carrying molecule found in the
cells of all living things. ATP captures 
chemical energy obtained from the
breakdown of food molecules and
releases it to fuel other cellular
processes.
• Pyruvic acid, (CH3COCOOH), is an
organic acid that probably occurs in all
living cells. It ionizes to give a 
hydrogen ion and an anion, termed
pyruvate. Biochemists use the
terms pyruvate and pyruvic acid almost
interchangeably; key product at the crossroads
between the catabolism (breaking down) and 
anabolism (synthesizing) of carbohydrates, fats, and 
proteins.
• Anaerobic glycolysis is the
transformation of glucose to
lactate when limited amounts of
oxygen (O2) are available.
Source of Fuel
The lactic acid energy
system uses
carbohydrates (CHO) as its
only source of fuel and
relies on anaerobic
glycolysis for its
Glycolysis is the breakdown of
glucose to produce ATP. In
anaerobic glycolysis, the
glucose (sourced from
glycogen in the muscle or
glucose in the blood) is
turned into lactic acid as it
produces ATP.
 Efficiency of
ATP Production
This system produces ATP at
a fast rate and can produce a
lot of ATP. The lactic acid
system produces 2 ATP for
each glucose molecule it
breaks down, however, it also
produces lactic acid in the
process.
 Duration
hat the system can operate
The lactic acid system
lasts between 30
seconds and 3 minutes
depending on the
intensity.
The less intense the activity
the longer it will last, because
it will be producing lactic acid
at a slower rate at the lower
intensity levels.
Cause of fatigue
The cause of fatigue in the
lactic acid system is the build
up of pyruvic acid in the
muscle. Pyruvic acid is made up
of two molecules; pyruvate and
a hydrogen ion (H+). Without
oxygen, the body converts the
pyruvate and two H+ to lactate.
This helps to reduce the acidity
of the muscle and allows
anaerobic glycolysis to last
longer, as the lactate is
removed from the muscle and
taken to the liver where it is
converted to a useful fuel
source such as glucose.
However, in continued high intensity
activity the lactate cannot be
removed fast enough, which results
in a build up of pyruvic acid. It is
specifically the build up of the H+
within the muscle that causes
fatigue. It does this by increasing
the acidity of the muscle and
causing the enzymes needed for
anaerobic glycolysis to slow down.
 By-products of
energy production
The main by-product of the
lactic acid system is pyruvic
acid (pyruvate and H+). This
by-product is then converted to
lactate and transported out of
the muscle to the liver to be
converted to glucose.
Process and rate
of recovery
The process of recovery once
fatigue has occurred requires
oxygen. Pyruvic acid in the
presence of oxygen will be
converted to acetyl coenzyme A,
which is then broken down through
the Krebs cycle to produce more
ATP.
Without oxygen it is converted
to lactate and removed from
the muscle and taken to the
liver to be converted into
glucose. This process can take
anywhere between 30 and 60
min.
Examples
The lactic acid energy system is
the dominant system in sports,
which require a high intensity
for longer than 10 seconds.
Sports such as 200m or 400m
run, or 50m and 100m swim are
highly reliant on the lactic acid
system.
Other times when it is used would
include repeated high intensity
activities during other sports such as
tennis running back and forth with
small breaks in-between, repeated
tackles in rugby or an extended
piece of high intensity in any other
sport such as a full-back going
forward in an attack and then having