Recovering from high lactate values is key in most sports. Reducing lactate concentration goes hand in hand with getting rid of acidosis, replenishing creatine phosphate stores and lowered post exercise VO2. The Recovery Index provides you one single metric that makes the ability to recover from lactate comparable between athletes and even sports.
What is the recovery Index?
The lactate recovery curve provides a detailed analysis of the rate of lactate recovery as a function of speed or power. However, comparing the ability of lactate recovery whilst respecting the speed or power at which this is happening is difficult.
The recovery index solves this problem. It combines the speed of lactate recovery - the highest point in the lactate recovery curve - with the intensity at which this apex occurs. The intensity is neither related to the speed or power - which would make it depending on individual efficiency or economy, but on energy demand. Thereby, the Recovery Index is independent of the sport. Therefore, it is possible to compare the Recovery Index across sports - for example between a runner and a cyclist or between a freestyle and a butterfly swimmer.
The result is then normalized to a scale of 0 - 100. With 0 being a very slow rate of lactate clearance at a low intensity. The upper value of 100 represents a fast lactate clearance (> 1.2 mmol/l/min) at a high intensity. The intensity is also normalized to the body weight - which enables you to compare athlete of different body weight. This way you get a standardized single value which describes the speed of lactate recovery precisely.
Higher rate of recovery at higher intensity?!
One aspect - which is also well described in the literature - is about the rate at which lactate can be cleared. This corresponds to faster recovery and therefore better performance in repeated efforts - such as needed in team sports, cycling or during interval training sessions. However, when it comes to competitions, there is another aspect to it: the exercise intensity at which the ability to recover is best. It goes without saying that the ability to maintain a higher intensity (power or speed) while still recovering fast is a key element in many sporting events.
The Recovery Index shows you both: how fast can an athlete recover and at which intensity - at a glance.