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The maximal lactate steady state (MLSS) depicts the highest blood lactate concentration (BLC) that can be maintained over time without a continual accumulation at constant prolonged workload. In cycling, no difference in the MLSS was combined with lower power output related to peak workload (I_MLSS) at 100 than at 50 rpm. MLSS coincides with a respiratory exchange ratio (RER) close to 1. Recently, at incremental exercise, an RER of 1 was found at similar workload and similar intensity but higher BLC at 100 than at 50 rpm. Therefore, the authors reassessed a potential effect of cycling cadences on the MLSS and tested the hypothesis that the MLSS would be higher at 105 than at 60 rpm with no difference in I_MLSS in a between-subjects design (n = 16, age 25.1 ± 1.9 y, height 178.4 ± 6.5 cm, body mass 70.3 ± 6.5 kg vs n = 16, 23.6 ± 3.0 y, 181.4 ± 5.6 cm, 72.5 ± 6.2 kg; study I) and confirmed these findings in a within-subject design (n = 12, 25.3 ± 2.1 y, 175.9 ± 7.7 cm, 67.8 ± 8.9 kg; study II). In study I, the MLSS was lower at 60 than at 105 rpm (4.3 ± 0.7 vs 5.4 ± 1.0 mmol/L; P = .003) with no difference in I_MLSS (68.7% ± 5.3% vs 71.8% ± 5.9%). Study II confirmed these findings on MLSS (3.4 ± 0.8 vs 4.5 ± 1.0 mmol/L; P = .001) and I_MLSS (65.0% ± 6.8% vs 63.5% ± 6.3%; P = .421). The higher MLSS at 105 than at 60 rpm combined with an invariance of I_MLSS and RER close to 1 at MLSS supports the hypothesis that higher cadences can induce a preservation of carbohydrates at given BLC levels during low-intensity, high-volume training sessions.

Maximal lactate steady state (MLSS) corresponds to the prolonged constant workload whereby the kinetics of blood lactate concentration clearly increases from steady state. Different results of MLSS in children may reflect specific test protocols or definitions. Three methods corresponding to lactate time courses during 20 min (MLSS I), 16 min (MLSS II), and 8 min (MLSS III) of constant submaximal workload were intraindividually compared in 10 boys. At MLSS I, lactate, V̇O₂peak, heart rate, and workload were higher (p < .05) than at MLSS II and at MLSS III. The differences between MLSS I, MLSS II, and MLSS III reflect insufficient contribution to lactate kinetics by testing procedures, strongly depending on the lactate time courses during the initial 10 min of constant workload. Previously published divergent results of MLSS in children seem to reflect a methodological effect more than a metabolic change.