This investigation highlights the comparison of blood lactate removal during the period
of recovery in which the subjects were required to sit down as a passive rest period,
followed by active recovery at 30 % VO2 max and short term body massage, as the three modes of recovery used. Ten male athletes
participated in the study. Exercise was performed on a bicycle ergometer with loads
at 150 % VO2 max, each session lasting 1 min, interspaced with 15 sec rest periods, until exhaustion.
Blood lactate concentration was recorded at recovery periods of 0, 3, 5, 10, 20, 30,
and 40 min, while VO2 , VCO2 and heart rate were recorded every 30 sec for 30 min. The highest mean lactate value
was found after 3 min of recovery irrespective of the type of modality applied. Significantly
lower half life of lactate was observed during active recovery (15.7 + 2.5 min) period,
while short term massage as a means of recovery required 21.8 + 3.5 min and did not
show any significant difference from a passive type of sitting recovery period of
21.5 + 2.8 min. Analysis of lactate values indicated no remarkable difference between
massage and a passive type of sitting recovery period. It was observed that in short
term massage recovery, more oxygen was consumed as compared to a passive type of sitting
recovery. It is concluded from the study that the short term body massage is ineffective
in enhancing the lactate removal and that an active type of recovery is the best modality
for enhancing lactate removal after exercise.
Key words
Lactate removal - short term massage recovery - active recovery - half life - supramaximal
exercise
