Correlation between Blood Lactate and the Rate of Perceived Exertion in Different Resistance Exercises

Aim: Analyze the production of blood lactate [BL] and the rate of perceived exertion [RPE] after the following exercises: bench press, half-squat, lat pull-down and triceps pushdown.

Method: The sample was selected by convenience. Seven male volunteers (mean age: 26.5 ± 5.42 years old; body height: 1.77 ± 0.07 m; body mass: 80.09 ± 11.4 kg and body fat: 11.23 ± 4.6%) participated in the study. To be included in the sample, volunteers were required to have at least one year of continuous experience in resistance exercise training of at least three times per week and no history of anabolic steroid use.

Results: There was no difference in BL production (F {3; 3.692} = 0.689; p = 0.58) or peak BL time (F {3; 222.527} = 1.400; p = 0.27) among the exercises studied. There was also no significant difference between the BL peak and the exercise performance time (F {3; 2.722} = 1758; p = 0.06).

Conclusions: Considering the discrepancies found among these results and others already reported, caution should be taken when applying the OMNI-RES scale as a method for adjusting resistance exercise intensity. Further studies are recommended to determine the influence of different variables related to resistance exercise [RE] on the RPE.

Keywords: resistance training, lactate, omni-res scale.