First, Let's Clarify Some Science Regarding Lactic Acid and Lactate...
One thing I did want to clarify...when I use the term "Lactic Acid", it's a bit of a misnomer. I use it because it's the phrase most people are familiar with, whereas the "real" name of the substance we're interested in is Lactate.
Lactate is a byproduct of "fuel" being burned for muscle contraction. It is actually recycled and reused as fuel for the muscles (this is known as the Krebs Cycle).
However, the production of lacate results in the release of hydrogen ions, which is actually the "acid" part of the equation. THIS is the reason for the "burn"...acidosis...not actually Lactic Acid.
This acid is believed to interfere with the action of actin and myosin in the muscle fibers (the "contractile" elements), which is what causes the eventual "chemical failure" of your muscles.
If you're interested digging deeper, here's a good a study on GH and lactate production. This one demonstrates evidence of the link between them.
Godfrey RJ, Whyte GP, Buckley J, Quinlivan R “The role of lactate in the exercise-induced human growth hormone response: evidence from McArdle disease” Br J Sports Med. 2009 Jul;43(7):521-5. Epub 2008 Jan 9.
How to Perform Lactic Acid/ Lactate Tolerance Training...
You're going to be using dumbbell and barbell rows for this exercise combination.
First, grab your moderately-heavy dumbbells (75's are what I'm using) and crank out as many "power" reps as you can with them.
Don't worry too much about feeling the back muscles contracting...just go for as many reps as you can while keeping to relatively good form.
You'll notice when I'm doing these rows, I'm keeping a somewhat upright body position (about 45 degree at the torso), not fully bent forward at the waist. This is on purpose, as I find this position allows me to get the most reps in this fashion while still maintaining enough forward lean to target the muscles of the back I want to target.
When performing dumbbell rows like this, keep your feet close together so the weights don't hit your legs.
Power out as many reps as you can...it's fine to have a little body movement here, especially as you fatigue, as long as you're getting reps without bobbing up and down completely out of control.
Once you've powered out as many as you can, set those down, rest 20 seconds, then grab the light ones that are about half the weight (I'm using 35's).
When doing these, these reps should be more strict. Focus on squeezing the muscles of the back and keeping continuous tension on...don't fully extend the arms at the bottom. Visualize your arms like a bicycle pump, gradually pumping more and more air into your back.
Repeat sets with this weight for 2 more sets (20 seconds rest in between).
You should your barbell preset and ready to go for the Stability Drop...same weight as the dumbbells were.
Take an underhand grip on the bar and perform the "power" rows.
Again, you'll notice the more upright stance here...if I was doing overhand, wide-grip rows (like Pendlay Rows), I would be leaning over quite a bit more to target the muscles of the upper back. This position is better for hitting the lats.
Crank out as many reps as you can, then set the bar down. If you only have the one bar, reduce the weight by half. If you have two bars available, you can pre-set the lighter weight on the other bar so you don't have to change weights (I do have two bars but wanted to demonstrate the procedure for just one bar).
Perform continuous-tension reps with the lighter weight, getting as many as you can with tight form, squeezing the muscles of your back HARD at the top of each reps and never going to full extension at the bottom.
When you've hit as many you can, set the weight down and rest 20 seconds. Perform two more sets like this, with 20 seconds rest in between.
Then you're done with back!
For One More Level of Stability
If you want to add in a back machine to add a third level of Stability Drop (as I told you about with the bench press machine), I would suggest using a T-Bar row or another lever-based rowing machine. Anything that stabilizes the load more than a barbell will work.
Again, if you go for this, only perform 2 sets of the "light" work for each drop.
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And if you like this workout, you'll LOVE these ones...
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