A comparison of blood lactate concentrations following submaximal aerobic dancing and jogging at equal heart rates

The purpose of this study was to compare the blood lactate concentrations following aerobic dancing and jogging, when exercise was performed at the same submaximal target heart rate (x = 73% maxHR). Twenty-two subjects volunteered to participate for twenty minutes in each mode of exercise. All subjects completed the aerobic dancing first, followed two days later by the jogging. Blood was collected from each subject following each mode of exercise, and analyzed for lactate. Differences in heart rate and blood lactate were determined by a t-test for related measures. No significant difference was found in the exercise heart rate between modes. The blood lactate concentration was significantly higher following aerobic dancing (4.87 mM), when compared to jogging (3.83 mM) (p < .05). It was concluded that: (a) at equal submaximal intensities, aerobic dance causes a significantly higher blood lactate concentration than jogging, and that (b) both aerobic dancing and jogging, when performed at this submaximal intensity, elicit a low enough blood lactate level that the exercise can be maintained for an extended period of time.