The origin of the term VLamax is similar to VO2max. The ‘V’ should carry a dot above, and expresses a flow rate. The ‘La’ stands for lactate, and the ‘max’ for maximum. Therefore, VLamax refers to the maximum lactate production rate. The value used is either mmol/l/min (VLa), or mmol/l/s (VLamax). Lactate production is an important marker in sports performance because: 1) it is generated by the combustion of carbohydrates. The more lactate produced – the more carbohydrates consumed. 2) with every single molecule of lactate produced, energy for muscle contraction is released. 3) the rate – not the concentration(!) – of lactate production is an important indicator for the performance or capacity of glycolytic energy production. As lactate is the end product of glycolysis, the more lactate produced in a certain amount of time- the more energy is produced in the glycolytic (anaerobic) metabolism (in vivo, the equilibrium between pyruvate and lactate, is heavily on the side of lactate!). Therefore we can refer to VLamax as maximum glycolytic (anaerobic) capacity.