Until Paul Hendershott broke his record at the Concept 2 European Open in Paris last month, Noel Frost held the 60-69 Hwt world record for a number of years. Despite his ideas flying in the face of mainstream opinion, the success he achieved via them is undeniable, and he's sent us this article on the basics of how he sees the body as working. Terry O'Neill has also written a short piece, explaining how this differs from received wisdom.Noel Frost: To give you an idea of how our bodies work, I refer you to UK motorway traffic. Assuming maximum traffic motorway capacity, the traffic (lactate/blood) flow is a hydraulic equation, which is governed by the most flow you can get for the conditions in place. Most conventional training says that the body slows down when working for a period beyond 'fight or flight' capacity, usually around 10 seconds. This is said to be because the blood becomes more acidic (i.e. the pH lowers); this in my view is rubbish! The pain we get beyond anaerobic capacity - usually around 30 seconds - is similar to hitting our body with a hammer, which is a pressure or hydraulic pain. It is unlike being stung, which is an acid, or low pH, pain.Relating this to motorway traffic, you will find that you slow down for no apparent reason, until you pass an incident that most people have slowed down to view. You have now caused a tail back, which moves further back up the motorway until the arriving traffic is sufficiently little, to allow normal speed. The answer is to regulate the speed of the traffic (lactate/blood) flow to allow the largest volume to pass because traffic takes time to speed up again; namely intelligent speed control. The body works in the same way. When we go too fast initially, we slow down later. Most of the great athletes operate at the about the same pace throughout a 2,000m exercise, to slow down the lactate production.Use the 'fight or flight' system to get ahead at the start, by improving our two-stage heart power. This is done by maximum weights for three to five reps, which give our hearts the best chance of being in the lead. Once there, usually after five strokes, reduce stroke rate and speed to average race pace and go no faster until the last 200m, which must be flat out.-------------------------------------Terry O'Neill: For Noel's theory to work two things would need to take place, blood volume would increase and blood flow would decrease as a result of increased levels of lactate.Blood volume does not increase but its component parts change as a result of chemical action. If anything blood volume decreases as a result of fluid loss due to thermal control.Blood flow increases in proportion to an increase in heart rate; if lactate is being produced then heart rates are high and therefore blood flow is also high.Blood lactate is re-synthesised by a shunt mechanism, which directs blood flow through muscles, which are not working at a level where lactate is being produced. The process occurs as the blood flows through the muscles and does not slow down and queue up. When lactate production occurs at a rate greater than the rate of re-synthesis then it accumulates in the blood stream. This alters the pH of the blood and, as a result, the calcium bond between the actia and myosin breaks down. With the acto-myosin bond broken, further muscle contraction cannot take place.The discomfort felt in the muscle is more likely to be a neurological response to the toxic effect of an increase in CO2 levels, which is also a by-product of anaerobic exercise.Noel also seems to think that the anaerobic alactate system can be called upon again towards the end of a race. This is not possible; all movement is started by the anaerobic alactate system but once it becomes repetitive then it is superseded by the aerobic or anaerobic energy system or a combination of them both. The build up towards the end of a 2,000m piece does not occur by calling on the CP system to kick in to help out, but to increase output to a level where accumulated lactate moves up from a tolerable level to an intolerable level which hopefully coincides with your last stroke.