Lactate is constantly being produced by the body. At rest and in light exercise, the level of lactate produced is small enough that you can effectively remove it without problem. With increasing exercise intensity, lactate production increases and reaches levels that become problematic and that are associated with fatigue. Steady State Threshold (SST, also known as OBLA) is defined as “an exponential shift in blood lactate levels”. In terms of performance, improving the speed at which you can operate before blood lactate levels rise, will improve your performance.