We have all experienced the pain and discomfort a day or so after starting an exercise programme. It may be that you have tried a new activity that you have never done before or it may simply be that you have had a break from your preferred exercise and are just resuming training. Either way your muscles don’t thank you the following morning and grumble and complain every step you take. Many people including some massage Blackburn therapists attribute this pain and discomfort to lactic acid build up from the exercise. However, this is simply not the case and it is one of many exercise myths that abound.
This pain is known as delayed onset muscle soreness (or DOMS for short) and, although it can occur at any time during a training programme, it is most likely to arise when you have done something new or different or significantly increased your training load. The pain next morning can be quite considerable and even getting a massage Melbourne may only provide limited relief. Despite the widespread belief that lactic acid is involved, this is just not the case and lactic acid is not the villain that many sportsmen and sportswomen believe it to be.
Lactic acid is heavily involved in the production of energy during activity, in particular when the levels of oxygen required are greater than are available directly from the blood circulatory system. When this happens then the body relies on anaerobic metabolism to produce required energy for continuing exercise.
As the glucose and carbohydrates breakdown then the body cells produce ATP (adenosine triphosphate) which is responsible for energy production for some of the chemical reactions in the body. A by-product of this chemical reaction is lactic acid. The production rate of lactic acid is directly proportional to the carbohydrates being broken down to supply energy to the tissues.
While lactic acid is considered to be responsible for the burning sensation in the muscles that occurs when exercising vigorously, it is not the reason that muscles experience DOMS. Studies have shown that lactic acid is completely flushed from the muscles about an hour after the activity have concluded.