lactic acid

FitCattitude
FitCattitude Posts: 64 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
Hiya :-)

On the last three occasions of exercising (exercise bike/supported weights and 2 sessions of ddp yoga), particularly in the ddp yoga sessions, I hit very strong tingling burning all through my legs, and had to rest. Have chronic atrophy of muscles, from ill health for years, but am determined to get fit and lose weight! Having remembered something about lactic acid, I looked it up more, and found some great stuff out ... posting the best link below.

http://www.wikihow.com/Reduce-Lactic-Acid-Build-up-in-Muscles

I'd been taking painkillers in order to be able to exercise, which can mask this problem building up. Have to take painkillers, but definitely going to shift to some stretches/gentler yoga, and supported upper body work instead, until this calms down ... amazing how gutted I am to have to tone things down a bit; love doing normal sessions, although it has been very gruelling. Only 3 weeks in, and 3 lb lost, which is great, but I definitely don't want to sit and do nothing for days/get out of the habit. Info did say that continuing to exercise when lactic acid effect has really kicked in could do more damage to muscles, so softening the sessions has to happen short term.

Water, deep breathing, stretches, a good anti-oxidant, vit B and magnesium-rich foods, high protein and low carb/sugar, plus warming up and warming down properly, which I hadn't been doing, are the main pointers, as well as that the fitter the body gets, the easier it will deal with lactic acid. Plus protein shakes help with muscle repair.

Dawned on me that maybe many with weight to lose must hit this issue, especially people with health problems, so I hope this is helpful. :smile:

Replies

  • Azdak
    Azdak Posts: 8,281 Member
    Some of the information about what lactic acid is is factual, but most of the information about how to prevent it (and the need to prevent it) is blithering nonsense.

    Lactate accumulation is associated primarily with intensity and to some extent with muscle-fiber type recruitment. At some point, if you are working at a high intensity relative to your max or doing an activity like lifting weights that is primarily anaerobic, you will use the glycolytic pathway. Sustained effort at this level will result in early fatigue. However, drinking water is not going to alter that process, nor is diet to any significant degree.

    Training to improve max fitness level and to train the aerobic system to function at higher levels (threshold training) will increase the point at which lactate accumulation occurs, but it will always occur if you work hard enough. That's not a bad thing.

    There are some medical conditions that can cause higher levels of lactate accumulation at lower levels of exercise, but that's a completely different story.
  • teckelwood
    teckelwood Posts: 4 Member
    What stretches/yoga do you do before exercise?
  • h7463
    h7463 Posts: 626 Member
    Hi there!
    I had returned to training after a long time, and let me tell you, I was burning all over. It will get better. Take a rest if needed, slow down a bit, if you must, but don't give up. Your body will learn to adjust.
    However, go easy on pain killers. Personally, if there is no severe injury, only soreness, I will not take pain pills, especially not NSAIDs. I prefer that my body learns to repair itself, and it is doing so at a much faster rate now, compared to the beginning 3 years ago.
    I agree on the section in your post about warmup, stretching, nutrition.... That's what you need to improve your performance.

    Good luck! Happy training!
  • FitCattitude
    FitCattitude Posts: 64 Member
    Some of the information about what lactic acid is is factual, but most of the information about how to prevent it (and the need to prevent it) is blithering nonsense.

    Lactate accumulation is associated primarily with intensity and to some extent with muscle-fiber type recruitment. At some point, if you are working at a high intensity relative to your max or doing an activity like lifting weights that is primarily anaerobic, you will use the glycolytic pathway. Sustained effort at this level will result in early fatigue. However, drinking water is not going to alter that process, nor is diet to any significant degree.

    Training to improve max fitness level and to train the aerobic system to function at higher levels (threshold training) will increase the point at which lactate accumulation occurs, but it will always occur if you work hard enough. That's not a bad thing.

    There are some medical conditions that can cause higher levels of lactate accumulation at lower levels of exercise, but that's a completely different story.

    Thanks for explaining more about it. Interesting to learn more. :smile:
  • FitCattitude
    FitCattitude Posts: 64 Member
    What stretches/yoga do you do before exercise?

    I hadn't been doing any, tbh, but basically just some all over stretches eg hamstring, shoulders, side bends, touch toes, things like that, and the gentler yoga would be via Lynn Marshall's 'wake up to yoga', which is what worked so well when I did yoga before. The book's just a few pounds on Amazon, and practicing daily brings loads more energy, flexibility, plus you find within a few weeks that all you want is healthy food, no cravings. :smile:
  • FitCattitude
    FitCattitude Posts: 64 Member
    Hi there!
    I had returned to training after a long time, and let me tell you, I was burning all over. It will get better. Take a rest if needed, slow down a bit, if you must, but don't give up. Your body will learn to adjust.
    However, go easy on pain killers. Personally, if there is no severe injury, only soreness, I will not take pain pills, especially not NSAIDs. I prefer that my body learns to repair itself, and it is doing so at a much faster rate now, compared to the beginning 3 years ago.
    I agree on the section in your post about warmup, stretching, nutrition.... That's what you need to improve your performance.

    Good luck! Happy training!

    Hiya h7463! :smile: Thanks so much for reassurance, and glad to hear things improved for you. Yes, it's frustrating having to rest, but I'm finding tracking, drinking water, eating right etc is keeping me 'in the zone', while gently stretching out my muscles a lot. Yes, it's ibuprofen I'm taking, and your advice is really wise; it's just that I have arthritic hips and a lot of muscle pain, which often wakes me up, grrr, and makes mobility difficult (Arthur Boorman is my inspiration, for sure). I couldn't do any exercise without taking them, and actually still can feel some pain even on full dose (at the moment, 3 x 400mg), which helps me to regulate. For years, I used to avoid taking them if at all possible, so I could really tune in to my body and make sure I didn't do it any damage, but I think that also made me a bit nervous of moving about, and contributed to muscle weakness. That's awesome that your body repairs itself at a much faster rate, and I look forward to getting stronger and more supple, and long term to gradually being able to come off the painkillers. Very inspired to read about your recovery, and thanks!
  • h7463
    h7463 Posts: 626 Member
    Hey girl! No problem. I'm 51, and I know how 'sore' feels like around our age! I used to come out of a weekend competing on the track or volleyball with black and blue ankles, and by Wednesday of the same week, I was back to normal. Nowadays, it's still a Wednesday, but I'd be lucky if it's the same month..... But there's hope!
    About exercising and pain/killers.... For those muscles to wake up and grow, we actually cause inflammation on purpose by exercising . All those aches and pains usually are inflamed, torn muscle fibers. That sets a whole series of biochemical reactions in motion, in order to repair the damage, and make it even better...until the next workout that is.... That' s 'bodybuilding in a nut shell'.
    Now, if you swallow pain killers that reduce inflammation, you basically confuse your body completely. Repair or no repair...? That's why I might take a pain killer to take the top of the pain in case of an injury, but otherwise work on bumps and bruises, or single muscles with local topical ointments. No need flooding my whole body with it.
    The whole situation is probably a lot different for you with chronic pain. Ask your doc for advise about a better medication for the purpose, or for better timing for taking your medication around your training.

    Take care! :happy:
  • dbmata
    dbmata Posts: 12,950 Member
    My, my, my acid makes me, so sore. Makes me say oh my lord.
    Thank you, for burning me. From my spine to the bottoms of my feet.
    It feels good, when you put **** down, actin sucha dope poseboy from selfietown
    And I'm known as such, And this is a burn, uh, you can't touch


    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otCpCn0l4Wo
  • FitCattitude
    FitCattitude Posts: 64 Member
    Hey girl! No problem. I'm 51, and I know how 'sore' feels like around our age! I used to come out of a weekend competing on the track or volleyball with black and blue ankles, and by Wednesday of the same week, I was back to normal. Nowadays, it's still a Wednesday, but I'd be lucky if it's the same month..... But there's hope!
    About exercising and pain/killers.... For those muscles to wake up and grow, we actually cause inflammation on purpose by exercising . All those aches and pains usually are inflamed, torn muscle fibers. That sets a whole series of biochemical reactions in motion, in order to repair the damage, and make it even better...until the next workout that is.... That' s 'bodybuilding in a nut shell'.
    Now, if you swallow pain killers that reduce inflammation, you basically confuse your body completely. Repair or no repair...? That's why I might take a pain killer to take the top of the pain in case of an injury, but otherwise work on bumps and bruises, or single muscles with local topical ointments. No need flooding my whole body with it.
    The whole situation is probably a lot different for you with chronic pain. Ask your doc for advise about a better medication for the purpose, or for better timing for taking your medication around your training.

    Take care! :happy:

    Thanks. ???? And I entirely agree about the 'sore', lol. You must have worked really hard to need 3 days recovery. Great explanation, and now I'm wondering what's best; pondering needed. Remembering the Krypton Factor, lol. It had never crossed my mind about ointments; great idea. I'm having to take pills across the full day, unless I tried to take them only to ensure sleep; not sure how possible the day would be with that, but will definitely talk to GP. ????
  • Ashes_To_Beast
    Ashes_To_Beast Posts: 378 Member
    You might want to google the benefits of lactic acid when your training. An increase in lactate leads to dramatic increases in Growth Hormone, thus resulting in very significant losses of body fat. Alot of work out programs try to create Lactic acid build up for that exact reason.

    Also taking pain killers after working out to relieve doms is not recommended. But I'm just here to raise flags you'll have to do your own research if your curious.
    Cheers :drinker:
  • h7463
    h7463 Posts: 626 Member

    Thanks. ???? And I entirely agree about the 'sore', lol. You must have worked really hard to need 3 days recovery. Great explanation, and now I'm wondering what's best; pondering needed. Remembering the Krypton Factor, lol. It had never crossed my mind about ointments; great idea. I'm having to take pills across the full day, unless I tried to take them only to ensure sleep; not sure how possible the day would be with that, but will definitely talk to GP. ????

    Hahahaha....track and field competition, like high jump, long jump...volleyball can hurt a lot, too.....all in much younger days, though...
    The UP side on it is, however, my muscles still remembered. And despite of what many might argue around eating at a deficit, as a returning athlete...uhmmm...so to speak...I lost weight, fat AND packed on a ton of muscles anyway...lol
    Funny how that started...I wrecked my back a bit, overworking it around my horses, and the doc gave me exercises to stretch and strengthen everything. And I got bored, dusted off the home gym, bought a few more dumbbells, and the personal science project has been in progress for 3 years now....and counting..
    If your hips are the weakest link in this chain, maybe take another look at your exercise lineup. There is no point in 'working through the pain', but you can always find a smarter way to work around it. If that's too public to discuss on here, just send me a message and I'll be happy to take a look at it!

    :flowerforyou:
  • FitCattitude
    FitCattitude Posts: 64 Member
    My, my, my acid makes me, so sore. Makes me say oh my lord.
    Thank you, for burning me. From my spine to the bottoms of my feet.
    It feels good, when you put **** down, actin sucha dope poseboy from selfietown
    And I'm known as such, And this is a burn, uh, you can't touch


    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=otCpCn0l4Wo

    Lol! Having a good dance to this should certainly get the burn going! :smile:
  • FitCattitude
    FitCattitude Posts: 64 Member
    You might want to google the benefits of lactic acid when your training. An increase in lactate leads to dramatic increases in Growth Hormone, thus resulting in very significant losses of body fat. Alot of work out programs try to create Lactic acid build up for that exact reason.

    Also taking pain killers after working out to relieve doms is not recommended. But I'm just here to raise flags you'll have to do your own research if your curious.
    Cheers :drinker:

    Thanks. I think it's going to be a balancing job of being out of pain enough to exercise, get some benefit from that, and reduce painkillers steadily. Certainly makes for interesting research; learning a lot! :drinker:
  • FitCattitude
    FitCattitude Posts: 64 Member

    Thanks. ???? And I entirely agree about the 'sore', lol. You must have worked really hard to need 3 days recovery. Great explanation, and now I'm wondering what's best; pondering needed. Remembering the Krypton Factor, lol. It had never crossed my mind about ointments; great idea. I'm having to take pills across the full day, unless I tried to take them only to ensure sleep; not sure how possible the day would be with that, but will definitely talk to GP. ????

    Hahahaha....track and field competition, like high jump, long jump...volleyball can hurt a lot, too.....all in much younger days, though...
    The UP side on it is, however, my muscles still remembered. And despite of what many might argue around eating at a deficit, as a returning athlete...uhmmm...so to speak...I lost weight, fat AND packed on a ton of muscles anyway...lol
    Funny how that started...I wrecked my back a bit, overworking it around my horses, and the doc gave me exercises to stretch and strengthen everything. And I got bored, dusted off the home gym, bought a few more dumbbells, and the personal science project has been in progress for 3 years now....and counting..
    If your hips are the weakest link in this chain, maybe take another look at your exercise lineup. There is no point in 'working through the pain', but you can always find a smarter way to work around it. If that's too public to discuss on here, just send me a message and I'll be happy to take a look at it!

    :flowerforyou:

    Wow, inspiring reading everything you did. Can bet that was a lot of fun, beyond any aches and pains. And great about the muscles too! And it's amazing how adapting and learning from injuries, or illness, brings up new solutions and achievement. The back's so central, core strength ... I know I couldn't get into downward dog 2 weeks ago, zero strength, and now I can! It's things like that that make you realise you really can make good progress, however steady, lol. Yes, I got the home gym installed, just a cheap one but with a bench and backrest, to take as much pressure off my hips/bones. I kind of laugh looking at it sometimes, lol, as I hardly do anything, but little bits of work end up adding up! I'll message, and thanks! :flowerforyou:

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