muscle & body fat question

zoombie_bear
zoombie_bear Posts: 963 Member
edited September 25 in Fitness and Exercise
I tried a karate/kickboxing class on Saturday, was a killer work out! loved it

Paid for it for days with soar calf muscles, I'm in so much pain, like if I never trained them before, but I do used them everyday, in my other routines, obviously not as much as I taught. outch!!!

Here's my findings and a few questions????

Strangly, I gained a big, 3lbs:of acid lactic from the soaness/muscle perhaps?

Also, lost a wooping 2% body fat in the prosses, how is this even possible?

Replies

  • KhollerSA05
    KhollerSA05 Posts: 39 Member
    I'm not 100% sure, but the extra lactic acid could be causing some water retention that the scale or whatever you are using to measure body fat is mistaking for fat. I know that when I have a really hard core weight training session and I am super soare in large muscles groups such as my legs I tend to gain a few pounds because of it. But i don't track my body fat So I'm not sure how it effects that.

    Anothe possibility is that the swelling of the mucles whoch happens during reapir is causing your body fat meter to to read it correctly.
  • dracobaby82
    dracobaby82 Posts: 380 Member
    to keep your body from getting sore, drink lots and lots of water... I exercise most everyday, and when I do.. .and they are hard workouts, I may be sore for 30 minutes after a workout... I hear when you muscles are hydrated you won't get sore and won't retain as much water :) Don't know if this is true, but I haven't been sore for my entire 2 months of being on this site and exercising... and some days I exercise at least 2 times :)
  • RMinVA
    RMinVA Posts: 1,085 Member
    If you are using a scale that measures body fat, don't give it too much credit. Mine is all over the place: 5% spread over the course of a day. I'm sure it is related to hydration levels. And what happens after a hard workout? Fluid retention. That's why the scale is up and why there is a different reading on your body fat %. Nothing unusual about it. Just one of those things that I don't worry about. It will all go away in a day or so.
  • bluk30
    bluk30 Posts: 37
    Ahhh, your first bout with glycogen supercompensation.

    The big muscles of the body (legs) hold water and glycogen bonded together. When you do anything explosive (jumps, kicks, sprints) that glycogen is used for energy and the water is released. That causes you to drop bodyweight very quickly and will cause a distorted electrical impedance test (if you're using one of those % bodyfat scales).

    When you drank water after the workout it all went towards replenishing those stores, hence the 3lbs difference. I regularly fluctuate 8-10 lbs depending on my previous workout.

    The calf muscles are meant to be activated during fast, ballistic movement, that's why they got more sore than using a machine. Machines don't do much for certain bodyparts unless you do them explosively.
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