lactc acid
August 22, 2005 10:47 AM Subscribe
Does lactc acid buildup in your muscles actualy hurt you?
Or is it safe to ignore such pain during workouts.
Or is it safe to ignore such pain during workouts.
As far as I understand, lactic acid is actually what makes your muscles stronger. But that's coming straight from my high school gym coach...
posted by mr.dan at 11:32 AM on August 22, 2005
posted by mr.dan at 11:32 AM on August 22, 2005
Response by poster: As far as I understand, lactic acid is actually what makes your muscles stronger.
Lactic acid is the result of your muscles working without any oxygen. When your cells use up all the oxygen available, they have to start creating ATP using something other then oxygen in the reaction, one of the byproducts of this reaction is lactic acid (this is from my highschool biology teacher :).
From what I understand, muscles get stronger by tearing the fibers between the strands, which cause more fibers to be formed. This isn't painful at all. I've sometimes noticed little 'pops' in my muscles when straining hard, which I've hypothesized, are actually muscle fibers tearing.
Lately I've been working out every day, and usually without any kind of pain at all, my strength has gone up a lot, especially in my abs and back, where I never get any lactic acid buildup. My arms have gotten a lot thicker, and I try to avoid that pain when I'm lifting. You can definitely build muscle without lactic acid pain.
Mostly I was just wondering for curiosity sake. Does lactic acid actually raise the Ph level, which would be bad for the cells, or does it just interact somehow with nerve endings?
posted by delmoi at 11:46 AM on August 22, 2005
Lactic acid is the result of your muscles working without any oxygen. When your cells use up all the oxygen available, they have to start creating ATP using something other then oxygen in the reaction, one of the byproducts of this reaction is lactic acid (this is from my highschool biology teacher :).
From what I understand, muscles get stronger by tearing the fibers between the strands, which cause more fibers to be formed. This isn't painful at all. I've sometimes noticed little 'pops' in my muscles when straining hard, which I've hypothesized, are actually muscle fibers tearing.
Lately I've been working out every day, and usually without any kind of pain at all, my strength has gone up a lot, especially in my abs and back, where I never get any lactic acid buildup. My arms have gotten a lot thicker, and I try to avoid that pain when I'm lifting. You can definitely build muscle without lactic acid pain.
Mostly I was just wondering for curiosity sake. Does lactic acid actually raise the Ph level, which would be bad for the cells, or does it just interact somehow with nerve endings?
posted by delmoi at 11:46 AM on August 22, 2005
"Does lactc acid buildup in your muscles actualy hurt you?"
No. Muscle fatigue is caused by acidosis. Lactate actually buffers the production of acid during intense exercise.
" Or is it safe to ignore such pain during workouts."
Assuming the pain you are referring to is muscle fatigue, induced by anaerobic exercise, then yes, it is relatively safe, even desireable to push hard and improve your ability to sustain effort in this condition.
The elevated heart rate you will induce with anaerobic activity could be a potential risk for some people, as well as clumsiness resulting from fatigue.
posted by Manjusri at 11:48 AM on August 22, 2005
No. Muscle fatigue is caused by acidosis. Lactate actually buffers the production of acid during intense exercise.
" Or is it safe to ignore such pain during workouts."
Assuming the pain you are referring to is muscle fatigue, induced by anaerobic exercise, then yes, it is relatively safe, even desireable to push hard and improve your ability to sustain effort in this condition.
The elevated heart rate you will induce with anaerobic activity could be a potential risk for some people, as well as clumsiness resulting from fatigue.
posted by Manjusri at 11:48 AM on August 22, 2005
Does lactic acid actually raise the Ph level...
Being an acid, I suspect pH levels would be lowered. According to this, pH levels do start to fall, but your body works to correct this.
posted by bachelor#3 at 12:54 PM on August 22, 2005
Being an acid, I suspect pH levels would be lowered. According to this, pH levels do start to fall, but your body works to correct this.
posted by bachelor#3 at 12:54 PM on August 22, 2005
no, the lactic acid buildup in your muscles does not hurt you.
You might feel pain two days after a workout, more than on the day right after the workout. That's normal, even has a name/acronym - delayed-onset muscle (pain) syndrome, or DOMS.
also - remember that SLEEP is an important part of a weight-training regime, and fitness regimen. Get your Zzzz's, and take a day of rest (or two) every week. It's not slacking, but repairing and strenghtening.
More is not always better.
posted by seawallrunner at 2:19 PM on August 22, 2005
You might feel pain two days after a workout, more than on the day right after the workout. That's normal, even has a name/acronym - delayed-onset muscle (pain) syndrome, or DOMS.
also - remember that SLEEP is an important part of a weight-training regime, and fitness regimen. Get your Zzzz's, and take a day of rest (or two) every week. It's not slacking, but repairing and strenghtening.
More is not always better.
posted by seawallrunner at 2:19 PM on August 22, 2005
From what I understand, muscles get stronger by tearing the fibers between the strands, which cause more fibers to be formed.
That was the accepted theory for some time -- it was probably formed as an analogy to directly-observed osteoblast/osteoclast action in bone strengthening. It was somewhat supported by the detection of certain substances (I forgot what, exactly) in the bloodstream after heavy exertion. However this has since been debunked, and there is no consensus explanation for how muscles become stronger. It remains one of the many mysteries of physiology, along with why our muscles sometimes cramp, and why massage relieves tension.
posted by randomstriker at 2:26 PM on August 22, 2005
That was the accepted theory for some time -- it was probably formed as an analogy to directly-observed osteoblast/osteoclast action in bone strengthening. It was somewhat supported by the detection of certain substances (I forgot what, exactly) in the bloodstream after heavy exertion. However this has since been debunked, and there is no consensus explanation for how muscles become stronger. It remains one of the many mysteries of physiology, along with why our muscles sometimes cramp, and why massage relieves tension.
posted by randomstriker at 2:26 PM on August 22, 2005
You're not building more fibers, but thicker ones.
posted by Napierzaza at 3:29 PM on August 22, 2005
posted by Napierzaza at 3:29 PM on August 22, 2005
Lactate's formed by anaerobic metabolism in muscle. Basically your cells will turn sugars into glucose and then 1 glucose into 2 pyruvates.
Pyruvate can go through the citric acid cycle and yield a bungload of good ATP energy (like 36 of them if memory serves); or, if energy is needed stat, pyruvate can be quickly transformed into lactate for a net gain of just a couple of useful ATPs.
When you're done with your high-energy-demand activities, your body can spend a few ATPs to make lactate back into pyruvate and then process it the long way to make lots of energy.
So the short answer is no, it's not harmful to have lactic acid around; it's a metabolic pathway that sees a lot of traffic.
posted by ikkyu2 at 4:36 PM on August 22, 2005
Pyruvate can go through the citric acid cycle and yield a bungload of good ATP energy (like 36 of them if memory serves); or, if energy is needed stat, pyruvate can be quickly transformed into lactate for a net gain of just a couple of useful ATPs.
When you're done with your high-energy-demand activities, your body can spend a few ATPs to make lactate back into pyruvate and then process it the long way to make lots of energy.
So the short answer is no, it's not harmful to have lactic acid around; it's a metabolic pathway that sees a lot of traffic.
posted by ikkyu2 at 4:36 PM on August 22, 2005
This thread is closed to new comments.
I don't think it'd hurt if you're starting to feel the pain during the workout - that is, in fact, a desired outcome. I think it'd be a problem if you're working out when your muscles are in pain from a previous day's workout, as was explained on the above thread.
posted by Moral Animal at 11:15 AM on August 22, 2005