Yoga to remove lactic acid from the body. Why lactic acid accumulates in muscles - a means of cleansing metabolites

Instruction

Pain and muscle fatigue by products of the breakdown of the acids- hydrogen ions, which reduce the overall acid-base balance of the body. It is logical that the more intense and sharp loads your muscles experience during the shock phase of training, the more the body produces dairy acids, as well as its decay products. Based on the fact that when hydrogen ions are released, the athlete's blood "acidifies", one of the recommendations for restoring the acid-base balance can be the use of alkaline mineral water.

There is another (more effective) way to get rid of pain of this origin. Athletes often build their workouts according to the principle of warm-up + main (shock) phase. But in order for the decay products dairy acids remained in the body as little as possible, it is necessary to remove them from there. And this will not help you with passive rest, for example, complete rest and, but a moderate smooth load on your driven muscles - leisurely cycling, running, swimming, stretching. This type of activity can be attributed to a kind of (mandatory!) "hitch" after a workout. Of the less effective, but more pleasant methods of getting rid of excess dairy acids, or rather, from the products of its decay, you can use massage, a warm bath or sauna.

Helpful advice

If you feel muscle pain during or immediately after a workout, and there is no opportunity to run or swim, then as a "hitch" do some stretching exercises with deep breathing through the diaphragm - the stomach.

Sources:

Types of muscle pain
lactic acid in muscles

From the point of view of chemistry, lactic acid is a breakdown product, or glycolysis, of two substances - glycogen and glucose. It is during glycolysis that the energy is released, which is so necessary for athletes during training.

Where did the idea of excess lactic acid in the body come from?

There is a common belief that lactic acid causes a lot of problems for athletes and is a real enemy, a serious obstacle to a successful sports career. It is believed that if the level of lactic acid in the athlete's body is higher than normal, he experiences severe pain and muscle cramps, and oxygen starvation may also occur.

In order to understand in more detail the veracity or falsity of such a stereotype, one should first turn to biochemistry. Formally, lactic acid is a glucose molecule split in two, which, in the process of splitting - glycolysis - releases special substances - pyruvates. These substances are used by human muscles as energy fuel, and without them, the muscles simply cannot contract and relax, complete inactivity.

Especially a lot of pyruvates are released during physical training due to the increased intensity of glycolysis, and the excess of this substance is eventually converted back into lactic acid. This is why intense training often leads to an excess of athletes. However, the opinion that lactic acid causes the characteristic pain that athletes and bodybuilders usually overtake a few days after training has not been confirmed or scientifically proven. Fifteen years have passed since pundits found out the true cause of post-workout muscle pain - these are banal microtraumas of muscle fibers associated with an unusually large load.

Why does the body need lactic acid?

Lactic acid is the most important source of energy for the whole body. If the intensity of sports training is very high, then the lactic acid produced in the so-called fast fibers is transported to slow fibers, where it is then converted into energy fuel.

It is in the muscles of the athlete that three-quarters of the total amount of lactic acid produced is processed. About a quarter of lactic acid from muscle fibers enters the liver and kidneys with the help of the circulatory system, where it is successfully processed. Thus, the widespread conviction about the so-called "excess" lactic acid in the body has no scientific confirmation today.

Experienced muscle pain after a workout is a clear sign that you have fully loaded your body and spent time in the gym knowingly. Such sensations are normal, which quickly pass during rest and sleep. And if we are talking about fatigue and overtraining, one cannot but pay attention to such a substance as lactic acid, which is produced by our body under certain conditions. What it is, when exactly its synthesis begins and what it affects - we will consider further.

Lactic acid

Lactic acid in the human body: how and when does it appear?

First, let's figure out exactly how lactic acid appears in the muscles.

The source of "energy", thanks to which we can perform approach after approach, repetition after repetition, and in general - any physical activity - is adenosine triphosphate (or ATP for short). Each organism has a fixed supply of it, which is consumed during exercise. On average, it lasts a little longer than an hour of intense work - it is for this reason that the duration of the workout should not exceed this time.

After the ATP stores are depleted, and the muscles are still loaded, the process of obtaining “fuel” for the body changes. ATP begins to be produced at an emergency pace, by breaking down glucose. However, along with adenosine triphosphate, which is so necessary for the body, lactic acid (or lactate) also appears.

The attitude towards lactic acid is rather ambiguous. Inexperienced beginners who are just starting to learn the theoretical foundations of bodybuilding and the processes that affect the quality of training, believe that lactic acid in the muscles is harmful and only slows down progress. However, this is a serious misconception: in fact, lactate is a kind of fast “fuel” for the body, and allows you to train much more efficiently and productively.

Why does muscle pain occur?

When athletes experience severe muscle soreness after a workout (particularly after a break from exercise or when doing new exercises), it is often believed that excess lactic acid is the cause. In fact, this is partly misunderstood.

The burning sensation that occurs in the muscles, which disappears after a couple of days, is actually referred to as delayed muscle pain (abbreviated as TMP). It is the ZMB that you feel when you start making significant changes to the program: doing new exercises, training longer, or when you resume training after a long break. This phenomenon is minimally associated with lactic acid - the occurrence of burning occurs due to the fact that muscle fibers receive microtrauma during exercise. The healing of these very micro-tears is accompanied by muscle pain, and with them, muscle growth.

Such a feeling is typical only for the first workouts: literally after 3-4 sessions, the burning sensation will be felt much weaker, or even completely disappear. This is due to the fact that the body is a system that can adapt to a variety of conditions. After that, microtraumas will stop healing so painfully and for a long time, which means that the growth of muscle fibers will slow down. It is for this reason that it is necessary to regularly change the training program. According to the recommendations of many athletes, some changes should be made after 2-3 months of usual activities - and this will positively affect the rate of muscle growth and strength.

The effect of lactic acid on muscles

The production of lactic acid also has its downsides. In particular, its accumulation in the body begins to impede the contraction of muscle fibers, impairs nerve conduction and reduces the rate of "energy" production. That is, to put it simply, it helps the athlete with short-term intense repetitions, but interferes with long-term loads.

Massage and sauna to remove lactic acid from the body

So, we have already figured out that lactic acid is not such a serious and dangerous enemy for the human body and for progress in bodybuilding. With the right approach, on the contrary, it can become your “assistant”, with a thoughtful combination of exercises, allowing you to improve the effectiveness of training.

However, athletes who do not understand such issues often spend a considerable amount of time supposedly ridding the body of lactic acid. There is a misconception that after a hard workout, when muscle pain is felt, a warm bath, sauna and massage help speed up recovery and get rid of lactic acid.

In fact, it has been repeatedly proven that these undeniably useful and pleasant methods in no way affect the amount of lactic acid in the body. Studies were carried out to prove this: one group of people simply rested after an intense load, and the second one visited a sauna and a massage session. As a result, a blood test taken from both groups showed the same content of lactic acid salts - which means that neither sauna nor massage does anything to speed up recovery.

But acceleration is affected by calm and unhurried cycling. Just 15-30 minutes spent "in the saddle" significantly reduced the level of lactic acid.

Summing up

Such a question certainly presents a significant difficulty for many athletes who are not familiar in detail with their own body and the processes that take place in it. In principle, it is not at all necessary to understand this in detail - it is enough to study at least superficially in order to avoid common misconceptions. So let's recap.

Lactic acid occurs during the breakdown of glucose when ATP reserves run out.
Lactic acid is NOT an "enemy" of the body and muscles.
Lactic acid helps to perform short-term intensive repetitions, but makes it difficult - long ones.
Lactic acid does NOT cause the burning sensation we experience days after a workout.
Lactic acid is NOT eliminated faster due to sauna or massage.
Lactic acid makes it harder for muscle fibers to contract, leading to fatigue during exercise.

When you just start playing sports, do a certain set of exercises, do an intensive workout - after completing such a workout, you definitely feel pain in the muscles, general weakness of the body. This continues not only the first few hours, but even the next 1-2 days. Why is this happening? The answer is simple: lactic acid accumulates in the muscles, and the body needs time to remove it. However, this process can be accelerated in several ways - we will discuss this in this article.

So, you decided to go in for sports, performed a number of physical exercises, your muscles got a good load. As you know, physical activity reduces the flow of blood and oxygen to the muscles, so the muscle needs another source of energy to perform exercises. In the absence of oxygen, glycogen in the muscles provides energy. In the process of energy production, lactic acid is also released (its main components are lactate anion and hydrogen), which, under conditions of reduced blood flow, is extremely slowly removed from the muscles, respectively, accumulates in them, reducing the ph level in muscle tissue, which causes a burning sensation and pain.

Symptoms

Muscle pain, burning.
General weakness, weakness.
When trying to do a couple more exercises, the pain intensifies.
Sometimes - it is difficult to raise your arms, difficulty walking.
Rarely - an increase in body temperature.

The discomfort does not go away the next day. The fact is that lactic acid is independently excreted from muscle tissue within 1-2 days, after which all pain sensations subside. If you are worried about muscle pain 2-3 days after training, then this is not related to lactic acid, most likely, an injury has occurred (stretching, bruising, etc.).

How to get rid of lactic acid?

To speed up the removal of lactic acid from muscle fibers, and at the same time reduce discomfort in the muscles, you should use the following recommendations:

Warming up the muscles - before intense physical activity, prepare your muscles for it. Do a little warm-up with elementary exercises - this is how you tell the body about your intentions to conduct an enhanced workout.
Building a training program - do not start sports with heavy loads, start with simple exercises, gradually increasing their intensity, then move on to complex ones. Even when you have mastered all the exercises, it is recommended to alternate short intense workouts with long endurance sessions.
Stretching - immediately after training, perform a set of exercises to stretch the muscles that were loaded. Stretching will reduce pain and mitigate the effects of overload. You can also work on an exercise bike or treadmill after a workout for 5-7 minutes in a calm rhythm.
Drink more fluids - during physical exertion, you should drink at least 3 liters of water per day, and preferably 4-5 liters. And not only on the day of training, but also the next day. Instead of water, you can drink green tea, but not coffee or alcohol. And at high pressure - only water.
Proper nutrition - excellent help to remove lactic acid cherry and pomegranate juice, as well as a decoction of nettle, hawthorn, rose hips. And in general, any vegetables, fruits, herbs are your allies.
A bath or sauna is a great way to solve this problem. Under the influence of high temperature, the blood vessels dilate, and the blood flow accelerates, as a result of which the lactic acid accumulated in the muscles is excreted faster. It is enough to spend 5 minutes in the steam room, then pour cool water on it (repeat the procedure 2-3 times).
Hot bath - as a substitute for a steam room. Restore breathing after training, wait until the pulse returns to normal and immerse yourself in a hot bath for 10 minutes, then rinse with cold water, then again in a hot bath and so on 3-4 times. For heart problems, diabetes, vascular diseases, it is better to use a contrast shower instead of a hot bath.
Post-workout massage - massage will soothe the muscles, relax them. It is best to entrust such a massage to a professional who will help your muscles move away from the load. But you can massage yourself - this will also have its effect.

Some novice athletes search the Internet for the names of medications (pills, extracts, ointments) that should help remove lactic acid from the muscles. But think: why do we need pills if you can get rid of this liquid in the usual way? Burning and sore muscles after a workout can be reduced quite easily, and over time, your muscles adapt to the stress and can cope on their own.

Anyone who has ever played sports knows firsthand muscle pain. The reason for this is lactic acid. It is because of it that you feel pain in various muscle groups, you may experience weakness and even go to bed with a high fever.

Muscles need a certain amount of oxygen to function properly. It is oxygen that allows you to replenish energy reserves in the muscles. Naturally, the more intense the work of the muscles, the more oxygen they need. But here a snag arises - a feature of our body is that with intense muscle contraction, the supply of oxygen to them is blocked. During intense exercise, local blood flow slows down, as a result of which less oxygen enters the muscles. Muscles have to look for a new source of energy. In anaerobic mode, energy without oxygen helps to produce glycogen contained in the muscles. As a result of this work, secretions called lactic acid appear. Since the blood flow rate decreases during physical activity, lactic acid is difficult to be removed from the muscle tissues and accumulates in them.

Lactic acid belongs to the group of mild acids, its main components are lactate anion and hydrogen. Acid significantly reduces the PH level in muscle tissue, so a person feels a burning sensation and pain.

What causes muscle pain?

Most of the lactic acid leaves the muscle fibers on its own within 2-3 days from the moment it is produced. However, many probably noticed that muscle pain remains on the third or fourth day after, when lactic acid should have already left the muscle tissue. The fact is that acid can provoke damage to muscle fibers. If this happens, then you will experience a feeling of pain until the muscles are fully restored.

During training, be sure to pay attention to your feelings! If you feel a strong burning sensation in the muscles, we recommend that you reduce the intensity of the workout or stop it altogether, since there is a possibility that lactic acid has been produced in large quantities and the muscle fibers will be severely damaged.

How to withdraw

With excessive production of lactic acid, it should be eliminated. This will significantly reduce the burning sensation and the risk of developing a delayed pain syndrome. Of course, you will not be able to remove the acid from the body completely, but you can speed up this process.

One of the available ways to deal with lactic acid is a hot bath. Take a bath full of hot water that you can bear. Sit in the bath for 10 minutes, while making sure that the skin in the heart area is not covered with hot water. After 10 minutes, splash yourself with cool water and spend a few minutes not in the bathroom. Then repeat the procedure. It is recommended to do no more than five cycles at a time. After completing the procedure, rub the muscles with a terry towel.

People with high blood pressure, pregnant women and women during the menstrual cycle, hot baths are contraindicated.

A visit to the sauna will also help get rid of lactic acid. When exposed to high temperatures, muscle fibers and blood vessels expand, and blood flow increases. All this contributes to the rapid removal of acid. However, remember that you should not spend a lot of time in the sauna without a break. Otherwise, it can only get worse. It is recommended to visit the sauna according to the following scheme: the first approach is 10 minutes, then you need to leave the cabin for 5 minutes, increase the second approach to 15 minutes, then again take a five-minute break. During the day, you can spend no more than an hour in the sauna. We recommend finishing this procedure with a cool shower.

People suffering from hypertension, diabetes, cardiovascular diseases are not recommended to visit the steam room.

Also, on the first day after training, you should drink as much liquid as possible. You can drink water or green tea. People with high blood pressure should drink pure still water instead of green tea. It is recommended to drink about 4 liters of fluid per day.

In order not to suffer from pain after training in the future, we recommend that you draw up a training plan. This will save the muscles from overload and allow you to alternate exercises for different muscle groups.

There are many myths about "lactic acid causing muscle pain". Therefore, let's start: to begin with, let's say that it is correct to call lactic acid - lactate, since in the human body there is not and cannot be exactly lactic acid. The body produces lactate, which will be discussed.

And although there are enough reliable materials about lactate in Russian, numerous amateur athletes (and some professionals) stubbornly continue to believe and repeat the myths of the last century.

We'll walk you through the basic facts about lactate so you can confidently part ways with a trainer who tells you your muscles are sore day two "because of lactic acid."

And although the terms “lactic acid” and “lactate” are equated on Wikipedia, the substance formed in the body should be called lactate.

1. Lactate is always formed during energy production.

The main way energy enters cells is the degradation of glucose. It is from the operational supply of carbohydrates (aka glycogen) that the body receives energy. The glucose molecule undergoes a series of 10 consecutive reactions. Lactate is one result of this biochemical reaction. However, it cannot be called a “by-product”; lactate has several important functions.

2. Part of the lactate is used for energy synthesis

From 15 to 20% of the total amount of lactate is converted into glycogen during gluconeogenesis.

It looks like this schematically:

Read more about what glycogen is, how many of its reserves are in the body, how much is enough for them and whether it is possible to stock up more (for example, before running competitions) - read in our text.

3. Lactate is a universal energy carrier

Under conditions of high anaerobic energy production, lactate transports energy from places where it is impossible to transform energy, due to increased acidity, to places where it can be transformed into energy (heart, respiratory muscles, slow twitch muscle fibers, etc.). muscle groups).

4. Lactate levels are not rising due to lack of oxygen.

Animal studies show that intracellular oxygen deficiency in isolated muscle does not show any limitation of mitochondrial respiratory chain activity even during maximal exercise. We will always have enough oxygen in the muscles.

5. Lactate is a load indicator

As we already wrote in the first fact, when the body receives the energy it needs, the formation of lactate always occurs. However, lactate can accumulate - simply because the rate of energy transformation in anaerobic and aerobic exercise is different.

The faster an athlete runs, the faster they produce lactate. The level of lactate in the blood is closely related to the intensity of the exercise.

This graph shows the dependence: at a speed close to the maximum, the level of lactate (together with the energy necessary to achieve this speed) increases significantly:

6. 90% of lactate is utilized by the body in the first hour after training

60% of lactate in the body is completely oxidized to CO2 and water. About 20% is converted into glycogen during gluconeogenesis, a part is used for the formation of amino acids (parts of proteins). Only a small part (less than 5%) of lactate is excreted in sweat and urine.

7. Lactate does not cause pain and muscle cramps

Muscle soreness the day after an intense workout is caused by muscle damage and tissue inflammation that occurs after exercise, not by the presence of lactate.

Most muscle cramps are triggered by nerve receptors in the muscles that become overexcited with the onset of fatigue in the muscles.

Why do muscles hurt after a workout and is it possible to go to the next workout with muscle pain - read in the text