LACTIC ACID IS MADE IN MUSCLE: WHAT YOU CAN DO WITH IT

I have vivid memories of accompanying my dad as he lay on the ground with his legs up after a long run or intense cycling. "What are you doing, dad?" I asked, motioning beside him to copy what he was doing. "I have to eliminate the lactic acid!" he told me explaining his recovery routine in a way I understood for my 5 year old. My dad learned what a lot of people thought about lactic acid: that it causes muscle fatigue and pain, and that it needs  to be eliminated somehow in order to recover and avoid pain. As a young athlete, I often heard the same things from my coaches and thought it was true. I later found out that lactic acid doesn't cause muscle pain at all!

The tenderness you experience in your muscles after exercise is caused by microscopic cracks in muscle tissue that are being rebuilt to help you get stronger.

WHAT IS LACTIC ACID?

Lactic acid is a byproduct of glycolysis, one of the metabolic processes the body uses to produce energy during intense exercise. Lactic acid is a general term used to describe lactate and hydrogen ions, which are byproducts of this process.

WHAT DOES LACTIC ACID DO?

Lactic acid is formed in muscle cells during glycolysis to cleanse cells of accumulated pyruvate, a byproduct of glycolysis. Although the hydrogen ion is always present in muscle cells, it is responsible for lowering the pH of muscle tissue, making it more acidic. This decrease in muscle pH, known as acidosis, can lead to a burning sensation in the muscles during intense exercise. Therefore, lactic acid gets a bad rap.

The good news, steroid results however, is that lactic acid further helps our muscles because it ultimately provides energy. Thus: The lactic acid produced during glycolysis is easily released, which means that when lactic acid leaves a muscle cell and enters the bloodstream, the lactate and hydrogen ion are no longer attached and present as lactic acid, but are present separately. in the body as lactate and hydrogen ion. Lactate is often recycled and used as energy, which is much needed during periods of intense exercise.

WHEN IS IT MADE?

Lactic acid is produced during periods of high intensity exercise, when your body is working hard to produce the energy needed to stay active. Our body uses adenosine triphosphate (ATP) as its main source of energy.

The three main energy pathways produce ATP in the body: the ATP-PC system, the glycolytic (glycolysis) system and the oxidation system. (Don't worry, I won't take you back to biology class here.) During periods of high-intensity exercise, such as sprints or heavy lifting while lifting, the body relies on ATP-PC and the glycolytic (glycolysis) systems for quick energy because they produce ATP faster than the oxidation system. . The body uses the ATP-PC system first, because it produces ATP the fastest. When the energy resources of the ATP-PC system begin to pass, the body switches to a glycolytic or glycolysis system.

During the process of glycolysis, pyruvate is formed as a byproduct. When a large amount of oxygen is available in cells, pyruvate breaks down and turns into more ATP, which is used as energy. However, when a person exercises at high intensity, their body is probably unable to get oxygen to the cells fast enough, creating what is called an anaerobic environment in the cell (anaerobic = no oxygen).

When this happens, pyruvate builds up in the muscle cell and quickly turns into lactate, releasing free hydrogen ions. To clear congestion and restore energy production, lactate and hydrogen ion are combined as lactic acid so they can be cleared from the cell and into the bloodstream. In short: lactic acid is formed when muscle cells do not have enough oxygen to use other sources of energy.

WHY LACTIC ACID STRUCTURE?

After removing the lactic acid from the muscle cell, it is released and the lactate and hydrogen ion are present separately in the blood. It is not the lactic acid that builds up in the muscles that causes problems, but rather the buildup of hydrogen ions.