Lactic Acid in the Muscles

Being very sporty and active is good but in life, it is all about striking the balance and not overdoing things.  This also goes the same with exercising.  Which is why there is always a progressive training for building up and finally getting to the desired level of fitness which you want.

What happens when you over exercise?

Body Stress and Injury: There are higher chances of getting yourself injured and also your body is bound to more stress.  When that happens, you tend to fall sick easily, which is why after a marathon or ultramarathon, the body is at its weakest point and needs some time to rest and recover.  Even for the toughest marathon and ultramarathoners.  They do train with some rest days and also proper stress release and massages.

Injuries are likely to be sustained from more high impact activities like running, harsh ball games like Rugby and Soccer.  Even gymnasts needs to let their muscles relax after a day of hard training.

Overtraining disrupts your sleep and eating patterns: When you overtrain, chances are that you will feel extreme fatigue and tiredness.  This can be up to a point where you will just be insomniac. Another case is that you will experience loss of appetite and have very irregular eating patterns.  These signs are not good because it affect your body’s intake of nutrition to fuel your training.   At the same time, you need proper diet to help repair the injured muscles.

Building up of Lactic Acid in the muscles:  Lactic acid is a compound that is produced when sugar ( glucose) is broken down and oxidised in your body.  When you exercise intensely, the oxygen intake is shorter and lower.  At the same time, the oxygen level in your body will decrease because you need more of the oxygen to help burn down the glucose.  The lactic by produce are the ones that cause soreness and burning sensation of the muscle during the workouts.  People often mistake that the lactic acid are the causes for muscle soreness after exercising.  However, that is not the case, those soreness are caused by sudden intense stress caused to the muscle making them tear or worn out during vigorous exercise.  That is why it is highly recommended to do your warm up especially in the morning after you wake up, to let your muscle condition before going for you morning workouts.

What happens with too much lactic acid in the body?

A condition known as the Lactic acidosis will develop when there is a build up of lactate in the body.  This is the result of excessively low pH.  When you have Lactic acidosis, you will experience rapid breathing, excessive sweating, cool and clammy skin, belly pain, nausea or vomitting at times.  Even confusion and up to the stage of coma.  Therefore it is important to keep the body at the right pH level.

In the long term, you might not be able to carry out proper exercise and activity even you daily live.

What can we do to reduce the level of acidity in the body?

Here are some of the ways which we can reduce the level of acidity in the body.

1. Ensure that you are hydrated all the time and drink a lot of fluid before, during and after workout.

2. Breathe all the time and deeply during your work out.  Do not train to the stage where you are breathless.

3. Proper diet: Increase the intake of magnesium either by taking supplements or more green leafy vegetables.  A diet good in healthy fats is also important to help reduce the level of acidity.

4. Take time to warm up and cool down during your exercise: Stretch out always to release the tension in your body.

Make sure that your training schedule includes proper rests and also days where you take it slow like a good swim or yoga.

 

 

 

 

 

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