i've been counting down since last Dec 26 ... are you ready? me neither!!

Wednesday, May 26, 2010

learned something new today ...

i googled (such a funny word isn't it? ... but i use it all the time - i google everything, if i need an answer to how many tablespoons are in a cup, what's the temperature on the moon or where can i find hamster wheels that don't squeak ... i google it! if i need a pic of flowers, President Monson, or the New York skyline ... i google it! if i need a word that rhymes with purple or a poem about sisters ... i google it!! - anyway ... what was i was saying?) o right ... i googled 'lactic acid muscle soreness' and found out that:
"Lactic Acid is not the culprit for this muscle soreness."

what i'm experiencing from my 3 consecutive days working out is:

"Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness (DOMS)

Lactic acid is responsible for the burning muscles during and after exercise and this is why many suspect it to be responsible for soreness 24-36 hours after intense exercise. However, lactic acid is completely flushed out of muscles within 30-60 minutes of finishing intense exercise. There is no abnormal levels of lactic acid in the tissues or blood when the dreaded DOMS strikes.

Research indicates that DOMS is more likely caused by localised damage to the muscle fibres membranes, the connective tissue and the contractile elements - namely microtrauma to the muscle fibres. Over the 24 hours after intense exercise, the damaged muscles become sore and inflammed. Chemical irritants are released from damaged tissue, triggering pain receptors. In addition to the injured muscle fibres, there is an increase in blood flow causing a swelling of the muscle tissues which again may stimulate pain receptors. In the morning following the exercise, the muscle fibres are fatigued, have microscopic tears and are inflammed. The muscle nerve supply perceives this as an abnormal state and sends pain messages to the pain.

Typical recommendations for dealing with DOMS include light stretching and exercise, massage (of course!), submersion in a hot bath, etc. All these are aimed at lightly increasing blood flow to the muscles and damaged tissues to facilitate repair (and not flushing out non-existing lactic acid buildup)."

looks like i need a massage and a hot bath tonight so i don't want to die when my teacher kicks my bum tomorrow!

3 comments:

tricki_nicki said...

Feel the BURN!!

Colleen said...

Interesting! I never knew that. I guess I can go to bed now! And also interesting that whatever site that's from is written by someone who spells fibres the French/British way! Ben likes to switch his er's and his re's too. :)

j2nielsen said...

I always beleived the lactic acid myth too. Thanks for teaching me something!