Thread: Free Radicals spur from lifting

Was in a small argument with a friend of mine last night about free radicals - he was arguing that you WANT free radicals after working out, for extra damage to occur in the muscle tissue... furthermore yielding more muscle repair "gains."

I have always been under the assumption that free radicals were "bad." I was trying to tell him that the only time you want to damage the muscle is during the actual lift, and how the body enters repair mode the second you put down the weight. He countered with info from a TA in an exercise science class, claiming the TA clearly tought that free radicals were good as they damaged the muscle beyond the point where you did with the weight, and how in turn more muscle will build.

I still think I was right, but I really had my tongue tied. Not sure how to put it, and I had no good examples to base on. I'm almost completely sure that the TA was wrong, especially since I took the same class a year later.

How would I put this?

I didn't know free radicals targeted the muscles which were stimulated during a workout? I think you do plenty of damage to muscle tissue with the mechanical loading without the free radicals being needed to further this damage.