Thread: When you have lactic acid...

I think you're confused...

"During power exercises such as sprinting, when the rate of demand for energy is high, lactate is produced faster than the ability of the tissues to remove it and lactate concentration begins to rise."

So basically lactic acid build up is something everybody experiences... when you're lifting and you start to feel that "burn" at the end of your set it's from lactic acid build up... but once you finish your set the burning subsides as lactate is removed... that's it. Well, there's much more to it on a chemical level but I'm not going to try and tackle that.

lactic acid isn't what causes the burning. an accumulation of hydrogen ions cause the burning as they irritate nerve endings.

lactic acid is necessary for anaerobic metabolism when oxygen can't suffiently aid in the energy demends of the cell. pyruvic acid accepts hydrogen ions, which forms lactic acid, allowing NAD to rapidly reformed/recycled.

After your set, active rest has been show to help buffer lactic acid and resotre muscle pH.

patrick

there's all the chemistry stuff I didn't want to touch! Didn't know that it wasn't the lactic acid itself that caused the burning... good to know though I guess...

Thanks...ok ive asked totaly the wrong question i guess although the information here was useful too

If i work far harder than usual, sometimes my muscles will ache for a few days after and feel stiffer(which id put down to lactic acid).
Should i not work out at all while they hurt? Or should i work past the pain?

If the soreness compromises your ability to perform with strict form yes. If you can still lift with good form safely, then just man up!

What the bald guy said.

Just do a couple extra sets of light warmup movements to help loosen up the muscles, but otherwise man up.