maddmike

It is actually fuel that your muscles burn. Interesting read at the NY Times.

https://www.nytimes.com/2006/05/16/he...CQ5CQ2A6O)agk-

Yes, you will have to register or use bugmenot.

mikerhymeswith

or try this link

this explains the basic strategy of endurance training in the off season and doing intense intervals during the race season - it's all about the mitochondria - the more the better

Lamp-Shade

Dealing with the pain takes a bit of time, but sooner or later your body just "clicks", I've noticed, and it feels like the more you pedal the less pain their is. So yeah, I've felt my body adjusting to its use a fuel before, mainly when hammering while in a fasted state or just generally in a major calorie deficit.
I've felt that type of training has been useful in quickly allowing my body to learn how to deal with lactic acid/cramps/the pains. Second Wind specificity I guess you'd call it.

andre nickatina

I believe the theory explained in the article is the basis for SportsLegs and how the company purports it to benefit performance.

eshvanu

Meh... It still hurts, regardless of what causes it.

mikerhymeswith

ya, but now it's food; it hurts, but it's good

Pat

Well, lactic acid is the end point of glycolysis or anaerobic metabolism. So in that process, it is a "waste product". However, lactate can be dumped into the KREBs cycle and oxidized so it is a fuel. Lactic acid would build up in the muscles during an all out sprint. The notion used to be that muscle soreness was caused by a build up of lactic acid in the muscles. But most sprints are short and the build up is probably quickly converted into fuel. Muscle soreness probably has more to do with micro tears and things like that.

natethegreatt

yes its fuel
but its not as effective as glucose

koffee brown

+1 to Pat- I definitely concur.

Lactate used to be seen as a negative, but recent research shows that with training, even with the buildup of lactate, the body should be able to take in more oxygen and covert that lactate back to pyruvate. The pyruvate can be converted to an important vitamin in the Krebs cycle and drive aerobic respiration. It's so important to do your base training, your interval training, and your endurance training to effectively develop this phenomenon.

Yeah, muscle soreness is most likely DOMS, not lactate buildup. Lactic acid can be shuttled out of the bloodstream as quickly as you snap your fingers, but the microtears and free radicals that build from exercise is that achiness you need time to recover from once you finished your exercise.

koffee

Keith S

Dr.. Brooks was actually issued a patent on a glycerol-lactate supplement in 2004.

US Patent 6743821 - Glycerol-lactate esters for use as an energy supplement during exercise and recovery


US Patent Issued on June 1, 2004

https://www.patentstorm.us/patents/67...scription.html

After reading through the whole description, which is rather long I came to the conclusion that the doctor is refering to a "lactic acid type" supplement, not lactic acid itself. Here is the a section of the paper:

"However, the use of lactic acid as a fuel in the body carries with it potential penalties. Lactic acid accumulation in the muscle is painful and interferes with contraction processes. Further, large amounts of lactic acid in the blood cause pH to fall which is physically and psychologically distressing to the performer. These disadvantages are associated with the hydrogen ion (H+, or proton) which results when lactic acid dissociates in aqueous solutions. For these reasons lactic acid accumulation has long been suspected as a cause of muscle fatigue (Brooks et al., Exercise Physiology: Human Bioenergetics and its Applications, Chapter 33, Mayfield, Mountainview, Third Edition, 2000).

Therefore, it may be advantageous to provide a carbohydrate derived fuel source to an individual engaged in prolonged, strenuous exercise, and it would be more efficacious to provide the carbohydrate energy in the form of a `lactic acid-like` substance which would provide a more immediate fuel source."

I believe what this is saying is that lactic acid is a double edged sword good and bad. My question is does the good outweigh the bad???? A little more energy with pain and muscle contraction interference? Or use a supplement that clears lactic acid from the system and use carbs as a source of energy?

I vote for clearing lactic acid and using carbs for energy.

mattp105

Yes, lactic acid is the product of glycolysis, and lactate is used in the Kreb's cycle. So what causes muscle soreness? It's because of all the hydrogen atoms (protons) that are released by lactic acid

Lactic Acid --> Lactate + H(+)

Your body uses the lactate and the H+ causes muscle soreness.

Richard Cranium

In general - terms like "everything" and "never" are hardly ever accurate in describing anything. Current scientific research regarding muscle physiology is detailed enough to reflect that there are competing factors with respect to the perceptions associated with "muscle soreness."

Lamp-Shade

I still really don't know why things like muscle soreness are big deals to cyclists. We (as a culture) have plenty of things available to us that get rid of it, and we've known of them since the early 1900's if not before then.
Amphetamines anyone?