Lactic Acid Buildup: Muscle tightness

Lactic acid is indeed due, in part, to constant muscle contraction. Lactic acid is created when the muscle burns sugars (in whatever form) without the presence of oxygen, a process called anearobic metabolism. This occurs about 20 minutes into a workout, when the oxygen in the muscles is burned up in aerobic metabolism. It is normal (in fact, it is what allows us to do something strenuous for more than 20 minutes), and important as this is the stage where fat gets burned more effeciently.

So you have a lot of lactic acid building up. Normally it gets squeezed out by normal muscle movement and lymphatic fluid, into the lymphatic ducts, where it is processed and eliminated from the body. What stops this is muscular tension. It causes the muscle to tighten and bunch up, and constricts the flow of the lymphatic fluid. Since this canot help wash out the lactic acid, it sits there, causing that familiar burning sensation.

We work out in an anaerobic manner. That means, without oxygen (or very little oxygen.) It therefore follows that, because we take in very little oxygen whilst working out, our carbon dioxide levels build and build, until we are quickly overwhelmed – and one such side effect of a lack of oxygen in the muscles is lactic acid.

It’s commonly thought that our muscles fail because of lactic acid, which is untrue. In fact, the lactic acid acts as a kind of anaesthetic which prolongs our efforts somewhat.

While you may feel the burn of lactic acid during training, you’ll notice it quickly subsides and you feel good. But, you’ll also likely notice that within the next few days you could be left with a very severe pain – sometimes incredibly painful – which can make your muscles feel stiff and feel like they have cramp.

You can minimize lactic acid build up by doing some stretching between sets and after your workout, and doing several warm down sets of extremely light weight – which helps to get the blood flowing in and out of the muscle again, getting rid of the lactic acid deposits. Also important is keeping hydrated before, during, and after training.

Whilst training until the burn of lactic acid is sometimes part and parcel of weight lifting, the pain afterwards can be avoided to a great extent simply by following a few pointers.

Massage your muscles between sets. Once you’ve put the weights down after feeling the burn, you should shake and rigorously rub and squeeze your muscles to help ease the pain.

Stretch between sets. Muscles have a tendency to feel cramped up and stiff following the burn, and one way to prevent this painful state is to stretch your muscles out in between sets. A stretched muscle is one which isn’t occluding blood and lactic acid, allowing for a much better release.

Warm down. After lifting, try lifting some more much lighter weights for more reps. Not until you fail or burn again, but just enough to keep the blood going, and help your body to remove some lactic acid before it has chance to cause you more pain days later.

Drink plenty of water. Water is essential in helping to replenish lost hydration, and you’ll need to be plenty hydrated to allow your body to break up and remove lactic acid.