How to reduce lactic acid buildup in muscles?

You’ve been going hard for the last hour. You have 30 minutes left, but your training partner challenges you to a one-minute sprint. Not wanting to be a wimp, you accept their duel and go for it. Your muscles scream as you push them faster, faster, faster. Finally, the burn is so intense that you have to bring your body back to a normal pace. You curse “LACTIC ACID!”

As an endurance athlete, you’ve probably used the term “lactic acid” as a synonym for a swear word at least once. But we often forget that lactic acid is actually just a type of energy stored in our cells. Plus, with proper training and hydration, we can delay that burn.

WHAT CAUSES MUSCLE BURN?

Without getting into exercise physiology jargon, let’s talk about what lactic acid exactly is. While we consider calories, carbohydrates, fats, and proteins as energy, our cells are only interested in one type of energy, namely adenosine triphosphate (ATP). During exercise, the body creates ATP from stored glycogen or consumed glucose. As long as you are fueling properly, in a steady state, your body will continue to produce ATP. If you decide to go into a frantic sprint, your body does not have the oxygen needed to create ATP through the normal pathway. So it changes metabolic pathways.

This new pathway produces lactic acid or lactate and can only be maintained for 1 to 3 minutes. This is a protective mechanism put in place by the body so that you eventually slow down enough to absorb oxygen and restart normal metabolism. Although lactic acid creates a burning sensation in the legs, it is a necessary form of stored energy. Once the pace slows, the body is able to convert lactic acid back into ATP fuel and resume its usual activities.¹

HOW TO REDUCE MUSCLE BURN

While stored energy is good, the burn itself is painful. The amount of lactic acid you can tolerate before stopping movement is called the “lactate threshold.” The higher your lactate threshold, the longer you can achieve peak performance and the stronger an endurance athlete you are.

Untrained athletes can start accumulating lactic acid at 50-60% of their maximum aerobic capacity, while trained athletes can push this figure to 70-80%.² Through VO2Max and breathing training, you can increase your lactate threshold. You can also get the good (energy) without the bad (burning pain) by staying well hydrated. Hydrated athletes have more water to dilute lactic acid and are more resistant to pH changes (hello burns). Be sure to drink enough water and electrolytes before, during, and after exercise. By training effectively and staying well hydrated, you can improve your lactate threshold, reduce muscle burn, and perform better.

Enjoy this refreshing and naturally sweet drink to stay hydrated. It’s more than just iced tea. This recipe is a source of antioxidant vitamin C from Vega Sport^MD Hydrator, which protects against the oxidative effects of free radicals.