FitSugar

Feel the Burn? Shake It Out!

FitSugar — Thu, 11 Feb 2010 08:00:41 PST

I hit a wall last year. I was working out a lot and eating well, but my body wasn't progressing. Whether it was doing that last pull-up, biking that last mile, or adding heavier weights to my routine, my muscles just gave up on me. This year as part of the Get Fit For 2010 challenge, I made it my goal to increase my strength and endurance.

To accomplish my goal I've been doing a lot of interval training, and it's definitely paying off. Still, it's not unusual to feel a slight burning sensation in my muscles during my workout and have them give up on me. Instead of stopping my workout like I did in the past, I take a small break and get on it again.

To see how I've overcome the burn,

I've since learned that the heavy, burning sensation I'm feeling while I am working out is from a buildup of lactic acid in my muscles, but it's not a bad thing. (This burn is different than the soreness you feel after a workout, aka delayed onset muscle soreness, which is caused from small tears in the muscles.) An article in the New York Times explains that lactic acid fuels muscles and gives the body energy to perform longer: "Muscle cells convert glucose or glycogen to lactic acid. The lactic acid is taken up and used as a fuel by mitochondria, the energy factories in muscle cells." Since periods of high-intensity anaerobic activity are balanced out with low-impact activity, interval training is a great way to increase lactic acid production without overdoing it.

Shaking, stretching, and dancing it out during a workout also works wonders for me. If my muscles feel tense from lactic acid buildup I lightly shake out my arms or legs to loosen up, relieve tension, and get the blood flowing. Sometimes I raise my arms above my head or swing them slowly in a large circular movement. A little shakedown is all I need to get right back on the climbing wall, bike, or pull-up bar.

Try this the next time you're working out and see if it works for you. As always, remember to listen to your body. If you're feeling a lot of pain, or if the burning sensation does not disappear after a small resting period, take a real break. It's always better to walk away then to risk having a serious injury on your hands.

You Asked: What Causes the Workout Burn?

FitSugar — Thu, 28 Jan 2010 07:00:32 PST

Dear Fit,
I've been on a strength training kick this month, and have even worked with a trainer to learn proper technique and new exercises. Instead of thinking about how my legs were burning while doing lunges, and how much I wanted to stand up, I embraced the burn and started wondering about what causes that feeling. So tell me Fit, what makes my muscles feel like they're about to ignite, and does it mean I'm working them too hard?
- My Legs are on Fire

"Feel the burn!" I can't tell you how many times I've heard those words from either a group fitness instructor, fitness video, or a personal trainer. That burning sensation is how many people gauge their workouts - if they don't feel the burn, then they don't feel like they got in a good workout. To find out what that burn means, what causes it, and if there are any risks, keep reading

The Skinny on Lactic Acid

FitSugar — Mon, 26 Jan 2009 10:00:00 PST

When I was a young runner, lactic acid was blamed for the delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) that interfered with my ability to climb onto the school bus with ease the day following a hard practice. Since then, we have learned that post-exercise pain is caused by micro tears created when we tax our muscles, and the former scapegoat, lactic acid, doesn't hang out in muscles after a workout. Lactic acid actually fuels our cells when we push ourselves during high intensity workouts. It is hydrogen ions, a by-product of burning lactic acid as fuel, which creates the heavy legged sensation, burning sensation that accompanies running hard and fast.

You will come across the term "lactate threshold" when reading intense training manuals. This threshold is when the lactic acid begins to accumulate in the blood. And when you push yourself to work past that threshold, you train your body to better deal with the biological by product of using lactic acid as fuel. Increasing your lactate threshold helps you run faster for longer and is considered a good performance predictor for endurance events. Training to increase this threshold involves tempo runs and interval training with long steady paced runs. So now that you know how to increase your lactate threshold, will you?

Source

Eat Yogurt - It's Good For Your Mouth

FitSugar — Tue, 26 Feb 2008 16:00:00 PST

If you eat yogurt, you'll be happy to know that Japanese research found that it may be keeping your mouth healthy. Eating yogurt and other foods that contain lactic acid such as wheat beer, kefir, and some cottage cheeses are associated with better periodontal health. When adults have periodontal disease, this chronic bacterial infection causes receding gums and tooth loss. Aside from brushing, flossing, and regular cleanings, effective ways to deal with this are limited, so this is great news.

This study found that those who consumed 55 grams or more of yogurt a day, or some other lactic-acid drink, had a significantly lower occurrence of periodontal disease. (That's equal to less than half a 6-ounce container of yogurt). More research needs to be done, because the benefits may have something to do with the lactobacillus bacteria found in yogurt and other lactic-acid foods. Since signs of periodontal disease can show up in your 30s, so it's good to start thinking about ways to prevent it now.

Source

5 Muscle Myths You Should Stop Believing

Leta Shy — Wed, 18 Apr 2012 15:39:18 PDT

Muscle building is an important component of any exercise routine, but are you strength training the right way? Here are five common myths about muscles, and why they aren't true.

Heavy weights make you bulk up: It's a common belief: lifting heavy weights will have you looking more bodybuilder than long and lean. But in reality, your muscles won't get Ms. Olympia-sized from lifting a 20-pound kettlebell; the size of your muscles is related to your genes and strength-training routine, not the size of your weights. Using heavier weights actually saves you time - studies show that you will get the same results when lifting heavier weights for fewer reps as you do with lifting lighter weights for longer. But no matter what size weight you use, make sure you choose one that is challenging your body the right way. The American Council on Exercise recommends that you choose a weight that fatigues your muscles within 90 seconds (aka makes you unable to perform another rep correctly), since that's within the limit of your muscles' supply of anaerobic energy.
Soreness comes from lactic acid buildup: It's an often-quoted principle that the delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) you feel in the days after your workout is from lactic acid in your body. In fact, DOMS is a symptom of micro tears in the muscles that happen when you work out. Lactic acid does play a part in your workout, however, since it is the cause of that burning sensation you feel when working your muscles. It actually fuels muscles to help you work out longer, so pushing past that burning sensation will help you increase your strength and endurance.

Read on for three more muscle myths.

From the Community: Aerobic vs. Anaerobic Activity

Fit Community — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 02:39:22 PDT

Not sure what the difference between aerobic and anaerobic activity is? In our Get Fit For 2012 group, FitSugar reader meetcasey explains what each term means and why we should be doing both.

Aerobic exercise requires the body to utilize oxygen to create energy. With anaerobic exercise, the body creates energy without extra oxygen - your body relies on its natural chemicals to create energy.

Learn the benefits of each, after the break!

Kick-Start Your Bread Making With Sourdough Starter

Sara Yoo — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 11:17:00 PDT

What if you could simply conjure ingredients out of thin air? It sounds like something out of a Star Trek episode, but it's absolutely possible in one instance: sourdough. This tangy, fluffy bread gets its start as a simple fermented flour and water mixture that pulls its yeast fungi straight from the air! While you can certainly bake delicious bread using the dry active yeast that comes in sealed packets, fermenting your own sourdough starter at home will give your loaf a distinct flavor from, say, a baker in Maryland or North Dakota, thanks to the yeast organisms indigenous to your area.

Yeast and its naturally forming bacterial friend lactobacillus also help to keep out the bad stuff that causes food to rot. As long as you regularly "feed" your starter mixture, you can leave it out on the counter without fear of poisoning bread fans. And while it makes a fine loaf, don't be afraid to try it out in pancakes, pizza crust, biscuits, cakes, and other baked goods. That sour flavor that develops from the starter's lactic acid makes everything taste delicious!

Though cultivating your own culture sounds like a mad scientist's experiment, this petri dish will only take 10 minutes out of your day while yielding a bounty of baking options. So read on for this simply sour recipe

Harley Pasternak Explains When Sore Muscles Are a Good Thing

Shape — Thu, 21 Apr 2011 04:11:21 PDT

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from Shape here on FitSugar.

If your New Year's resolution to get in shape stalled out fast, you might be panicking right about now since bikini season is right around the bend. Making up for lost time with an aggressive workout routine will likely leave you sore, but begging for more once you see your thighs trim down and take form.

That burn you feel 24 to 48 hours after an intense workout is called delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), and it's enough to make you want to put down the Kettlebell and pick up a cocktail. But press on! We talked to fitness and nutrition expert Harley Pasternak, M.Sc., author of The 5-Factor World Diet, and trainer to celebrities like Lady Gaga, Megan Fox, and Halle Berry, about why (some) pain is good.

"The idea behind resistance training is that you're basically tearing something and creating a micro trauma in the muscle," Pasternak says. "When the muscle recovers, it's going to recover stronger and denser than it was before." So that soreness you feel the day after an upper-body workout - when you're hauling groceries into your car and you can hardly lift your arms - is good.

Just make sure what you're suffering from is DOMS and not an injury. "A good way to tell the difference is if the pain is bilateral," Pasternak says. Having one very sore shoulder after you've worked both shoulders could spell injury.

If you feel normal soreness in a muscle, ligament, or tendon, it's DOMS and you can continue working out around it, Pasternak says. In the case of arms and shoulders, you can work your quads, abs, or glutes and then move back to your upper body in a few days.

Now learn how to avoid post-workout pain with more tips from Harley.

5 Ways to Tell If Your Beauty Products Are Vegetarian

Miriam Lacey — Wed, 05 Oct 2011 13:23:00 PDT

October is Vegetarian Awareness Month, and while most of us have a pretty easy time knowing when food is vegetarian or not, things are a little different when it comes to beauty. So how do you know if a product you're using qualifies? Check out a few quick tips to help you sleuth it out when you keep reading.

Are Sore Muscles a Sign of a Good Workout?

Shape — Thu, 29 Sep 2011 04:29:57 PDT

We are excited to share one of our fave stories from Shape here on FitSugar.

That burn you feel 24 to 48 hours after an intense workout is called delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), and it's enough to make you want to put down the Kettlebell and pick up a cocktail. But press on! We talked to fitness and nutrition expert Harley Pasternak, M.Sc., author of The 5-Factor World Diet, and trainer to celebrities like Lady Gaga, Megan Fox, and Halle Berry, about why (some) pain is good.

"The idea behind resistance training is that you're basically tearing something and creating a micro trauma in the muscle," Pasternak says. "When the muscle recovers, it's going to recover stronger and denser than it was before." So that soreness you feel the day after an upper-body workout-when you're hauling groceries into your car and you can hardly lift your arms-is good.

See Harley's tips for reducing DOMS after the break!