Why do I feel sore after strenuose exercise?

We all know that exercising can leave our muscles feeling sore and stiff. The question is WHY? Why do my muscles feel achy and sore to the touch. How come I am stiff in the morning getting out of bed?

Here is why:

Muscles need energy

Our body naturally produces energy for muscle function and to sustain extended periods of muscle tension. We use oxygen to bring energy to our muscles. Our natural process of this is from an aerobic process, meaning produced with oxygen. When we start to breath heavy our body has difficulty producing enough aerobic energy. The body then has to produce energy to keep the muscles moving at optimal speed.

This process is done by converting glucose (sugar) into pyruvate (an organic acid that supplies energy to living cells). This is done when aerobic activity is present. Over the course of exercise, lactate or lactic acid is produced from pyruvate. In short, this chemical compound helps maintain energy production throughout the length of activity in which lactate concentration rises.

Imagine a camera inside of a beer cask that is in the fermentation stage. Initially it is just water, yeast and hops (or whatever else you throw in), then the carbohydrates and the yeast introduced begins to turn into alcohol. The longer it sits the more sediment builds and the cloudier it becomes. Then it is filtered out and we have a delicious brew.

But what if it wasn't filtered? This process applies to our muscles as well. If this sediment builds up in our muscles and is not removed, our muscles react accordingly. We get sore and stiff! Lactic acid is exactly that... an acid, it irritates the muscle fibers as well as putting the body through strenuose activity causing them to swell and stiffen.

Here is another analogy.... Imagine now that you are at your sink with a dish sponge in hand and a plate covered in spaghetti sauce. But before you rinse the sponge under the faucet, try cleaning the plate. You will notice that the spaghetti sauce just smears around the plate and covers the hard, dry sponge. This obviously is not cleaning the plate. Now, rinse the sponge under the running faucet and allow the clean and fresh water to saturate the dry sponge and flush out all the sauce and impurities it is holding. This analogy also applies to your muscles, lactic acid build-up, impurities from artificial chemicals, dies, and sediment settle in your muscles and need to be flushed out. Here's how you can reduce the amount of impurities in your body to reduce muscle soreness and increase athletic performance:

Drink adequate amounts of WATER

We need water to flush out the muscles as does the sponge for cleaning. Drink plenty of water throughout the day, even when not exercising.

Tip: Keep a bottle of water on your desk in eyes view just to look at to remind your body of thirst. We work diligently and forget to drink water. This will help remind our brains to trigger our thirst response.

STRETCH Daily

The water we drink needs help flushing the muscles. Stretching contracts and elongates the muscle fibers to help push out build-up and pull in fresh water and blood flow. This allows our muscles to reduce the levels of sediment left hanging out and causing irritation.

Regular SPORTS MASSAGE

Getting regular sports massage sessions before and after activity helps keep the muscles healthy, increases flexibility to prevent injury and increase athletic performance. These are just a few benefits from Sports Massage. Sports Massage will help you feel better as a whole and benefit other parts of your life, not just your athletic side.

To see how Sports Massage can benefit YOU, click here for more info. Link~ Benefits of Sports Massage in MY life. ~Link

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