Work Out Now, Ache Later: How Your Muscles Pay You Back

See today's N.Y. Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/16/he...html?oref=logi
n
You must register but it's free:

Here's an excerpt:
The culprit for delayed muscle soreness is not, as some people used to
think, the buildup of lactic acid, a byproduct of exercise that
dissipates from the muscle tissues within an hour. That kind of
soreness is considered acute. As soon as someone stops exercising, or
shortly afterward, the burn goes away.

"It's not the key bad guy," said Dr. Michael Saunders, director of the
Human Performance Laboratory at James Madison University in
Harrisonburg, Va.

No one knows for sure exactly what does cause muscle soreness. But many
scientists now think that the delayed pain is caused by microscopic
tears in the muscles when a certain exercise or activity is new or
novel. These tiny tears eventually produce inflammation, and
corresponding pain, 24 to 36 hours later.

--
Diva
*****
The Best Man For The Job Is A Woman

Interesting article for those of us who work out. It just enforces the need
for proper hydration and food.

Additional info from the article:
Severe muscle pain that lasts for many days can be a sign of rhabdomyolysis,
a disorder that occurs when too much of the muscle protein myoglobin leaks
from the muscle cells into the bloodstream, possibly damaging the kidneys.
Dark urine, indicating the presence of myoglobin, can be a symptom of
rhabdomyolysis, which in very rare cases can lead to renal failure.

Running marathons and participating in other endurance events can cause
rhabdomyolysis, said Dr. William O. Roberts, president of the American
College of Sports Medicine. Other risk factors include being unfit or
dehydrated and exercising in high temperatures.

"It's one of the reasons why you want to stay well hydrated if you are going
to work your muscles hard," Dr. Roberts said. "Drink enough so that you have
good urine output to clear these waste products."





Stretching does not prevent muscle soreness, researchers have found, and
massage does little to improve recovery after eccentric muscle use,
according to a study published in September in The American Journal of
Sports Medicine. In the study, researchers in Stockholm found that after
participants performed leg exercises to exhaustion, massage treatment did
not affect the level or duration of pain, loss of strength or muscle
function.

Consuming protein, however, may help. In a report published in the July
issue of the journal Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, scientists
found that trained cyclists who consumed a carbohydrate and protein beverage
during and immediately after a ride, were able to ride 29 percent longer
during the first ride, and 40 percent longer in a second session than those
consuming carbohydrates alone.

"Our findings suggest that the protein-carbohydrate mix enhanced muscle
performance and recovery in the later rides," said Dr. Saunders of James
Madison, the study's lead author.

But further research is necessary. The results of the study may have been
influenced by a higher caloric content in the carbohydrate-protein beverage.

"There is some evidence that consuming protein and carbohydrates in the
immediate period after exercise may decrease subsequent muscle damage, but
that research is in its infancy," said Dr. Tarnopolsky. "What has been
fairly well established is that eating food in the postexercise period is
better than starving.

-----------------End of article
info--------------------------------------------------------

"Carol Frilegh" wrote in message
...
See today's N.Y. Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/16/he...html?oref=logi
n
You must register but it's free:

Here's an excerpt:
The culprit for delayed muscle soreness is not, as some people used to
think, the buildup of lactic acid, a byproduct of exercise that
dissipates from the muscle tissues within an hour. That kind of
soreness is considered acute. As soon as someone stops exercising, or
shortly afterward, the burn goes away.

"It's not the key bad guy," said Dr. Michael Saunders, director of the
Human Performance Laboratory at James Madison University in
Harrisonburg, Va.

No one knows for sure exactly what does cause muscle soreness. But many
scientists now think that the delayed pain is caused by microscopic
tears in the muscles when a certain exercise or activity is new or
novel. These tiny tears eventually produce inflammation, and
corresponding pain, 24 to 36 hours later.

--
Diva
*****
The Best Man For The Job Is A Woman

Carol Frilegh wrote:
See today's N.Y. Times.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/16/he...tml?oref=login
You must register but it's free:

For those who don't want to register, there is a toolbar applet from
http:/bugmenot.com to pop-up stored logins and passwords for various
newspapers, journals and other nosy sites that want registration
for free content. (They only store them for free sites, nobody's
subscription is being ripped off.)

Here's an excerpt:
The culprit for delayed muscle soreness is not, as some people used to
think, the buildup of lactic acid, a byproduct of exercise that
dissipates from the muscle tissues within an hour. That kind of

Regardless of whether or not the culprit is or isn't lactic acid,
my friends and I learned years ago, from nightly treks or bicycle
rides up a very, very steep hill to watch the sunset, that muscle
soreness can be greatly minimized by continuing to slowly and gently
move the muscle after exertion for about 15 minutes.

The walks up through the paths in the woods usually didn't bother us,
but when we bicycled, parts of the road were so steep that we had
to zigzag or figure-8 our way up even on the lowset setting of our
10-speeds. If we just sat down and rested when we got to the top,
we would have very sore thighs the next day, but if we walked around
a while when we got there, we wouldn't be very.

Many beginner low-impact aerobic tapes use a lot of thigh-pumping
action to help get the heart rate up, and their "cool-downs" usually
consist of a few minutes of stretching, but adding 15 minutes of
moving the legs around prevents a lot of the thigh soreness that
beginners get the next day.

--
jamie )

"There's a seeker born every minute."

"jamie" wrote in message
...
Carol Frilegh wrote:
See today's N.Y. Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/16/he...tml?oref=login
You must register but it's free:

For those who don't want to register, there is a toolbar applet from
http:/bugmenot.com to pop-up stored logins and passwords for various
newspapers, journals and other nosy sites that want registration
for free content. (They only store them for free sites, nobody's
subscription is being ripped off.)

Here's an excerpt:
The culprit for delayed muscle soreness is not, as some people used to
think, the buildup of lactic acid, a byproduct of exercise that
dissipates from the muscle tissues within an hour. That kind of

Regardless of whether or not the culprit is or isn't lactic acid,
my friends and I learned years ago, from nightly treks or bicycle
rides up a very, very steep hill to watch the sunset, that muscle
soreness can be greatly minimized by continuing to slowly and gently
move the muscle after exertion for about 15 minutes.

The walks up through the paths in the woods usually didn't bother us,
but when we bicycled, parts of the road were so steep that we had
to zigzag or figure-8 our way up even on the lowset setting of our
10-speeds. If we just sat down and rested when we got to the top,
we would have very sore thighs the next day, but if we walked around
a while when we got there, we wouldn't be very.

Many beginner low-impact aerobic tapes use a lot of thigh-pumping
action to help get the heart rate up, and their "cool-downs" usually
consist of a few minutes of stretching, but adding 15 minutes of
moving the legs around prevents a lot of the thigh soreness that
beginners get the next day.

--
jamie )

"There's a seeker born every minute."


Those are some really good tips! One time on vacation, I went for an
afternoon 3 mile run with my fiancé (she's a runner, I'm a cyclist). I'm
not much of a runner, even though I'm in pretty decent shape. The next
morning, we got on an airplane for the long flight home. After sitting for
nearly 12 hours, I was barely able to walk in the following days due to sore
leg muscles.

Painful lesson learned - don't run on untrained legs, then sit on my butt
for the better part of the next day...doh!

GG

Is this supposed to be news? It's the only explanation anyone I know
ever gives for delayed onset muscle soreness. Of course, I've only
been doing strength training for about 5 years, so perhaps there was
some other thinking on this at one time. But lactic acid buildup is
clearly a completely different thing.

Chris

On Tue, 16 Nov 2004 07:15:05 -0500, Carol Frilegh
wrote:

See today's N.Y. Times.

http://www.nytimes.com/2004/11/16/he...html?oref=logi
n
You must register but it's free:

Here's an excerpt:
The culprit for delayed muscle soreness is not, as some people used to
think, the buildup of lactic acid, a byproduct of exercise that
dissipates from the muscle tissues within an hour. That kind of
soreness is considered acute. As soon as someone stops exercising, or
shortly afterward, the burn goes away.

"It's not the key bad guy," said Dr. Michael Saunders, director of the
Human Performance Laboratory at James Madison University in
Harrisonburg, Va.

No one knows for sure exactly what does cause muscle soreness. But many
scientists now think that the delayed pain is caused by microscopic
tears in the muscles when a certain exercise or activity is new or
novel. These tiny tears eventually produce inflammation, and
corresponding pain, 24 to 36 hours later.

Leafing through alt.support.diet, I read Chris Braun's message of 16 Nov
2004:

Is this supposed to be news? It's the only explanation anyone I know
ever gives for delayed onset muscle soreness

I guess it's news to Vicky Lowry and the New York Times. But I'm with you.
This has been known for several years. Of course she isn't saying this is a
new discovery. She just writes, "scientists now think that..." It is a
little msleading.

Phil M.

--
"What counts in battle is what you do once the pain sets in." -John Short,
South African coach.

In article , Phil M.
wrote:

Leafing through alt.support.diet, I read Chris Braun's message of 16 Nov
2004:

Is this supposed to be news? It's the only explanation anyone I know
ever gives for delayed onset muscle soreness

I guess it's news to Vicky Lowry and the New York Times. But I'm with you.
This has been known for several years. Of course she isn't saying this is a
new discovery. She just writes, "scientists now think that..." It is a
little msleading.

Perhaps it is well known to atheletes but still foggy to the genral
public and the reporter was summarizing and putting it to wider
attention.

--
Diva
*****
The Best Man For The Job Is A Woman

"Ignoramus13790" wrote in message
...
I ran a half marathon recently. I did walk a little bit (like 20
minutes) afterwards, doing post-run stuff, and then proceeded to drive
home. Despite that walking, I still had sore legs the following
day. By the way, on the day of the run I felt very good, probably
because I did not try to run very fast.

--
223/173.4/180

Proper training and nutrition might have helped this problem.

http://www.pfitzinger.com/labreports...recovery.shtml

"Ignoramus13790" wrote in message
...
I ran a half marathon recently. I did walk a little bit (like 20
minutes) afterwards, doing post-run stuff, and then proceeded to drive
home. Despite that walking, I still had sore legs the following
day. By the way, on the day of the run I felt very good, probably
because I did not try to run very fast.

--
223/173.4/180

Proper training and nutrition might have helped this problem.

http://www.pfitzinger.com/labreports...recovery.shtml

"Ignoramus13790" wrote in message
...
I ran a half marathon recently. I did walk a little bit (like 20
minutes) afterwards, doing post-run stuff, and then proceeded to drive
home. Despite that walking, I still had sore legs the following
day. By the way, on the day of the run I felt very good, probably
because I did not try to run very fast.

--
223/173.4/180

Proper training and nutrition might have helped this problem.

http://www.pfitzinger.com/labreports...recovery.shtml