How to Fuel Better by Overcoming Muscle Burn
Even if you're properly fueling mid-workout during endurance training, you may still be haunted by muscle burn. As you push your body to its maximum, your muscles start to feel like they're ablaze. While the only way to put out that fire is by stopping, through hydration and training you can push your body to overcome muscle burn and perform better.
Muscle Burn: Lactic Acid's Fault?
During high-intensity exercise, your body needs to bring energy to its cells too fast for normal aerobic metabolism to support. Intense sprints must instead be fueled by anaerobic glycolysis, which rapidly breaks down stored glucose from your muscles and liver -- glycogen -- into usable energy. During this process, lactic acid is produced as the waste product of quick cellular metabolism. While you may be cursing lactic acid because of its signature burning sensation, what you may not realize is that lactic acid is simply a form of stored energy. As exercise intensity decreases, lactic acid is converted to usable energy in the presence of oxygen. So while muscle burn mid-exercise can be pinned on lactic acid, the soreness you feel hours or days after exercise is likely due to inflammation and tissue damage -- not lactic acid.
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Increase Your Lactate Threshold
The amount of lactic acid you can tolerate before ceasing activity is known as your lactate threshold. The higher your lactate threshold, the longer you can perform at peak pace. Increasing your lactate threshold is key to peak performance because it will allow you to stay in sprints, or power over a hill faster than your competitors. Untrained athletes could begin to accumulate lactic acid at 50 to 60 percent of maximal aerobic capacity, while trained athletes can push this number to 70 to 80 percent. Training with pace or interval aerobic exercises, such as sprints and fartleks, is the main way to increase your lactate threshold.
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Nutritional Strategies for Managing Lactic Acid
When you are well-hydrated, your body is more resistant to the change in pH with an influx of lactic acid. Your blood is 93 percent water, so proper hydration is essential for good circulation. When you are hydrated, your body can carry away cellular waste, like lactic acid, more effectively. Hydrate with water and electrolyte-rich beverages not just during exercise, but also before and after. I like to make my own sport drink with sea salt, lemon juice, dates and chia seeds to sip during exercise. It's rich in electrolytes, carbohydrates and water -- everything you need to stay hydrated and on target.
Beyond hydration, feeding your body more alkaline-forming foods will also help you manage lactic acid burn in the long-run. Although lactic acid is a weak acid, it does slightly shift your body's internal pH from a naturally alkaline state to a more acidic state. Foods that are alkaline-forming will help promote a healthy pH balance in your body, even when exposed to excess lactic acid. Adding more foods that are dark green -- rich in alkaline-forming chlorophyll -- is a simple way to help buffer lactic acid. Try adding dark leafy greens or sea vegetables to every meal.
The only way to completely avoid mid-workout muscle burn is to avoid anaerobic activities -- and that's not an option if you want to find better performance. Focus on constant improvement, and address your weaknesses with nutrition and training tips at FuelYourBetter.com. Whether your weakness is muscle burn or overtraining, there's a way that you can be better.
[Read: 4 Exercises Trainers Hate.]
Brendan Brazier is a former professional Ironman triathlete and two-time Canadian 50km Ultra Marathon Champion. He is now a successful performance nutrition consultant, bestselling author of the Thrive book series, formulator of the award-winning line of plant-based Vega nutritional products and creator of Thrive Forward, an online video series designed to inspire and educate about plant-based nutrition. His latest book, Thrive Energy Cookbook, is out in March. For more information, please visit www.brendanbrazier.com and follow Brendan on Twitter @Brendan_Brazier and Google+.
