Protection from Free Radicals
Protection from Free Radicals
– Their release could be causing your muscle soreness! –
CITRUSCIDE(ScreenName for security purposes), J.D., M.S.
Personal Trainer – GYM X -- hhaha
(Name changed for for security purposes).
Getting sore. You hear it from people who workout, and at times you get “sore” yourself – be it during a workout, or even after a workout.
Many people come up to me and ask, “What exactly causes my muscles to get sore… Lactic Acid, right?” The answer is yes and no. There are three reasons your muscle will get sore (not including if you have injured your muscle).
The first is from the lactic acid build-up in your muscles during your workout set, and possibly directly after it. The lactic acid soreness generally goes away relatively quickly after your workout set. Lactic acid is a by-product of a process called Glycolysis. Glycolysis is when glycogen (the end product of the food you have eaten, in the form of a sugar), is broken down to manufacture more Creatine Phosphate… which is then used to create more ATP (energy) for more muscular movement. So, basically, when you are doing a set and your muscles start to burn… you are lacking ATP, and your muscles become more and more unable to contract as a result. Once you stop your set, the lactic acid is then eliminated by oxygen.
The second form of muscle soreness could occur from directly after your workout for a day or even longer – depending how intense your workout session was. When you workout your muscles you are, essentially, breaking down the muscle fibers. The intent is to break them down, and then have them rebuild to be stronger. When you break down your muscles, you are causing small micro-tears in them. Then, through proper rest and recovery, you can rebuild your muscles. Having a muscular soreness of a longer period of time (3-4 days) could be a result of a poor recovery (inadequate foods/vitamins in your diet, lack of sleep, or water, etc.) Generally, you want to have a good recovery system in place to minimize this muscular soreness – so that you might be able to continue your workouts!
The third form of muscle soreness is much more serious. This soreness occurs around 32-48 hours after your workout has been completed. In orientation meetings with clients they have complained of this type of soreness – their legs will get sore 2-days later, and at times, get sick (cold and flu like symptoms) after extended periods of rigorous workouts. The cause of this muscle soreness is a result of what is known as a free radical.
Ok, so what is a free radical? The strict definition of a free radical – taken from the International Sports Science Association handbook – is: “Highly reactive molecules which target your tissues’ protein bonds, the DNA in your cells’ nuclei and the important polyunsaturated fatty acids within your cells’ membranes. Once initiated, a chain reaction begins that ultimately results in the total destruction of that cell.”
If you didn’t understand the definition of a free radical, do not fear, I’ll make it a bit easier to understand.
The basic concept is that free radicals can be released into the body by intense workout (the term “intense” varies from person to person). They are, in essence, very unstable. They react quickly with other compounds in the body, and can do some serious damage to your cells and cell membranes. This can inhibit or completely stop the rebuilding process of the micro-tears I discussed earlier… thus, prohibiting any muscular growth, which ultimately could lead to injury. These free-radicals will continue to multiple until they are quashed by what is known as an anti-oxidant.
What is an anti-oxidant? Anti-oxidants are the good guys. As an analogy, they battle the free radicals of your body and try to keep you healthy. It is important to get enough anti-oxidants to match your training – the more you put into your training – the more you will need!
So, what types of anti-oxidants should you be taking? Vitamin A, E and C. These are the core anti-oxidants that will help prevent this type of muscle soreness. Also, Ginkgo Balboa, Green Tea, and small dosages of ALA (Alpha Lipoic Acid) will do the trick. The amount you should take will vary – discussing this with a personal trainer who has knowledge in sports supplements would be a great resource for this information.
Now, there are many different kinds of free radicals, but the way they originate, from exercise, is generally the same… through an oxidative release after an intense workout. For instance, the build up of lactic acid can cause a very weak free radical called super-oxide, which could then turn into a more potent free radical called hydroxyl.
The build up of these free radicals can also lower your immune system capacity that leads to a heightened possibility of sickness.
Through proper supplementation of your anti-oxidants and careful monitoring of your water intake and diet, you can quash the free radicals before they can cause damage to your cells, and inhibit your gains.
Written by Citruscide @ MMSFitness.
