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Monday January 30, 2006

Exercising

Whenever I repeatedly use muscles I haven't used in a while, I ache. No surprise there. What I don't understand is why it isn't the next day. It always seems to be the day after that for me. If there's somebody with a medical bent reading this, perhaps they can explain to me why.

Take the most recent example where this has occured. Here's how to recreate it. Start with a large room. Fill it with long tables. Leave just enough room between the tables so that a large, very overweight person would completely block the gap if they just stood there. Invite a couple hundred more people to come and exercise with you. Make sure you all sweat a lot. No need for those namby-pamby exercise outfits. Keep your street clothes on including a thick coat or jacket. For the full effect, also wear a scarf.

Now slowly move down an aisle between two tables. Make sure you are holding something that weighs about the equivalent of at least 3-4 thick hardcover books. Every now and then, crouch down for about 15-20 seconds and look under the table, get back up and then move down one pace. Keep repeating this exercise until you get to the end of the aisle, turn around and come back the same way but facing the other table. Repeat the same set of exercises until you are back where you started from. Then repeat this all over again until you have been down the aisles between all of the tables.

To complete the simulation, make sure that some of the other people push and shove you, especially as you are crouched down.

Congratulations, you've just recreated Friday evening at the Los Altos library book sale. Don't forget to pay for the books on the way out.

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( Jan 30 2006, 07:35:01 AM PST ) [Listen] Permalink Comments [9]

Comments:

Believe it or not, there's actually a name for it. DOMS. Delayed onset muscle soreness. Most agree it's from the tearing the muscle fibers. If you don't do much weight training, this will happen a lot, and always happens the first few workouts of different muscle groups. When you do lift weights you body gets used to recovering from these tears quicker, which is what actually makes your muscle bigger. Some tips to minimize the effects: Lift weights regularly, start "slow" when lifting weights (don't kill your self on the first day), allow at least three days of recovery for each muscle group, do cardio after weight training to get more blood flowing through the muscles, vitamin C therapy has been shown to help, and drink plenty of water to flush out the toxins. Check out DOMS on wikipedia.

Posted by ThinGuy on January 30, 2006 at 08:00 AM PST #

The way my trainer explained it to me, it's a result of lactic acid from anaerobic exercise. You're burning more energy than your lungs can provide oxygen for, so you produce lactic acid. Your muscles ache until it's processed out of your body. Working out regularly lessens the next-day ache not necessarily because your muscle is getting stronger, but because your ability to get more oxygen to your muscles improves the better yout take care of yourself.

Posted by Mikey Cooper on January 30, 2006 at 08:03 AM PST #

Thanks ThinGuy, Mikey! I do try to work out regularily, but not so much with weight training. I'll try to adjust accordingly. Or course, buying paperbacks instead, would also help too.

Posted by Rich Burridge on January 30, 2006 at 08:09 AM PST #

Mikey, time to get a new trainer or at least send him back to school. The lactic acid concept was dispelled a while ago. Google lactic acid myth.

Posted by ThinGuy on January 30, 2006 at 08:51 AM PST #

ThinGuy, interesting read and my trainer wasn't even the first time I'd heard the lactate explanation. She is rather cute though, so I think I'll stick with her all the same. Gotta have my priorities. ;)

Posted by Mikey Cooper on January 30, 2006 at 09:47 AM PST #

Well, to be truthful, I used to believe it/repeat it after having heard it from one coach or another in the past. Geez, look at me being sexist. By all means stay if she's cute. (might as well be a chauvinist too) ;) Sorry for chatting via your blog Rich.

Posted by ThinGuy on January 30, 2006 at 10:08 AM PST #

No problem.

Posted by Rich Burridge on January 30, 2006 at 10:36 AM PST #

Maybe this is the big picture, maybe it's not: Imagine your taxing your body to the limit and then the next day your feeling brand spanking new. It would be a recipe for disaster. Your body needs time to repair itself, and it's telling you the only way it knows how. It really shouldn't matter what the mechanism is, but do listen to it.

Posted by Drew Raster on January 30, 2006 at 01:00 PM PST #

I've recently read the answer to this (which corresponds with ThinGuy's) in the book Does Anything Eat Wasps?. It's certainly a book you should look out for - I'm sure it would appeal to your enquiring mind!

Posted by Julie on February 01, 2006 at 12:59 AM PST #