From the point of view of chemistry, lactic acid is a decay product, or glycolysis, of two substances - glycogen and glucose. It is during glycolysis that the energy is released, which is so necessary for athletes during training.
Where did the opinion about the excess of lactic acid in the body come from?
There is a widespread belief that lactic acid causes a lot of problems for athletes and is a real enemy, a serious obstacle to a successful sports career. It is believed that if the level of lactic acid in the body of an athlete is higher than normal, he experiences severe pain and cramps in the muscles, and oxygen starvation may also occur.
To understand in more detail the truthfulness or falsity of such a stereotype, one should first turn to biochemistry. Formally, lactic acid is a glucose molecule split in two, which in the process of splitting - glycolysis - releases special substances - pyruvates. Human muscles use these substances as energy fuel, and without them the muscles simply cannot contract and relax, which means complete inaction.
Especially a lot of pyruvate is released during exercise due to the increased intensity of glycolysis, and the excess of this substance is eventually converted back to lactic acid. This is why intense training often leads to excess lactic acid in the muscles of athletes. However, the opinion that lactic acid causes the characteristic pain that usually overtakes athletes and bodybuilders a few days after training has not been confirmed and scientifically proven. Fifteen years have passed since pundits discovered the true cause of post-workout muscle pain - these are banal microtraumas of muscle fibers associated with an unusually high load.
Why does the body need lactic acid?
Lactic acid is the most important source of energy for the entire body. If the sports training has a very high intensity, then the lactic acid produced in the so-called fast fibers is transported to the slow fibers, where it is then converted into energy fuel.
It is in the muscles of the athlete that three quarters of the total volume of lactic acid produced is processed. About a quarter of lactic acid from muscle fibers is transported by the circulatory system to the liver and kidneys, where it is successfully processed. Thus, the widespread belief about the so-called "excess" of lactic acid in the body has no scientific confirmation today.
