How to delay muscle fatigue

Some of you asked about the connection between diet and forearm pump. In this article, we will explain the causes of muscle burning, muscle fatigue, and muscle swelling (aka getting SWOLE). All of these factors work together to create that “pumped out of your mind” feeling you sometimes notice after a tough climb.

Let’s blame lactic acid, right?!?

Many people tend to believe that muscle burning is the result of too much lactic acid. But since my purpose in life seems to be pissing off the masses, I’m going to explain to you why this is not the case – according to SCIENCE.

Professor Matthew Hickey, who earned his PhD in bioenergetics and currently serves as the Director of the Human Performance Clinical Research Lab at Colorado State University, says, “The bottom line is… there is no lactic acid in human beings.”

Before you start yelling at me, Hickey explains that your body is actually producing lactate, the alternate base to lactic acid, and you keep producing it 24/7.

He goes on to say that lactic acid doesn’t really show up until you have a blood pH below 6. Intense exercise can send your blood pH down into the high 6’s. But a blood pH below 6 will reserve you a comfy bed in the hospital.

So what causes the burn?

There is actually a difference between the muscle burn that you feel during intense exercise and true muscle fatigue. The burning sensation, or acidosis, that you feel after a round of weighted squats or 4×4’s is actually an accumulation of hydrogen ions in the muscle tissue.

Scientists used to believe that lactate was the cause of muscle burning. Because it accumulates in the muscle tissue along with hydrogen ions. But they have since realized that they were following the wrong trail.

Lactate also leaves the cell along with hydrogen ions. But the liver can actually recycle lactate and break it down into glucose for more energy. So, it’s the hydrogen ions, and not the lactate, that cause the burning sensation in your muscles.

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