To understand what causes muscle fatigue, we need to look at what muscle fatigue is. If you exercise regularly, you may experience a feeling of tiredness in your muscles, or you may find it difficult to perform your daily tasks due to fatigue or lack of energy. However, not only exercise but also a number of health conditions make muscle fatigue a common symptom.
a study Journal of Physiology Defines muscle fatigue as a temporary or transient decrease in the ability to perform physical activities. More precisely, “muscle fatigue” describes any reduction in the force or force produced by the muscles, which occurs shortly after the onset of physical activity.
You will inevitably experience this in your life – whether it is when you run slower, when you lose strength in lifting weights, or when it becomes more difficult to maintain the same figure. Decreased performance due to fatigue, rather than discouraging the struggle to maintain a given level of production, can lead to poor exercise adaptation. International Journal of Sports Physiology and Performance.
To get the most out of your workouts, let’s take a look at how to prevent muscle fatigue. There are several options, from sub-maximal intense exercise to just drinking more water (some of which are simpler than others). In this case, you want to check out our app the best water bottles.
What is muscle fatigue?
As mentioned earlier, muscle fatigue is a decrease in the strength or power produced by the muscles involved in a task. In fact, it seems like being able to lift less weight or do less repetitions, not running fast or long / spinning, or feeling more difficult to perform the same.
For muscle fatigue, we are only looking at a decrease in the function of the same muscles, primarily during a single exercise, or exercises that are close to each other; e.g., the more nets you do, the less repetitions you will be able to do on the bench press, or the harder it will be to keep up with the pace set in a 5k run or a run in the following days.
Fatigue that occurs over a long period of time or in different muscle groups can be a systemic, central nervous system-focused feeling of fatigue, as caffeine studies have shown. American Journal of Physiology.
Causes of muscle fatigue
Before discussing the causes of muscle fatigue, we must first understand what allows muscles to contract and function. At the most basic level, the muscles are made up of individual fibers (called actin and myosin) that overlap to form cross-bridges. A chemical called adenosine triphosphate (ATP) is essential for its formation and can be considered a muscle currency – the more muscles you have, the more your muscles can function. Progress in Biophysics and Molecular Biology. Phosphocreate (PCr) is a high-energy chemical that stores phosphates and produces more ATP. Muscle physiology.
One of the reasons why ATP is so important is that it allows calcium to be released from muscle cells and allows contractions to take place, and the accumulation of hydrogen ions, an important by-product of ATP formation. talent. Hydrogen ions create an acidic environment in the muscles and cause fatigue.
According to the results of a study published in Sports medicine and the Clinical and experimental pharmacology and physiology, muscle function can lead to a decrease in ATP and PCr and the accumulation of hydrogen ions and magnesium ions, which inhibit the release of calcium. These effects can block the cross-linking and excretion of calcium, resulting in reduced muscle strength.
The biggest factor that causes muscle fatigue is the increase in body heat during exercise. According to a 2015 report, the heat generated by exercise can lead to the physiological strain described above. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine & Science in SportsIt can also lead to dehydration through sweat, as the body tries to maintain a consistent and safe temperature.
According to a paper published in 2011, dehydration is one of the main causes of fatigue Journal of Sports Sciencesand sweating can lead to significant losses of important minerals such as sodium, magnesium and calcium, which can lead to muscle fatigue.
How to prevent muscle fatigue
Now that we know what causes muscle fatigue at the cellular and general levels, there are a few specific, practical steps that can help reduce muscle fatigue. First, eating some carbohydrates in a few hours of exercise significantly improves exercise efficiency, because carbohydrates play an important role in glycolysis, which is the main way of ATP production.
Second, there are a number of post-workout tactics you can use to reduce the fatigue that results from a workout session. Study in 2018 Boundaries in Physiology found that immersion in water at any temperature below body temperature is very effective in reducing fatigue and post-workout muscle soreness.
Finally, part of the 2019 study Journal of Strength and Conditioning Research Cooling strategies have been found to be one of the most effective ways to maintain productivity during exercise, i.e. to prevent fatigue at very high core temperatures. One of the most effective ways to help maintain a relatively low temperature is to drink cold water, a question that was very well researched in a 2015 meta-analysis. Scandinavian Journal of Medicine and Science in Sportsand in 10 of the 14 studies compiled, drinking cold water showed a decrease in body temperature.
Home pick-up points and practical steps
Exercise will definitely cause muscle fatigue, and we hope you see it now. However, once you know what causes muscle fatigue, there are some practical steps you can take to reduce the effect. Eating a small amount of carbohydrates before exercise helps maintain muscle function, and immersion in water below body temperature is also beneficial.
Most people already drink water during exercise, but its coolness helps to protect against muscle fatigue and get the most out of your workouts.