Muscle fatigue goes beyond feeling tired. This is a situation in which athlete forces fail, which is also associated with a feeling of heaviness in the muscles and an increase in heart and breathing rate which can end up triggering a significant lack of coordination and even episodes of anxiety.
The exact moment in which muscle fatigue appears cannot be established since it has to do with a combination of aspects including physical condition, age, diet and, of course, genetics. For this reason, in each person the «motor limit» is different and even in the same person it can be reached with different levels of training. The truth is that muscle fatigue, in addition to being a problem in itself, denotes that something is being done wrong in the training schedule and may be the previous step to injury severe in the future.
It is produced by a reduction in the calcium levels necessary for adequate muscle contraction and relaxation, by accumulation of lactic acid or glycogen deficiency, but also by a inadequate hydration. In general, active muscle needs to be nourished by oxygen and glycogen. With increasing intensity, this need increases and the tissue needs more energy, which leads to an increase in the production of lactic acid producing a metabolic acidosis. If the effort continues to increase, the source of energy for the muscle ceases to be glycogen and becomes protein while the supply of oxygen begins to be insufficient. All this makes the acidosis worse and it becomes difficult to contract and relax the fibers properly.
A therapeutic massage, compression stockings or hot and cold baths are some of the remedies that can improve the muscular fatigue.
Causes:
– Exertion too intense.
– Lack of recovery.
– Incorrect technical execution.
– Stagnation in training.
– Sleeping problems.
– Inadequate planning.
– Thyroid problems.
— Anemia.
– Consumption of drugs, tobacco or alcohol.
– Side effects of medications.
– Bad nutrition.
– Inadequate hydration.
Tips
- Unless it is related to some type of disease such as anemia or problems with the thyroid gland, muscle fatigue can be avoided by following some simple tips that are not less important.
- Plan your workouts properly.
- Eat a healthy diet.
- Pay attention to hydration.
- Respect the hours of sleep and the days of rest.
- Seek professional advice.
- Adapt the intensity progressively.
- Give warm-up and stretching the importance they have.