What most people think they know about lactic acid is actually a myth, misnomer, and is basically wrong. We blame it for the burning muscle sensation during intense exercise and for the muscle soreness (DOMS) the next day, but in reality there is no ‘lactic acid’, there is lactate and metabolic acidosis. The reason for the confusion was that back in the 1920’s scientists found high levels of lactate and high levels of hydrogen ions (reason for acidosis) present in the muscles during high intensity exercise and fatigue, and believed them both to be the reason – hence the name Lactic Acid. This went unchallenged for about 80 years, and in that time, the myth had become deeply imbedded into coaches, trainers and most fitness literature.

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