Muscles Burn When I’m Exercising – Why?

Lactic acid burn during exercise

Have you ever gone for a quick run, to only get that “burning” feeling in your legs after a few minutes? Do you begin to worry about your health when you feel like your “muscles burn while i’m exercising.”

It’s never a fun experience when this happens. You’re constantly asking yourself why do my muscles burn when I’m exercising? You also feel like you’re the only one who this happens to and begin to question your level of physical fitness. You may even worry that you have a medical problem.

Intense cardio exercise creates that feel of the “burn” in your muscles because your body isn’t getting less oxygen from what you are breathing in.

Normally, your body gets the energy it needs from a process called respiration that converts oxygen and sugar to energy. Because your body is getting less oxygen while you are exercising, it has to switch to glycolysis. The problem with glycolysis is that it makes energy with lactic acid as one of its byproducts. The acid that it produces is the reason behind the burn.

1. Reason #1 For “My muscles burn while i’m exercising” – You Need To Drink A Lot of Water

Dehydration alone is enough to cause the lactic acid buildup in the muscles. Water can help to move some of these acid byproducts out of your body. Try to drink a good amount of water before you plan to exercise, so that you are prepared in advance of your physical activity.

2. Breathe More

Don’t hyperventilate, but try to breathe a bit more while you are exercising. If you get more air in your lungs, your body will have more oxygen to use in order to convert sugar to ATP.

3. Take Breaks

Lactic acid production stops immediately when you stop physical activity. If you take breaks during your exercise sessions, your body will have time to catch up and consume a regular amount of oxygen. Allow your breathing rate to catch back up to normal, and you’ll find that your soreness goes away.

When you take some basic steps to avoid soreness, you’ll find that the sore sensation goes away. When you don’t feel as sore, you’re more likely to enjoy your workouts. Furthermore, you’ll be more willing to get exercise the next day instead of being tempted to skip a day because you’re too sore to exercise. Hopefully, you won’t have to wonder why your muscles burn while I’m exercising again.