Scientificly whats that burn you feel when you do push ups of sit ups for a long while?

Answer 1

What happens when you do this kind of workout, is you are actually destroying your muscles. That also explains why you feel much weaker right after a workout. By destroying the muscle, you force it to grow back, and when it does it grows back larger and more defined. The more you workout at once, the more it burns, because the more of your muscle is being destroyed. Don't workout too hard though unless you have a lot of nourishment and protein in your system, because you CAN actually get smaller and weaker by working out too much if your body can't rebuild all the muscle you destroy by using them.

Answer 2

The burn you feel is a build up of acid in your muscles, which is what is produced when you use your muscles. The ache you feel and being sore is the fact that your muscles rip and tear when you work out, that is how they get bigger...protein builds them bigger and better

Answer 3

I think its your muscles screaming. The strain I suppose is what causes it to "burn". And the fact that the muscles are being moved/bent with your workout and usually they dont move- like our legs or arms.

Answer 4

It is called heat shock proteins - it is the structural breakdown of proteins.

"the latest buzz in the fitness universe is "heat shock proteins" (HSP) - a biochemical reaction that some say figures heavily into your body's ability to recover from stress and strain.

"Our body is our own best defense against illness because it does have the power to cure itself -and there is some evidence to show that heat shock proteins might be one way the body counteracts the structural breakdown of protein," says Robert Gotlin, DO, director of Orthopedics and Sports Rehabilitation at Beth Israel Medical Center in New York.

As he explains, HSP reside in the body at a low but constant level - almost dormant, until something stirs their release. That something, says Gotlin, is stress - particularly a heavy workout.

"As your body endures the stress it sends out biochemical signals that activate the heat stress proteins, which are then mobilized - so blood levels rise," Gotlin tells WebMD. It is that elevation, he says, that some researchers believe might play a role in the fitness recovery process, and in helping to keep muscles strong.

Indeed, in studies on 11 male athletes presented earlier this year at the annual meeting of the American College of Sports Medicine (ACSM), researchers from Yokohama City University in Japan revealed that increasing muscle temperature to 40-42 degrees Celsius up to 24 hours before strenuous exercise helps sustain muscle strength, even after that temperature returns to normal. They concluded that the mechanism behind the protective effect of the heat was the subsequent rise in heat shock proteins.

Moreover, in research published in the journal Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise in 2000, doctors from the University of Tuebingen, in Germany, compared the HSP levels of 12 well-trained athletes before and after a run, to 12 athletes who rested. The result: The athletes had much higher levels of HSP after the race - a finding researchers believe helped them maintain their fitness and strength even after the run was over.

Answer 5

It's called lactic acid.

Answer 6

i think its caused by lactic acid... try searching on the web for more info...