What is muscle congestion?

Congestion often occurs in the human body. For example, the penis will become congested when it is erect, and the female pelvis will also become congested for various reasons. In addition, when people exercise, the blood flow rate in the whole body will speed up, and muscle congestion will occur. So what do human muscles look like when they are congested?

What is muscle congestion?

The significance of congestion to muscles is that it allows more blood to enter the muscles, which expands the muscles and slightly tears them during training. After training, it brings more nutrients to the expanded muscles and rebuilds the torn parts, thereby thickening the muscle fibers in that part.

1. ATP energy supply. ATP (adenosine triphosphate) is the only direct source of energy for muscle activity. Under the catalysis of enzymes, ATP is rapidly broken down and releases energy to meet the needs of muscle contraction. The ATP reserves in muscles are very small, and they must be broken down and synthesized at the same time to meet the needs of continuous muscle activity. There are three ways to provide energy for the decomposition and resynthesis of ATP. The first is the aerobic oxidation of sugar and fat, the second is the decomposition of CP (creatine phosphate), and the third is the anaerobic decomposition of glycogen.

2. Anaerobic metabolism. Anaerobic metabolism is an integral part of human energy metabolism. When muscles perform short-term, high-load exercise, the oxygen supply is insufficient for aerobic oxidation of sugars. The muscles then use the energy released by the anaerobic decomposition of CP and sugars to resynthesize ATP to meet the needs of muscle movement.

3. Anaerobic decomposition of sugar. Anaerobic decomposition of sugar is the breakdown of glycogen or glucose into lactic acid in the absence of oxygen supply, while quickly releasing energy to synthesize ATP for muscle contraction. Because the reserves of CP in muscles are also very small, the anaerobic breakdown of sugar is the main energy supply of anaerobic metabolism.

The metabolic product of anaerobic decomposition of sugar is lactic acid. The feeling of muscle soreness is caused by the accumulation of large amounts of lactic acid. The lactic acid produced by anaerobic metabolism in muscles cannot be reversed into sugar within the muscles. Instead, a small part of it is oxidized, and most of it is transported to the liver by the blood and converted into glycogen.

From the above, we can see that muscle soreness after weight training is inevitable. Only when lactic acid continuously enters the liver through blood circulation and is converted into glycogen, will muscle soreness gradually disappear. This process is part of the recovery process after training.

Lactic acid is a strong acid. Excessive accumulation of it in the body will destroy the stability of the body's acid-base balance, thereby reducing the body's working ability. Many bodybuilders have proven from experience that if you insist on training when your muscles are sore, your muscles will not feel stimulated and it will be difficult to build muscle. Moreover, muscle soreness will cause the muscles' instinctive reaction to resist muscle movement, so it is difficult to concentrate on training, let alone establish a muscle-will connection. Therefore, it is best to wait until muscle soreness disappears before training. Although your enthusiasm for training is high and your desire to train is strong, you must understand that without adequate recovery, your muscles cannot grow fully.