Does anyone have advice about reducing lactic acid build up after swimming? I swim pretty hard 4-5X a week (3000-4500 yds per workout)and walk around with constant knots in my upper back and shoulders. I know to stretch, drink plenty of water (before,during and after workout), & warm up/ warm down. While I don't always do all of these things in combination - I do some of them . I have a straight right arm in freestyle that doesn't always enter the water very "gracefully" which I know contributes to this pain. Is there anything important that I need to be doing besides getting a new stroke ? Any secrets I need to know? Oh, and I will not be giving up my morning coffee so forget that advice!:)
Parents
Former Member
It's been a while since I've swam hard enough to worry about lactic acid build up, but I do remember that the warm-down is really important. Also, to vary your workouts enough that you're not building up such extreme levels of lactic acid at every workout. I just got Hines' Fitness Swimming and noticed that he recommends not doing the lactice endurance workouts every day, because it doesn't give the system long enough to work the build-up out of your body.
A more enjoyable alternative would be regular massage by a trainded and licences massage therapist; once the scar tissue is broken up, and everything moving freely again, it'll be easier to get the lactic acid out of your system. Plus, regular massage is nice :D
Kae
It's been a while since I've swam hard enough to worry about lactic acid build up, but I do remember that the warm-down is really important. Also, to vary your workouts enough that you're not building up such extreme levels of lactic acid at every workout. I just got Hines' Fitness Swimming and noticed that he recommends not doing the lactice endurance workouts every day, because it doesn't give the system long enough to work the build-up out of your body.
A more enjoyable alternative would be regular massage by a trainded and licences massage therapist; once the scar tissue is broken up, and everything moving freely again, it'll be easier to get the lactic acid out of your system. Plus, regular massage is nice :D
Kae
