Lactic Acid and how to beat it

I usually go the Gym twice a week and run a tread mill for about 25min at a reasonable pace. Relatively speaking I think I am slightly above average fit in the respect that I can jog at a constant rate without dropping dead or panting to heavily.

However I have recently taken up Handball or what some people call olympic Handball. At my first training session i was sprinting around the court in a million direction, swinging my arms, jumping around like a lunatic. The next day I get paralysing pain in my legs, arms and a some pain when i cough.

I gather this is a result of Lactic Acid build up. My question is whether this will eventually be a thing of the past as i do more of the above mentioned activity.

Also how can I beat the pains at this point in time? If I grit my teeth and try to walk quickly (this is painfull) would this be counter productive?

I have read elsewhere that only time can evetually release the pain?

How about drinking heaps of water? Would that help?

What preventative measures can i take? DO drinks like Gatorade help? I have training again in 5 days time and in my current pain would find it difficult.

Any info would be greatly appreciated as I am currently very sore to the point that its an effort to get up. Other than the pain in my legs I am also feeling a 'humming sensation in my upper thigh muscles if that makes sense.

Thanks A Million

It's not 'lactic acid buildup', it's delayed-onset muscle soreness (DOMS) and it is quite normal for anyone who overdoes a new activity. You might be in great shape for running but when you tried handball you were suddenly using a lot of different muscles, and some of the same muscles in a much different way.

You _really_ overdid it. Time, gentle stretching, hot baths and hydration are going to be your best bet for recovery. A professional theraputic massage might help, too. Once you feel on the upswing again, try some easy walking and _ease_ back into your activities. Don't try to 'grin and bear it'

Thanyou both for your responses. I am appreciate it.

My only final question is whether one gets any benefit after going through DOMS?

Should one be able to handle now the exact same amount of intense training a little better?

Are their any changes to muscle post DOMS?

Any time you place a little extra physical demand on your body over what it's been used to, it will respond by adapting in order to meet that demand more readily the next time. That's what 'training' accomplishes, and this is called a 'training effect'. It is normal to experience mild DOMS during the time between such workouts. It is _not_ good to place so much of an additional demand that your DOMS is darn near debilitating. Once you are able to work out again without pain, you will probably do no better than you did last time (nor should you try to); meanwhile, a person who started at the same level and was more conservative in his training, will probably surpass you since he was able to keep working out while you were creaking around in pain.

In other words, DOMS is something to try to minimize, not a goal. 'No pain, no gain' does not apply. The worse the DOMS, the less benefit you actually achieved, because the more time your body must spend doing repairs instead of building new tissue.

Not with bad DOMS.

See above. Mild DOMS is normal, and your body will be able to do both the necessary repairs and the building for adaptation. Bad DOMS is not good, and your body will do well just to make the necessary repairs.

One more comment: Many people feel that DOMS are an indication of a 'good workout'. This is nonsense. In terms of the quality of workout, DOMS say nothing.