Originally posted by Grasshoppah
If your forearms start to burn then your doing something right!
You might want to ask a physiotherapist or doctor about the 'merits' of doing an exercise 'till your muscles burn.
The burning sensation is caused by a build up of Lactic Acid in the muscles. This is created by a lack of oxygen in the blood flowing through the muscles, and you are burning sugar to compensate (glycolytic fermentation).
The more Lactic Acid you have in your muscles, the less they are able to function normally.
Yes, after doing this exercise, your limbs will feel 'light and fast'.
This is because an enzyme in the bloodstream (Lactate Dehydrogenase, known as LDH) converts the Lactic Acid into Pyruvate, which in turn is used up in Aerobic activity, or converted to Glucose.
Ideally, the body should maintain a 7.4-pH level where there is balance between acid and alkaline in the muscles. When muscles are fatigued, the lactic acid level rises too high. If the exercise continues, the muscles clog with acid and no longer are benefiting from the workout.
So, IMHO, the exercise is simply a trick to make you think you are developing faster handwork. (Which you might be, for all of 2 minutes)
However, if your instructor is regularly running this exercise, I'm sure he is also using a Lactate Analyzer, a hand held device that pricks the finger and then instantly analyzes the lactic acid build up.
Remember, there is more to training safely than wearing pads, and it is important to ensure proper and safe training methods :soapbox:
Les
PS
Next week class, we'll look at the good and bad points of ballistic stretching
