Exploring the Southern Constellations. September 2008 : In the summer of 1865, noted American newspaperman and politician Horace Greeley penned, in an editorial, an admonishment to young civil servants in Washington DC. Greeley urged those who complained of low pay grades in the Capitol area to âGo west, young man!â.
When your muscles can't get enough oxygen during a short burst of exercise, they start to make use of a pathway called lactic acid fermentation, which generates a small three-carbon compound called lactic acid or lactate as a byproduct of glucose breakdown.
The working muscle cells can continue this type of anaerobic energy production at high rates for one to three minutes, during which time lactate can accumulate to high levels. A side effect of high lactate levels is an increase in the acidity of the muscle cells, along with disruptions of other metabolites. The same metabolic pathways that permit the breakdown of glucose to energy perform poorly in this acidic environment.