Why Will Your Muscles Shake When Exercising?

Muscle shakiness when exercising can happen to anyone, regardless of the level of fitness, age, or sex. There are many reasons for this happen and can be a result of a combination of several factors. If you have experienced this, there are some things you’d better know to deal with this condition properly for avoiding any serious problems in the future.

Why Do Muscles Shake When Exercising?

Muscle shaking can happen anytime throughout your exercise routine, but mostly near the end of a long workout. The muscles feel weak and tired, and they begin to quiver and shake uncontrollably. Keep reading to know more facts about how it happens.

When you move, whether in exercise or any ordinary physical activity, several muscles work in a synchronized fashion, each contracting and relaxing in coordination to produce smooth movements. As your muscles begin to tire out, owing to various reasons, the coordinated transition of contraction and relaxation of the muscles begin to fall out of sync, and then the pulling and letting go actions of the muscles start going against each other, or start failing, thus making a shuddering movement.  

This can be concerning, but here are the reasons for the question “why do muscles shake when exercising” to make you relaxed.

1.    Late Nights

Some people go into their workout without enough rest the night before, and the tremors start to set in soon enough. When we sleep, the body utilizes that time to repair and build muscle tissues. When you’re sleep-deprived, your body is also deprived of the opportunity to build up your muscle for your exercise. If you can’t avoid staying up late, reschedule your workout on another day when you can get more rest.

2.    Lack of Strength

When you engage in a routine you have not done before, you utilize muscles that you may not have exercised as much and they start to fatigue sooner than the ones you have used more often. These muscles gain more strength as you train more, but while still starting out, try to use smaller weights until these group of muscles get strong enough to take on your target weight.

3.    Too Much Weight on First Try

Why do muscles shake when exercising with heavy weights? When the shaking starts at the beginning of the exercise, then it may be a sign that the weight you are trying to go for is way too heavy for your current state. Your muscles simply are not capable of carrying that much weight in a controlled manner. Doing this only puts you at unnecessary risk for injury.

4.    Exercising for Extended Periods

With the popularity of many exercise programs that push your body to the extremes, a lot of people exercise way too much than what is necessary or what can actually produce good results. You can’t go from zero and straight to a full on a 2-hour workout routine. Try to go for programs that fit your current physical state so as not get fatigued easily.

5.    Not Hydrating Enough

When you dry out because you have not had enough water, your body won’t have enough to produce signals that control your muscles properly. Make sure you have enough water all the time. Bring with you a water bottle so you can hydrate anytime you need to.

6.    Low Blood Sugar

Why do muscles shake when exercising when you have not had enough to eat? Your body needs fuel to perform all the tasks that you need to accomplish. If you don’t eat enough before you do your workout, your body will not have anything to draw from when you exercise. Make sure you eat enough before you work out. When you start shaking during exercise, have a light snack such a small piece of banana to augment your energy stores.

What Should You Do Then?

While some people consider work out shaking to be a mark of a really good workout, something that should be achieved and shown like a badge of honor, there is no concrete evidence that this is something everybody should try to do.  These tremors can be common towards the end of an exercise, this can be a sign that your muscles are nearing their limit, and it can be an indication that some rest is called for.

For avoiding it, try to do some stretching exercises before you start the exercises, which is a good way to loosen up your muscles in preparation for what’s to come. This can help keep shaking at bay by helping reduce the fatigue that the muscles feel in the middle of your work out. It is different though when the shaking takes place at the beginning of the exercise, a sign that the intensity of the work out is too much for the body to handle, so it is good to scale back a bit or to take on a much lighter load compared to what you have initially tried to do.

With any exercise regimen you are about to do, make sure that you have eaten properly, and have hydrated well. Get enough energy and nutrients to make the body work properly and enough fluids to ensure proper transmission of the signals from the brain to the body is achieved.

In general, as you do your exercises regularly and consistently, your muscles will eventually develop the strength and capacity, and shaking will eventually happen less. Some will experience shaking less with this approach, but others may still have some shaking regardless of how well experienced they are with weights.