{"id":3831,"date":"2025-01-05T04:51:03","date_gmt":"2025-01-05T04:51:03","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/movewithnicole.com.au\/blog\/understanding-muscle-shakes-during-workouts-and-how-to-prevent-them.html"},"modified":"2025-01-05T04:51:03","modified_gmt":"2025-01-05T04:51:03","slug":"understanding-muscle-shakes-during-workouts-and-how-to-prevent-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ozhelp.org.au\/blog\/health\/understanding-muscle-shakes-during-workouts-and-how-to-prevent-them.html","title":{"rendered":"Understanding Muscle Shakes During Workouts and How to Prevent Them"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019ve ever experienced \u201cbarre shake\u201d while pli\u00e9-ing or trembled during a plank, you might wonder why you shake when you work out.<\/p>\n

It\u2019s actually pretty common to experience occasional shaky muscles during a workout, and there are several reasons why it might happen. Fatigue is often one of them, but the more contributing factors there are, the stronger the quivering becomes.<\/p>\n

Here are five reasons you may shake during a tough workout \u2014 and what you can do about it.<\/p>\n

1. Fatigue<\/h2>\n<\/p>\n

This is the most common culprit. When you work out, your nervous system is hard at work: Your brain sends electrical signals to your muscle fibers that regulate the rate and strength of their contraction.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhen your muscles begin to fatigue, you start to lose some of that neural coordination, and [when that] happens, smaller stabilizer muscles kick in,\u201d explains Shawn Arent, PhD, CSCS*D, FISSN, FACSM, professor and chair of Exercise Science in the University of South Carolina\u2019s Arnold School of Public Health.<\/p>\n

When you\u2019re pushing yourself past your limits, that process can become a bit irregular, which can cause shaking. This is especially noticeable when you\u2019re fighting to hold your position during isometric exercises like planks.<\/p>\n

And it\u2019s not just your muscles that can get fatigued \u2014 if you haven\u2019t slept well, it can affect your workout in many ways, and that includes feeling shakier.<\/p>\n

2. Dehydration<\/h2>\n

\"Woman<\/p>\n

Shaking due to dehydration is more likely to happen toward the end of a workout, Arent says. Our muscles need the right amount of electrolytes in order to contract, so dehydration can impact your performance and potentially cause you to shake.<\/p>\n

Beachbody Performance Hydrate provides an optimal blend of key electrolytes and carbs to help you stay hydrated by replacing what\u2019s lost through sweat.<\/p>\n

3. Hunger<\/h2>\n

\"Group<\/p>\n

Your muscles store carbohydrates as glycogen to use as fuel. If you\u2019re low on glycogen \u2014 either because it\u2019s been awhile since you last ate or because you\u2019re eating inadequate carbs \u2014 your body may let you know by shaking.<\/p>\n

4. Adaptation<\/h2>\n

\"Woman<\/p>\n

Switching up your workouts so that you use muscles in new or different ways can help you grow stronger, but there\u2019s a period of adaptation that goes along with that. Shaking is common during that period. \u201cAs you get better at optimally contracting the muscles involved [in the exercises you\u2019re doing], that shakiness goes away,\u201d Arent says.<\/p>\n

5. Intensity<\/h2>\n

\"Woman<\/p>\n

\u201cShaking is often a physiological response to intense, fatiguing work \u2014 so if it occurs, it\u2019s probably the result of you pushing yourself too hard, most likely with new, different, or particularly grueling workouts,\u201d says Trevor Thieme, CSCS.<\/p>\n

HIIT, MetCon, and heavy leg days are all notorious for causing shaking.<\/p>\n

How to Prevent Muscle Shaking<\/h2>\n

There are a few simple strategies that can help you avoid \u2014 or at least minimize \u2014 shaky muscles during a workout.<\/p>\n