High intensity training is challenging for all of us. If this intensity is excessive and we also put aside other considerations, we can suffer problems such as muscle tremors , which will most likely force us to finish our exercise session much earlier than planned.
Fortunately there are a series of factors capable of helping to prevent this problem, let’s see why these vibrations are produced and how we can avoid them in order not to harm our training.
Our body is wise and warns us
We have all heard the saying, what we may not know is this: our muscles are made up of fibers that divide work during exercise, but certain causes cause this division to progressively deteriorate throughout training. This is due to factors such as the fatigue that we generate during the session, dehydration, the loss of electrolytes through sweating and the intensity of the exercise.
How to avoid tremors
- In general, a good warm-up and regular stretching can help reduce muscle fatigue, which will be beneficial to avoid vibrations. If the fibers have not recovered after training the day before, it is very possible that we will fatigue again in training.
- On the other hand we have dehydration and the loss of electrolytes , which are also two important causes of the problem. When exercising, our brain sends signals to the muscle fibers, between them the effort of the muscle is divided. When fatigue is noticeable, signal transmission worsens and some fibers are loaded more than others.
- Carrying out new movements that we are not used to is also a risk factor for tremors. We must be especially cautious when trying new exercises.
- Also, if the intensity is excessively high, it is most likely that we will be unable to finish the series, because the division of labor will eventually make us fail.
- Finally, if the nutrition is not appropriate, it is useless to pretend to do good workouts. The brain is only capable of using glucose, and the most direct source it has are carbohydrates (despite the fact that due to more expensive processes, we can also manufacture glucose from fats and proteins), so the shortage of carbohydrates not the best option to avoid muscle vibrations.
Getting stronger helps
In any case, as our muscles grow, they get used to an exercise and they get stronger. This allows the vibrations to end up disappearing, but once again we have to take into account the individuality of each person, since there are those who are able to adapt in a short time and those who are unable to stop suffering from these discomforts.
References
- Kristine Lockwood, Why Do Muscles Shake During Exercise? , for Greatist.com [Revised October 2015]
