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Low Blood Sugar?


Marcina
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I noticed that when I'm working out, I tend to get shaky in the middle of my workout. It makes it difficult to keep perfect form and lift as heavy as I want when this happens. Could it possibly be low blood sugar or something? Anyone else have this problem?

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While talking to a doc is a good idea, to ask, are you eating a light meal about an hour before training? If I don't eat shortly before going to lift, I tend to fall apart very early, sometimes feeling nauseous, light-headed, and just all-out bad. This isn't ALL the time, but does happen on occasion if I don't eat first, so if you're not taking in a small meal or snack such as a few pieces of fruit or a bowl of oatmeal, give it a try and see if it makes a difference.

 

Otherwise, the next best thing (if you're not after maximum fat loss) is to get a sports drink to sip between sets. I often take a bottle of something with me when lifting heavy, drinking abour 32 oz. of sports drink while I'm training, and that also keeps me from feeling light-headed or sick during my brutal workouts.

 

Just some thoughts for someting to try next time you go to the gym, just in case it helps!

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Yeah I always eat beforehand. What is the best kind of food to eat? I usually have something like cereal, a banana and peanut butter, or some dates.

 

I like to make my own sports drink with 1 part juice and 3 parts water to take to the gym. It helps but I still get shaky when doing squats and big exercises like that.

 

The shakes feel like caffeine jitters and I get them quite often during the day. It's really annoying. I don't take anything with caffeine in it though. I'm wondering if I'm not eating enough. I have a very small appetite so it's difficult for me to eat lots of food in a day. I talked to my doctor about it and he just told me to keep weight training because it increases the appetite.

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I'm not talking about diabetes.

I don't even know for sure if it's low blood sugar. It might be my diet. Not enough fats, proteins, calories, or something like that.

 

Thanks for the help anyways.

Sorry, I misunderstood your question. I consume a shake/smoothie before I lift in the evening and I drink approximately 32-64 ounces of water during my session. There's no science to this concoction, but it works for me.

 

Shake

2 bananas

2 blocks of tofu

1 tbsp wheat germ

1 tbsp flax seed meal

8 ounces of soy milk

6 ice cubes

Blender

Edited by bodybag
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I found this on a website for you, it was a link to quivering muscles during a workout:

 

Why do my muscles quiver sometimes?

 

Good day readers, Jonathan Mannheim here. Please enjoy this article, my third that I have submitted for your benefit….

 

Why do my muscles shake when I perform certain exercises?

 

Most people embarking on a strength training programme for the first time will find that they shake or quiver when performing certain exercises such abdominal crunches. This is normal and means that your body is being put under a stressor (the exercise), that it is not usually accustomed to. As the myofilaments in the muscle tissue contract and “slide” over one another to form a contraction, there is tension that is built up in the tissue, and then released.

 

The muscle also vibrates due to the cellular activity happening as chemicals are released and turned into immediate energy, to cause the muscle tissue in that area to contract. For a detailed explanation see the post ‘How do my muscles actually contract’! The action will become smoother and trembling will cease once the fibers you had previously worked in the muscle have adapted and become stronger, and more co-ordinated at contracting. You may find if you do the next progression of a certain exercise or increase the weight load, the muscle may begin to shake and tremble again, as it is being put under a new type of challenge.The extra strain on the muscle tissue being targeted will result in soreness a day or two after as you will have caused micro trauma (slight damage) to the tissue. When the body repairs it however, you will come back stronger and fitter.

 

Why do my muscles quiver when being stretched ?

 

This is because the muscle tissue is being stretched and placed under strain, therefore the body reacts to the tension. There are small sensory neurons in muscle and tendon tissue that are responsible for the reflex inhibition, which prevents the muscle from being stretched too far. As more tension increases, the sensory organs send more impulses to and from the CNS(Central Nervous System), to cause the fibers to either contract or relax. The Golgi tendons(Sensors) are generally slower acting in response to increased tension and so only tell the tissue to relax after say about 30-45sec, but prior to that there was a fight between tension and your muscles being told by the spindles to contract.

 

It is almost like a rope being slowly pulled in opposite directions by two vehicles. As the tension increases, you will notice the rope will vibrate slightly or quiver as each individual fiber of the rope is placed under strain. The difference here is obviously that your body has sensory neurons that can relax the muscle for further stretching, whereas a piece of rope does not.

 

It is important to note though, that stretches should not be taken too far, and if the quivering persists for longer then say 30sec, you should probably back off a bit on the stretch, as the tissue is obviously in a reactive state to prevent injury, and if pushed too far, you run the risk of tearing something.

 

Kind regards

 

Jonathan Mannheim

 

Do note that stretching can be while lifting weights, such as a bicep curl. On the way down, and at the lowest part you are actually stretching it, and then you begin to contract the muscle as you bring it back up for the "curl". If the weight is very stressful for the muscle, it will quiver as it doesn't know if it is safe to proceed with that amount of weight (safety reflex muscle). Try a smaller weight and see if the quivering stops. Or not! Just plow right on thru!

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Some movement disorders, like essential tremor, get worse when under stress and when adrenaline surges. I've had Essential tremor for decades and it definitely gets worse when I'm lifting-or doing anything else that increases adrenaline like public speaking. Most people aren't diagnosed until their 40s or 50s because ET is degenerative and just looks like "nervousness" until people progress enough. I had it for decades before it got bad enough to be diagnosed. Do you tend to get shaky after drinking caffeine? Or do you get the shakes the day after drinking a little too much? Do the shakes primarily affect your hands and or voice/head? If yes to any of these, you may have ET. It's very common; 10 times as prevalent as Parkinsons Disease-about 5 to 10 million people in the US have it and its global prevalence, particularly among caucasions, is about 5% of most populations. Some prominent people with ET are Sen Byrd from W VA, Sandra O'Conner formerly on the Supreme Court, and Catherine Hepburn.

 

30 years ago, when I was in my teens, weight lifting was probably the main thing that brought on my tremor. Only 20 some years later after the disorder had greatly progressed did I realize what I had all those years ago.

 

Hopefully you don't have early stage ET, but given its prevalence it is not remotely inconceivable. You can easily research ET on the web and use its well known characteristics to see if they fit your situation. Best of luck.

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Some movement disorders, like essential tremor, get worse when under stress and when adrenaline surges. I've had Essential tremor for decades and it definitely gets worse when I'm lifting-or doing anything else that increases adrenaline like public speaking. Most people aren't diagnosed until their 40s or 50s because ET is degenerative and just looks like "nervousness" until people progress enough. I had it for decades before it got bad enough to be diagnosed. Do you tend to get shaky after drinking caffeine? Or do you get the shakes the day after drinking a little too much? Do the shakes primarily affect your hands and or voice/head? If yes to any of these, you may have ET. It's very common; 10 times as prevalent as Parkinsons Disease-about 5 to 10 million people in the US have it and its global prevalence, particularly among caucasions, is about 5% of most populations. Some prominent people with ET are Sen Byrd from W VA, Sandra O'Conner formerly on the Supreme Court, and Catherine Hepburn.

 

30 years ago, when I was in my teens, weight lifting was probably the main thing that brought on my tremor. Only 20 some years later after the disorder had greatly progressed did I realize what I had all those years ago.

 

Hopefully you don't have early stage ET, but given its prevalence it is not remotely inconceivable. You can easily research ET on the web and use its well known characteristics to see if they fit your situation. Best of luck.

 

Naw. I get up and sing in front of people, and although I'm a little nervous.. I definitely sing better than I do when by myself. I love it. I don't get the shakes, unless it's immediately after my first song.. and then I get used to being up there and I get over it

As far as caffeine goes, I avoid it altogether. I used to get jittery if I drank too much coffee, and got heart palpitations.

I'm pretty sure I don't have ET

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