{"id":1533,"date":"2021-06-13T04:40:03","date_gmt":"2021-06-13T04:40:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/craftofmanhood.com\/\/?p=1533"},"modified":"2021-06-13T04:40:07","modified_gmt":"2021-06-13T04:40:07","slug":"heres-why-your-abs-shake-while-exercising-them","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/craftofmanhood.com\/heres-why-your-abs-shake-while-exercising-them\/","title":{"rendered":"Here’s Why Your Abs Shake While Exercising Them"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

It is not uncommon for many individuals to experience shaking abs when they do core exercises like crunches, plank, etc. Why does this happen? Can you stop it? Is it bad for your abs, and how bad is it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

There are a few reasons why your abs shake when you exercise them. The primary reason is that motor units that fire and contract the abs get fatigued quickly because they are not used to being worked. Other reasons include the abs not having enough energy from either low glucose levels or the anaerobic energy system. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

If you want to know why your abs shake uncontrollably when you exercise them, this article will give you all the info you will ever need to understand why they do and how to stop it. Additionally, it will cover other FAQs regarding abs that you should know about. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Abs (abdominals) overview<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You might not know it but your abs are responsible for a lot. You dont only exercise and use them when you are training but rather almost all the time (or they should be getting used all the time).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you stand, sit, walk, talk, sing, run, cycle, lift weights, and almost anything else that involves movement or stability of your body you should essentially be utilizing your core. Your core consists of your abdominals and your lower back muscles.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Why do my abs shake when I work out<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You probably don’t realize it but your core is weaker than you think and along with low glucose levels and a limited supply of energy your body can provide to your abs, this will be the cause for shaking abs along with any other muscles that you exercise.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your abs shake because they are weak and fatigued<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

We touched on how your core (abs) stabilizes your body, and when you proceed to train them, and they are weak, more likely than not, they will start to shake only a couple of reps into the exercise, or if you are doing timed exercises like the plank or superman, you’ll probably start to experience this around 20 seconds into the exercise. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

When your abs are weak and you start to exercise them, your body (brain) does not really know how to recruit and call on your abdominal muscles and their fibers to stabilize and work those muscles. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Trying to build strength with very weak abs causes a lot of stress on them, and thus they will fatigue quickly. Fatigued muscles can’t keep up with the exercise and produce the required amount of energy that the body and those muscles need in order for them to function correctly during the workout. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Understanding Muscle fibers<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Everything in your body, including your muscles, is made up of cells when considered at a microscopic level. Now, when you perform crunches or any form of abdominal exercise, the stronger your abdominals are, the more these cells will work together. When your abs are weak, they don’t work in conjunction with one another so well.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

These muscle cells are part of a group that connects to the spinal cord through a neuron, and it controls the individual nerve and muscle cells. To make things a bit simpler, everything gets controlled by what is known as a motor unit<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

When you start your abdominal exercises, your brain will tell those motor units to fire and contract, and for the most part, all of them do so perfectly fine. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As you start to progress through the exercise, more motor units become fatigued, and subsequently, they will not fire and contract, essentially making your abs weaker, and this is why they start to shake as well. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Shaking abs are utilizing the anaerobic energy system<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

Another factor to consider is that of aerobic and anaerobic exercise. Although when you are doing abdominal exercises such as crunches or leg raises, etc., or timed core exercises, you will not be using the aerobic system, but rather you will be using the anaerobic system to a degree. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

It won’t be the same as a HIIT workout where you are working your heart rate at its maximum level, but rather, the body will try and obtain energy in the same way, especially if your muscles are weak. This means that your muscle will break down stored ATP from carbohydrates very fast and not use oxygen to process energy as with the aerobic energy system. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The anaerobic energy system is a system with a limited energy supply, typically 10 to 20 seconds. After that energy has been expended, your body more than likely can not carry on. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is why interval training is based on time, heart rate, and fitness level. Hence, after you have done a couple of crunches or the plank for 20 seconds, your abs start to shake. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is because they have run out of energy. Thus, your muscles (because they are so weak) are trying to get energy as fast as possible, and utilizing the anaerobic system depletes the energy fast. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Your abs shake because you have low glucose levels<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

You don’t even need to exercise for this condition to set in. When your body experiences a drop in its glucose level (percentage of sugar in the blood), it becomes weaker. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This is further compounded if your glucose levels are low and you start to exercise. Your muscles will try and produce energy from the already low glucose levels in the blood, and they just can’t do that. Thus your energy levels will drop, and your muscles that are further fatigued will start to shake. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This can happen with your abdominals or any other muscle group that you are exercising.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How to increase my glucose levels so my abs don’t shake?<\/h4>\n\n\n\n

This alignment is pretty easy to rectify. You just have to make sure that you eat before your workout so your body has enough energy that it can use during your exercises. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This means you should typically eat some combination of carbohydrates and protein, preferably an hour or two before you hit the gym. This will give your body time to break down the food into an energy source it can use during your workout. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

This video below talks about shaking after a workout but the same principles and conditions apply during your workout. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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