If you find your arms shaking after workout, you might have an easy solution on your hands. First we must understand that it is most likely a nutritional issue. What I mean by that is a caloric intake issue.
It is important to note that your caloric intake is going to differ depending on your goals.
But what we will find in this article is that we can engineer our days and our workouts to be more efficient in feeding our muscles.
Making sure your calories are correct
Working on your caloric intake is the most important thing that you can do when it comes to hitting your goals. Why? Because being in a caloric surplus or deficit is going to determine if you gain weight or lose weight.
For those that want to shed fat and lose weight rapidly, of course it makes sense to eat at a caloric deficit. You cannot lose belly fat in a caloric surplus.
On the other side of the token, people that are looking to build muscle must eat at a caloric surplus. You cannot build muscle in a caloric deficit.
Great, but how do we determine if we are in a caloric deficit or surplus? You first must understand maintenance calories.
Your maintenance calories are simply the amount of calories you must eat in one day to not gain or lose any weight.
Why is this all important in an article about arms shaking after workout? Because your total caloric intake could be a major indicator of how your body is going to react to working out.
For example, if you are eating at a caloric surplus and trying to build muscle, you are far less likely to have muscle shaking.
If you are trying to lose weight and are eating in a caloric deficit, your muscles are going to be starved for calories.
I don’t want you to think this is necessarily a bad thing. Since you can’t build muscle in a caloric deficit, you need to understand that your muscles aren’t going to be fed as much as other parts of your body. And that is ok since you are trying to lose weight.
Timing your meals
If you find your arms shaking after workout for more than 30 minutes, this could be an indication that your body needs calories now.
Even if you are eating at a caloric deficit, there are optimal times to eat, and eating directly after a workout is going to be your best bet. Why? Because that is when your muscles and everything else in your body are begging for calories.
To be fair, if you are building muscle and eating at a caloric surplus, this is less important. If your body is in a constant state of caloric surplus, it is always going to have the calories necessary to rush to those muscles.
This is mostly for those who are eating at a caloric deficit.
If you aren’t currently working out before a major meal, now would be the time to consider making that happen. If you can find it within your schedule to workout before breakfast, lunch, dinner, etc… that would be ideal.
Another important thing to consider if you can’t workout before a major meal is to incorporate protein shakes into your diet. There is a reason that you will see a lot of bodybuilders drink protein shakes directly after their workout.
Protein shakes will ensure that your body gets the necessary calories immediately.
One thing to be aware of is that you will need to adjust the rest of your meals to factor in the protein shake towards your overall category goal.
Don’t let one little snack or protein shake be the determining factor in the destruction of your goals.
Are you doing the right workout for your goals?
Many people just show up to the gym and start lifting weights without considering if it is serving their overall goals.
Before we get started, I encourage you to download our app All Workouts: Personal Trainer (iOS | Google Play). We have multiple FREE workout plans and also HIIT workouts to get to your goals fast.
So, we first must determine what your goals are. Do you want to gain muscle or do you want to lose fat? You have to choose one of the two for now. There is no straddling the line.
If you are overweight, you might want to consider a weight loss routine, and if you want to build muscle, you will want to do a weight training routine.
Let’s make one thing clear. Before we even consider what workouts we should be doing, we first must make sure that we are either eating at a caloric surplus OR deficit. See the first section above.
If you want to build muscle, I recommend doing weight training 3-4 days per week. Our app has some great routines for you. Or, you can check out our beginner bodybuilding routine for mass.
If you are looking to lose fat, I recommend doing high intensity interval training 3-4 days per week. Our app has 10 built-in HIIT workouts that will walk you through the motions.
If you aren’t an app person, you can check out our best high intensity interval training workouts for beginners at home.
That’s all there is to it. As you can see, there are different paths for you depending on your goals. Make sure that you are taking the right path or you will end up feeling frustrated.
Main Point: Arms shaking after workout?
If you find your arms shaking after workout, you now know what the issues might be. Chances are, it is just your body reacting to the fact that it desperately needs calories.
When you are trying to build muscle, you must eat at a caloric surplus. If your goal is to build muscle and your muscles are shaking, that might be an indication that you are not hitting your calorie intake goals.
Remember, your caloric intake is going to be the most important thing that you can monitor when you are trying to get fit.
Calorie intake goals differ from person to person, which is why it is imperative that you find out your own maintenance calorie number.
If you are in a deficit, make sure to time your meals to be directly after a workout. This will ensure that you get enough calories to the muscles ASAP. If you can’t eat directly after a workout, at least consider a protein shake.
We would love to know if this article helped you out. Feel free to comment or send us a message.
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