Hey Peeps,

I've recently started doing a small workout routine just to get myself back into shape again. I'm not seriously overweight or unfit but I'd just like to tone myself up a bit and improve my general fitness again. Problem is when I do press-ups or situps my muscles seem to shake uncontrolably.

As far as I can tell I'm doing these exercises with proper technique, as controlled as I can do them to maximize their effectiveness, I'm constantly breathing while doing them as well. It's not like muscle spasms, just quite bad shaking if you can imagine what I mean.

Would just like to know is this normal? A sign of me doing things right or wrong? Symptoms of something more serious?

Thanks in advanced for any answers. J.

This is something that you should tell your doctor. It might mean your muscles are simply a little too weak to handle the stress of that exercise or it could be a more serious neuorlogical disorder. It is impossible to tell here.

NORMALLY, muscles do not shake uncontrollably during routine workouts. Sometimes, if you are straining during exercise your muscles might shake with fatigue. It may mean that your muscles are not accustomed to the demands you're putting on them.

Are your muscles sore after your workouts?

Muscles don't really hurt after working out. Just the usual minor discomfort after giving them a good workout but nothing out of the ordinary.

Can you describe how you do the exercises, and what exercises they are? What sort of weight are you lifting, and what tempo are you using while lifting them? When you say "controlled" do you mean without swinging or with a very slow tempo?

At the moment all I'm doing is press-ups and situps/crunches against my own bodyweight. No extra weights and I don't go to a gym.

When I do them I move really slowly. By controlled I mean I don't use the momentum of my movement to aid my exercise. Like when I do situps I don't rock back and forth on my back using momentum.

It's possible that your movement is too slow. Ideally, you should be going down to a count of three, and up to a count of one or two. Slower than that feels harder, but doesn't actually give more benefits. And you will probably find you fatigue quickly. I think that's what the shaking is.