Splits question

[Caleb Demarais]

Hi. I have a question for vanzant or anyone else who can help. when I do my isometric splits the muscle I'm tensing starts shaking really badly usually in the 3rd or 4th set. What is cuasing this? and what can I do to stop it? Is it a injury? Thanks.

[Van Zandt]

It's a sign you're too weak for the tension you're applying, or you're training too hard, or you're training too often - or all three! It might also be question of nutrition. Like at the end of a hard run, athletes may experience spasms because their body is depleted of essential electrolytes. You could also be dehydrated or deficient in magnesium and/or calcium.

In addition to insufficient hydration, muscle overload and mineral deficiency, some research suggests very strong isometric tensions interrupt the nerve feedback loops between the muscles and brain. The simplest and most effective remedy is to reduce your training load, get plenty of rest and eat right.

[Caleb Demarais]

ok thanks vanzant. i tried reducing the length of tensing my muscles and it stopped them from shaking. How should i ensure I get enough rest to make sure it does not happen again? thanks.

[Kwajman]

The tension is the most likely answer. Keep pushing it and the tendon fails. Bad news then....

[Van Zandt]

ok thanks vanzant. i tried reducing the length of tensing my muscles and it stopped them from shaking. How should i ensure I get enough rest to make sure it does not happen again? thanks.

Get an average of 8 hours sleep a night (link (http://sleepdisorders.about.com/od/howmuchsleepdoineed/a/how_much_sleep.htm)), more if you have a sleep debt; take an extra day off when you feel it's necessary; reduce your training load by as much as half every fourth or fifth week; adhere to periodisation principles; and don't focus too hard on your goals. Spend some time away from your flexibility training doing some "me" activities, whether that's stamp collecting, playing xbox or robbing a post office.

Remember you have a serious injury to your hamstring; while the shaking you describe is a common symptom in practitioners of isometrics, yours might be related to your injury. Please exercise caution.

[simon s]

ok thanks vanzant. i tried reducing the length of tensing my muscles and it stopped them from shaking. How should i ensure I get enough rest to make sure it does not happen again? thanks.

Rest and sleep has to be effective rest and sleep. The last two entries on my blog explain a bit about sleep, how to get a good nights sleep and why some of us cannot get to sleep.

Many people design a training programme but do not allow for rest days. I love my rest days.

[Van Zandt]

Got a link to your blog Simon? And amen to rest days! :D

[simon s]

Got a link to your blog Simon? And amen to rest days! :D

Link should show up now. Changed my details this morning and it disappeared.

Would love some feedback please VZ. By the way, is it just me and you here this morning?

[Van Zandt]

Sweet. Will have a thorough read later on and give you feedback.

Tell me about it, what is it with all these slackers? There are three reasons a person should not be on MAP: 1) when they're training, 2) when they're crapping, and 3) when they're dead.

Masturbation is not a valid reason for absence from MAP. In fact, a person's presence on here is expected during moments of intimacy with their partner(s) or self. After all, just look at my avatar pic. That beats porn any day of the week.

Can you tell I haven't slept? :)

[BuddhaPalm]

I know when doing weigths sometimes people shake because their muscles aren't strong in that position and thats not necessarily a bad thing. Just be smart about it and dont push too hard on those stretches.

[Caleb Demarais]

Ok a weird thing happened. I followed your advice and the shaking stopped but then I went to see family for a few days and didn't do any stretching. I got back home last night and tried to do my side split but my legs shook violently and I wasn't even 20 inches off the floor. Help!?!

[Van Zandt]

Honestly mate, if the advice in this thread hasn't worked for you, then stop training and go speak to your doctor.

[Caleb Demarais]

hi not been on here in a few months. my legs are fully healed now and i got my full splits back thanks to vanzandts stretching posts. thanks vanzant!

[Cameron Avery]

I am performing my bodybuilding exercise from many weeks,
but i could not get required strength.plz suggest me
what should i do to get strength.

[Fish Of Doom]

maybe switch to a more strength-centric routine, like stronglifts 5x5?

[Rich-Norris]

I have the same problem. The muscle starts to shake even when I'm not putting all that I can into it. It doesn't seem to be much of a problem as I can still continue but it doesn't happen to anyone else in my class. Plus I get a full amount of sleep, my diet is good and I'm stronger than some of the people that I train with and it happen to them. It mainly happens in my legs, when stretching and some times in my arms.