Shaky Arms

I've been on a steady exercise program for the last five years.. but thankfully now to WLS I finally have some results. My issue now is that when I do any type of planks or push-ups my arms start to buckle and shake.. I never had this issue when I was heavier. Also, when I do a pump it up class.. I can only do half the weight that I used to be able to do.. and still my arms start to buckle half way through the routine. I eat and take all my vitamins before I work out so I'm a little concerned with this whole shaky thing.. any suggestions or comments as to what this might be? thanks, April R

Hello April, Prior to giving you a detailed answer about that, please let me know one thing....did you stop exercising or have you become signficantly less active after surgery than you were before? And, have you just started or returned to doing exercises like planks and push-up recently? Give me that info and I will give you a detailed answer. Jeremy Gentles, CSCS ObesityHelp Professional

Hi Jeremy.. thanks for getting back to me so quickly.. to answer your questions.. I exercise about the same amount that I did before WLS.. about 3-5 times a week for an hour each time.. except now I can obviously up the intensity in my aerobics classes. I've always done strength training classes as well (before and after WLs) and have always been able to do the planks, push-ups, and higher weights until recently. I did have a vacation for a couple weeks and was off from the gym but I was pretty active on my vacation (walking and hiking).. but the shaky arms thing was happening before that.. it started around the beginning of July. Today it was so bad that I had a hard time handling the steering wheel on the way home form the gym.. its just feels so wierd, :( April R

One more question for you....Have you changed your resistance training program? Are you training significantly harder than you used to?

Well.. I push myself/work harder when I work out now if that is what you mean. At a lower weight it is easier to do everything with the exception of the  push-ups, planks, and weight training.. basically anything with my arms. I haven't really changed my routine since coming back to the gym after WLS.. I just all of sudden can't do things I could literally do in April.. strength wise with my arms. For instance, I'm doing the same classes now that I was doing in April and now my arms get all shaky when I try to do anything.. so so wierd thanks, April

Well, I guess there could be a couple of reasons for this but it does not sound like you have done anything that would directly cause this. A couple of possible reasons for this could be as follows: - If your caloric intake has dropped significantly since July, you may fatigue faster than normal. This is especially true if your carbohydrate consumption has dropped. Try consuming a good source of complex carbohydrate 45-60 minutes prior to working out. - If the level of resistance or number of sets you are training with has increased dramatically. For instance, if prior to July you were training with a weight you could do 15 times and have recently increased that weight to one you can only 8-10 times. LIke you said, it is a little weird. Try consuming some carbs prior to trianing and let me know if it continues over the next couple of weeks.

The CARBS.. that's got to be it.. thank you so much!!!  I have definately reduced my carbs  from before.. in the first 6 months after my WLS I basically ate more complex carbs then I do now. This is because my weight loss had slowed down dramatically so basically I had/have cut down on my carbs a lot.. of course to not much avail though.  Now for my next question.. I eat a Pure Protien bar for breakfast before the gym.. it's 190Cal,  17g of carbs/3 net carbs (whatever that means), 20g of protein. Would it better for me to eat some fruit or oatmeal before working out. Does my bar not have enough carbs in it? Any suggestions would be great.. thanks for all your help.. it's definately the carbs.. I'm sure of it!! Maybe this will help swing my weight loss back into gear too.. who knows? April R