Just today i did 10 sets of squats to failure and then went over to the leg press machine. I did 23 reps with 300 pounds last week so i was determined to get more than that. I was going OK until i got to rep 14 when suddenly out of nowhere i got this splitting headache, my head felt like it was going to explode and i was sure i was going to faint, i got to rep 26 and had enough. The headache went away withing 5 minutes after that, but that is something i have never ever experienced. Looking at it now i am happy that i actually got to that level of exhaustion, wasnt much fun at the time but i am sure it has taken me a few steps forward. What are some similar experiences you guys have had when training? I have heard some people say they have thrown up when training, although i have never seen it.
This head-ache when doing high rep leg press is not uncommon. It’s most likely caused by your blood pressure shooting way up during the set. During a leg press the blood pressure actually gets higher then it does in a squat…Make sure you don’t dig your head so hard into the pad and BREATHE with each rep. Fortunately your headache went away quick…i’ve seen some people develop the same sort’ve headache you describe but it doesn’t go away until 24 hours later.
Once in college, I had a really severe episode of this. I was squatting for some really heavy triples then I did a really heavy burn out set (holding my breath for every rep) Then every time I mildly raised my blood pressure the sharp pain came back. My doctor had me get my head scanned to make sure that there was no damage to blood vessels in my brain. I tested negative for blood vessel damage and eventually got better. Now I breath a lot when I go for reps in squats or DL.
That is interesting Kelly. Although even though my headache went away quickly yesterday, today i felt like i was drunk all day long today and at times felt pain at the back of my head, very slight pain though.
Sheez Natt go a bit harder on the squats next time bro, lol. Ahhhhh the beaty of training legs.
This phenomenon has a name…exertional headache. I just wrote a little thing on this for Ian’s newsletter. There are several causes of this. The most predominant are 1) Valsalva maneuver during lifting (what happens is you hold your breath to build up intrabdominal pressure and stabalize the thorax but this also builds up intracranial pressure causing headache) and 2) hyperventillation (high breating rate releases too much carbon dioxide and the body responds by constricting then dilating blood vessels in the brain leading to headaches) and 3) straining of the cervical muscles leading to subluxation in this region. Ive seen this happen OVER and OVER again on the leg press and think that it occurs as a result of #1 and #3. During high rep workouts #2 may also be a factor. While usually benign, it may be wise to check this out with your doc to be sure there is no disease process causing it.
What you are describing happened to me with a trainer in April 2000 while doing squats…severe headache in the back of the head. It went away after a few minutes, but the next day the pain returned in the same spot when I hit my failure point doing chest. The next day it happened again and I called my doc, who ordered a catscan. By this time my headache was consistent. The catscan revealed a subdural hematoma, a rupture of the capillaries of the brain lining. That is when I got the order to stop any exertion, even sex, and no more aspirin as it thins your blood and can cause further hemorrage. I had to wait a few days to get an arteriogram, but fortunately the time off aspirin gave the hemmorage time to clear and the headaches went away. The arteriogram showed everything normal but was a really awful procedure you don’t want to have done.(They insert a catheter in your groin that goes up the arteries to your head where they release dye and monitor the blood flow, and you have to be awake for the whole thing!) Anyway, now when I feel that intense pressure start in my head, SET’s OVER! I haven’t had any loss of progress this past year by NOT over-pushing myself. So death by anurism is not worth that last rep.
Man this is getting me worried, today i trained chest and while doing incline dumbell press with 90 pound dumbells it came back after 3 reps of the set, i stopped straight away and have felt dizzy all day. I train biceps tomorrow and if it happens again i’m off straight to the doctor.
Thanks John for the info, so do you recommend trying to get your breathing perfect to avoid this?
Same thing happened to me a few months ago. I kept getting recurring headaches while lifting heavy. I went to my chiropractor and got an adjustment. I’ve never had any problems since. If you search the forum for “headaches”, you’ll find a few other people recommending that you visit a chiropractor.
The same thing happened to me a few years ago. I never get headaches, then all of a sudden, mid-set - BANG! Headache from hell. I suffered from mild headaches for a while afterwards and it would come back whenever I really pushed myself. In the end I went to a physio-therapist who gave me a heavy neck massage. The headaches went away and I’ve never had the problem since. I’m not suggesting a massage will cure you but it seemed to help me. My gut feeling is that these things pass with time. Had me freaked for a while though!
i’ve gotten this headache before and for a couple of weeks after it would come back for every heavy set or intense workout. it eventually went away and im back to normal
Intra-thoracic pressure increases, because of that Valsalva thing-you try to breathe out as hard as you can, but don’t really let any air out. This increases ITP & shrinks the size if the venae cavae so there’s less blood going to the heart & pulse volume decreases. The heart compensates by increasing pulse rate (180 is normal). Blood pressure also goes sky-high to something like 320/250mmHg, remember 120/80 is considered optimal. After the set is over blood pressure goes way below normal & that’s why people pass out. Everything goes back to normal after a few minutes, so I think getting headaches is ok. It’s happened to me a few times & I think it’s just the body’s way of saying something’s wrong. I just stop the set until I feel better.