recently near the end of my workouts or at the begining on leg day I have been experiencing severe anxiety attacks. They last up to one hour and I occasionaly have to terminate my workout. Has anyone else experienced this and what can be done about it?
There are much more knowledgeable people on this board than I, but, to me, it sounds like CNS overload. I occasionally experience something like this, although not to the degree you describe; but I do have problems sleeping at night as a result (it feels like anxiety). Usually occurs when I do primarily full-body movements like squats, deads, and/or chins. It also depends on how trained I am at the time. I’ve also experienced severe headaches when doing 20 rep squats that were very debilitating. Could possibly also be a symptom of over-training. Just my own personal experiences. Thought I’d pass it along.
Tyler
whats with the headaches and squats?for the first time yesterday,i ended up getting a very bad headache as i was finishing up "ian kings,white men can jump"sqaut routine.i never get headaches and this one came on as i was straining coming up on my heaviest set.it was such a bad headache that i layed down on the mat for about ten minutes before finishing up my routine.anyway,if you have any further advise or anyone else,thanx.
as for the anxiety,i dont actually suffer from panic attacks but i do find myself on mental overload alot.i workout at home and i find myself constantly thinking about my next workout even while i am in the middle of workig out.i go to such extremes as to set up all my plates in advance for the next workout and rearrange rack hooks and safety bars so everything will be ready to go.i find it much easier to get everything ready before the workout so i dont spend more time in the gym when i am exhausted from exercising.if i am using dumbells i set them all up with the right weights also.i dont have a dumbell set yet so i use plates with 5 sets of handles.basically i hate having to think too much while i am lifting so i do this preexercise stuff so i can get in and get out as quickly as possible.often i get a bit of anxiety if the routine is very strenuous for the day…for example…i was doing this leg program that had leg press followed by jump squats then ply jumps and then hang cleans!i was so fried after doing jump squats that i could barley get thru my hang cleans without injuring myself.anyway,my point is that this workout day use to bring me alot of mental anguise as well as physical torture.i finally ended up hurting my back while doing the negative on the hang clean and i have sinced changed that workout that came from some idiot personal trainer.lastly,i find that if i have a new workout routine scheduled in the near future,i am constantly dwell on it and worriing about it until i get it done for the first day.maybe everyone has some sort of anxiety like this but in your case it is causing you to not complete a training session.hope you find the answer you need.just wanted to throw in a few words about a similar situation.
Interesting question and observation. Usually working out tends to curb the normal type of anxiety and even when hitting the CNS really hard that kind’ve “post-training” anxiety usually doesn’t manifest itself until several hours later. I am wondering if you are taking any supplements that can cause this? Ephedra would be a culprit as would yohimbine. Androgens as well can have a weird effect in this regard in that one can almost be falling asleep prior to a workout but as soon as the body starts rolling the CNS stimulating effects really begin to show themselves.
Yoga and meditation, bro. That’s my honest advice. I think a lot more people could benefit from incorporating these things into their lives than is realized. I did have problems with anxiety attacks a few years ago, so I know what they feel like. The closest I’ve come to having an anxiety attack while working out was when I took ECA once before a workout with Squats and once before one starting with Deads. In both cases during the Squats and Deads, my heart rate went through the roof higher than any other workout, and I almost threw up. They were not true panic attacks, but I could see how it could cause them in someone extremely sensitive to ephedrine.
In regards to the headaches, for one, the 20 reppers were something I hadn’t tried before. I think that it spiked my blood pressure and the build up at the base of my skull hit me like a ton of bricks. However, I have had neck problems in the past (pulled/strained muscles) that I know had something to do with it, since I strained them again around that time. I went in for some physical therapy/massage which helped a lot, but I had to lay off the 20 reppers.
When I finally was ready to get back to squats, I got a neck harness (that you hang weights feom) and tried to pre-exhaust my neck and traps and just get the blood flowing. It helped a lot, but I was very cautious and took things very slowly in getting back into squats.
You should do a Google search on “exercise induced headaches”; I think there are a few articles out there. How any of this will be helpful to you, I don’t know, since my problems very well could have all been a result of my
problematic neck. Anyway, take it for what it’s worth.
Tyler
The headaches could be from your blood pressure going very high from the workout. Before I was put on blood pressure medication, I used to get severe headaches and anxiety during leg workouts. My head felt like it was going to explode. Don’t think you can’t have high blood pressure because you workout either. I am 23, box 5 days a week with running (3 miles) in the mornings. Also weight train 4 times a week. Check your pressure before you do your workout then again after. If the headache is lasting maybe you have a already high baseline blood pressure. Just an idea.
Your “anxiety attack” may actually be hypoglycemia, which can produce all the symptoms you describe. Just some food for thought. Here’s something else to munch on: a terrible headache which began while under tremendous physical load could be an aneurism. Therefore, I’d give my doc a call.