Pain in Forehead/No Motivation to Train

Bigger Stronger Leaner Injuries and Rehab
1

Over the past 3 weeks, I have been experiencing a pain in the forehead region of my head during lifting. It started mild, but seems to have gotten worse. Combined with this, my general motivation and desire to train has completely crashed. My general ability to lift has decreased too - (Example - if I’m lifting a weight I can do 8 times, the pain gets to be too much at rep 5 and I get the urge to rack immediately).

Seem to have mild depression, which could be related to the frustration of not being able to train. I suspected overtraining and have deloaded/thrown in extra rest days, which usually led me to being fresh/ motivated upon my return. This time, there is no change. In almost feels like the pain is in my brain…

Remedies I have tried:
-In the past 6 weeks, I have had a week of 9 straight days off, and haven’t lifted more than 4 days in a week; most weeks being 3. Nearly all workouts in this time period were at 70% of normal difficulty and never exceeded an hour.
-I usually love a cup of coffee pre workout and a few cups of green tea during the day, but have cut out all stimulants.
-deloaded training/taking more rest days
-focused diet mostly on lean protein and carbs (fruit/starches) in an attempt to reduce cortisol.

Things i plan to try:
-different breathing techniques. I may be holding my breath too much during lifts.
-go to the doc for bloodwork.

Although it may not be correlated, I thought it worth noting - I’ve also started waking up between 5 and 6 every morning feeling wide awake after 6-7 hours of sleep, where I usually am out for 8-9 hours with no interruptions.

I plan to set an appointment with my doctor as soon as possible, but thought I would collect thoughts and ideas prior. If you need additional information, feel free to ask.

Quick background info:
26 years old, 205lbs, 10% bf
Lifting/Training consistently for 8 years straight.
90% of this period has been either full body or upper/lower split training.
Very tight nutritionally- no junk, only whole foods (meat, veggie, fruit, starches).
Supps- MAG-10, plasma, Metabolic Drive, ZMA, Flameout, creatine.

All advice/thoughts will be greatly appreciated.

2

It probably has nothing to do with your brain. Your brain won’t feel any pain so it’s probably on the outside of your head. Is there a certain lift this happens on? You are most likely straining the muscles along your head and neck. This happens to me sometimes when my form breaks down and I cheat which puts strain on other areas when your muscles doing the lift can no longer handle all the weight. If you are anything like me it will happen when you use to much weight or go for too many reps. The lifts this can happen to me on are barbell curls and deads though deads haven’t done it in a long time. I suggest less reps or weight and focus on form. Also if you have strained something it might take some time to heal. I have used ice and heat and massage with some success.

You should go to a doctor though so they can clear you of anything serious. Don’t put off going to the doctor. The doctor from star trek would say something like dammit man I’m a doctor not a doctor.

3

New headaches are concerning and should be evaluated medically so you’re on the right track in the regard.

Any recent changes in dietary or sleep habits can have profound effects on your body so try to identify any and all changes and present them to the doctor at the time of the visit. If the pain is only during lifting it could be blood pressure related which will be evaluated during your checkup. Some people exhibit depression during the winter months so it won’t hurt to get a little sun exposure and also ask the doctor if supplementing with vitamin D would be safe for you.

All that being said, the previous post is pretty spot on.

4

Excellent perspective, thank you both. After further evaluation, it also dawned on me that this started after spending close to two weeks in remote parts of South America; I suppose I shouldn’t rule out the possibility that I contracted something there.

I plan to consult with a doctor and provide updates in case others have a similar issue.