I’ve been lifting for almost a year now. Recently I started the 20 Rep Squat routine and even more recently (during the last two workouts) I have gotten a headache immediately after finishing the 20 rep set.
The headache is terrible. Last time I was able to push through it and finish, but today after waiting 15 minutes for the headache to go away I just had to leave the gym. As I type this now (about 25-30 minutes afterward) I still have the headache.
I really like the program so far except for this. I can’t keep going on the program if this keeps happening.
The weights I’m using aren’t even heavy. I started at 185 and today hit 205. Could I simply be breathing incorrectly? I inhale on the way down, exhale on the way up. I’m not sure what I could be missing.
Also, like I said, I’ve been lifting for almost a year now and not had this problem.
I had a similar thing happen doing 12 rep deadlift sets on a fat loss program. I found that sipping on Surge helped me out. Not sure why or if that’s what fixed it, but just thought I’d throw that out there.
On the way down to the ground do you have your head tilted back so you are looking up above the horizon/toward the ceiling?
The reason I ask is because I think that not keeping the cervical vertebrae in a neutral position throughout the entire lift (not cranking the head back and looking up during the squat) could be the potential cause of some of these headaches that are being posted with squats.
With a heavy loaded bar pushing down on the posterior column of your vertebrae and your head cranked back decreasing space even more, you could be pinching some nerves- causing your headache.
I had this happen to me last year. Eventually it got so bad I had to stop training and see a doctor. He told me the blood pressure was building up astronomically in my head and that it could lead to a burst blood vessel in my brain (i.e., a stroke). He told me to get an MRI which I did, although in hindsight I don’t think this was necessary.
Anyway, they didn’t find anything and after about a week off I was able to ease back into heavy training. He also told me to focus on breathing during my sets, but that I probably didn’t need to do heavy squats because I’m not an athlete (whatever). I haven’t had the problem since and I think breathing was the key.
I see improper breathing techniques being employed by lifters a lot- I myself have to really concentrate sometimes to breathe right.
People will suck air into their lungs and hold it their during hard lifts, this creates an onslaught of problems for you physiologically (although often times does get you through your lifts).
This is called the valsalva maneuver. It should probably be avoided if possible. Here is a quick link.
[quote]Varanid wrote:
How is your head positioned during the lift?
On the way down to the ground do you have your head tilted back so you are looking up above the horizon/toward the ceiling?
The reason I ask is because I think that not keeping the cervical vertebrae in a neutral position throughout the entire lift (not cranking the head back and looking up during the squat) could be the potential cause of some of these headaches that are being posted with squats.
With a heavy loaded bar pushing down on the posterior column of your vertebrae and your head cranked back decreasing space even more, you could be pinching some nerves- causing your headache.
[/quote]
Yea I keep my head tilted up toward the ceiling. Didn’t think of that before, but I think it was Cressey who posted an article a little while ago addressing keeping a neutral spine. Thanks.
[quote]jstines wrote:
I had a similar thing happen doing 12 rep deadlift sets on a fat loss program. I found that sipping on Surge helped me out. Not sure why or if that’s what fixed it, but just thought I’d throw that out there. [/quote]
I’m currently using a Peri-WO shake with BCAAs and malto and dextrose. I’ve been using it for a while though, so I don’t think that it’s the cause/solution.
[quote]nevans wrote:
I had this happen to me last year. Eventually it got so bad I had to stop training and see a doctor. He told me the blood pressure was building up astronomically in my head and that it could lead to a burst blood vessel in my brain (i.e., a stroke). He told me to get an MRI which I did, although in hindsight I don’t think this was necessary.
[/quote]
This is what I’m afraid of. I don’t know if I’ve ever had a migraine so I won’t call it that. What it feels like is that I drank a liter of everclear and then woke up 4 hours after passing out. It’s piercing and throbbing. Very painful.
how is your diet? Make sure your getting proper nutrition before your workouts. I remember eating some fast food and then working out, bad idea got horrible headache and nausea.
Headaches on squats for me are caused by one of two conditions.
I’m taking HOT-ROX (I don’t know if this happens to anyone else, but HOT-ROX makes me very susceptible to headaches, in conjunction with waking up, drinking coffee, and spinal loading).
I’m breathing improperly- I had to intentionally relax my neck and traps while squatting to keep the headache at bay. I can feel pressure building up, but it stays below piercing/throbbing threshold.
Also, holding tension in my hips and belly helped. I think the tension naturally rises if you’re not paying attention to it, and that altring it to bring it lower makes for better form.
Used to have that problem, it was one of 2 things, first was that i had my breathing all wrong… fixed this and had no problem anymore.
The second time i had this was when i first got my belt, i would close it too tight, therefore i was not getting oxygen correctly therefore i saw stars and felt dizzy. I quickly fixed this aswell, i took advice from a big powerlifter, he said that you should keep your belt a little lose, and breather trought your stomach till your belly fills the gap between your abs and the belt. Not only will this help you breathe, it also keeps you a lot tighter on the way up and down.
[quote]shizen wrote:
how is your diet? Make sure your getting proper nutrition before your workouts. I remember eating some fast food and then working out, bad idea got horrible headache and nausea. [/quote]
Well today it was about 6 eggs, 2 cups of milk and ketchup (on the eggs, not in the milk) about 45 minutes before going to the gym. Otherwise it is usually spaghetti.
Welcome to the club. I think it is pretty common, and there are a bunch of threads on it. They are called exertional headaches. One thread is called 20 rep squat induced headaches I think. Fatcat recommended doing trap and neck stretches and that has worked for me slightly, as I was getting them pretty bad.
The thing that is working the best for me like everybody is saying, is watching for excessive tension in the neck area (hard to do when near max effort) and keeping a neutral spine, focusing on breathing correctly, and if all else fails a couple of ibuprofen gets me through a workout.
Taking a couple of days off is not a bad idea, as once I started getting them even jumping rope brought them back on.
Some people also recommended ART or massages, but I haven’t tried this.
I got a headache a few days ago, I narrowed my bros mp3 player got it blasting and loaded up my 3rep max… cranked out 8 full reps =) was gona go for 9 but then I wanted to leave because a really bad headache hit me lol of course then I couldn’t do three reps with the weight during the next set lol so i dunno how that works out
I need to work on breathing and keeping my head up at the right position, I tend to hold my breath and force air through…not good :S
What’s your sodium intake like? If it’s too low it may artificially keep your blood pressure low… this could lead to headaches and lowered performance during physical exertion.
[quote]ovalpline wrote:
What’s your sodium intake like? If it’s too low it may artificially keep your blood pressure low… this could lead to headaches and lowered performance during physical exertion.
P.S. - your avatar REAAAALLLLLLY creeps me out.[/quote]
I’m not really sure. I just got used to not using salt because for a long time it was “the devil.” I basically never add salt to stuff and I cook most of my own food. Still, I would bet that it’s above the recommended daily value or whatever it’s called.