Skinny Bloke Tries to Bulk Up - Suffers Headaches.
Discussion
I've always been a bit of a weed. Started work at 16, 5'11", 7 and half stone.
Eventually grew into my frame (kind of) and was about 9 and half stone for ten years until I married at the age of 27.
Faffed around in gyms a lot, mostly a complete waste of time in retrospect.
By the time I hit my mid-thirties life was in full swing and I went years without any exercise at all.
Aged 40 I was 12 and a half stone, about 25% body fat. Then my wife decides we will change our diet and we dropped starch and sugar and started to load up on protein and higher fat foods eating only low GI carbs and not mixing them with fat in the same meal.
We both dropped more than 20lbs very quickly without ever counting a calorie or limiting intake at all.
Back down to 11 stone I followed my younger brother's example and took up Parkrun, running 5k every Saturday and training runs of up to 10k during the week.
Then I started to think about weight training. It has always been something I have wanted to do, to put on a little muscle, just to prove to myself that I could do it. Eventually I found the perfect gym and and trainer in Greenwich and took the plunge a couple of weeks ago.
But there's a problem. My work outs are all being limited by headaches. Take today for instance. I'm doing an upper body pull routine, starting with bent over rows. First three or four reps are good, fifth I can feel pressure in my temples, sixth and seventh it gets worse, eighths is agony and I stop before it seems my head will explode.
Young guy in the gym says he had the same when he started. Gym owners says see a doctor. Another member suggests a sports massage as it may be tension in the neck. Last week I did a leg session and made myself properly ill and had to go to bed at 8pm and sleep for 12 hours.
Has anyone else experienced this? If it is relatively normal I will try and work around it by leaving longer recovery times between sets and hoping things improve.
Eventually grew into my frame (kind of) and was about 9 and half stone for ten years until I married at the age of 27.
Faffed around in gyms a lot, mostly a complete waste of time in retrospect.
By the time I hit my mid-thirties life was in full swing and I went years without any exercise at all.
Aged 40 I was 12 and a half stone, about 25% body fat. Then my wife decides we will change our diet and we dropped starch and sugar and started to load up on protein and higher fat foods eating only low GI carbs and not mixing them with fat in the same meal.
We both dropped more than 20lbs very quickly without ever counting a calorie or limiting intake at all.
Back down to 11 stone I followed my younger brother's example and took up Parkrun, running 5k every Saturday and training runs of up to 10k during the week.
Then I started to think about weight training. It has always been something I have wanted to do, to put on a little muscle, just to prove to myself that I could do it. Eventually I found the perfect gym and and trainer in Greenwich and took the plunge a couple of weeks ago.
But there's a problem. My work outs are all being limited by headaches. Take today for instance. I'm doing an upper body pull routine, starting with bent over rows. First three or four reps are good, fifth I can feel pressure in my temples, sixth and seventh it gets worse, eighths is agony and I stop before it seems my head will explode.
Young guy in the gym says he had the same when he started. Gym owners says see a doctor. Another member suggests a sports massage as it may be tension in the neck. Last week I did a leg session and made myself properly ill and had to go to bed at 8pm and sleep for 12 hours.
Has anyone else experienced this? If it is relatively normal I will try and work around it by leaving longer recovery times between sets and hoping things improve.
Clearly not normal - IANAD.
Just guessing but maybe momentarily increasing blood pressure? Dunno - see a doc.
Most people, inc your typical PT will have you starting too heavy, esp if you've never lifted before. Suggest you look at a good beginners program like StrongLifts 5x5 - it's a steady progression starting v light even for novices and will see you into at least intermediate stages.
Just guessing but maybe momentarily increasing blood pressure? Dunno - see a doc.
Most people, inc your typical PT will have you starting too heavy, esp if you've never lifted before. Suggest you look at a good beginners program like StrongLifts 5x5 - it's a steady progression starting v light even for novices and will see you into at least intermediate stages.
Haven't spoken with my GP, he's only interested in money and always fobs me off. According to the London Evening Standard he is the highest paid in the country and makes £350k per annum.
The programme I'm doing has been designed specifically for me by a personal trainer so I'm hoping it is well suited to my condition.
The programme I'm doing has been designed specifically for me by a personal trainer so I'm hoping it is well suited to my condition.
Ossiantoad said:
Haven't spoken with my GP, he's only interested in money and always fobs me off. According to the London Evening Standard he is the highest paid in the country and makes £350k per annum.
The programme I'm doing has been designed specifically for me by a personal trainer so I'm hoping it is well suited to my condition.
Get another GP The programme I'm doing has been designed specifically for me by a personal trainer so I'm hoping it is well suited to my condition.
Get another PT ...
No really, do it. Go for an echo cardiogram, and a proper medical. Not a drop and cough.
To me it sounds like you had high blood pressure when you were overweight and you need to take some care.
There Re many undiagnosed heart conditions out there.
I agree with whats being said.
You are talking about your health, and a possible issue. So speak to someone who is fully medically trained, and get their advice and possible tests.
It's probably nothing, maybe an incorrect technique that hasn't been noticed yet, maybe you are not allowing recovery time as required. I don't know.
This is it though, I don't know, your PT doesn't know for sure, and the 'guy at the gym', is a guy at the gym.
I don't mean to sound patronising, but you know what you need to do. Go and see your GP, and if you don't like the one you have, request a different one.
The sooner you get to the bottom of it, the sooner you can get back into training without the 'I wonder what it is?' thought in your head.
Hope it goes well
You are talking about your health, and a possible issue. So speak to someone who is fully medically trained, and get their advice and possible tests.
It's probably nothing, maybe an incorrect technique that hasn't been noticed yet, maybe you are not allowing recovery time as required. I don't know.
This is it though, I don't know, your PT doesn't know for sure, and the 'guy at the gym', is a guy at the gym.
I don't mean to sound patronising, but you know what you need to do. Go and see your GP, and if you don't like the one you have, request a different one.
The sooner you get to the bottom of it, the sooner you can get back into training without the 'I wonder what it is?' thought in your head.
Hope it goes well
Ossiantoad said:
Haven't spoken with my GP, he's only interested in money and always fobs me off. According to the London Evening Standard he is the highest paid in the country and makes £350k per annum.
Lol.. You're full of solutions! Vote with your feet, ask about and see where other people go and who's good, register there, get a full check up. Sorted.
Ossiantoad said:
Haven't spoken with my GP, he's only interested in money and always fobs me off. According to the London Evening Standard he is the highest paid in the country and makes £350k per annum.
The programme I'm doing has been designed specifically for me by a personal trainer so I'm hoping it is well suited to my condition.
You are putting a lot of faith in a £50/hour PT with unknown qualifications and experience yet won't see an MD who rates £350k pa?The programme I'm doing has been designed specifically for me by a personal trainer so I'm hoping it is well suited to my condition.
Maybe it's not just headaches you should be worrying about?
Maybe I'm being a bit harsh on my GP. I have had a couple of ECGs in the past purely as a precaution for vague chest discomfort which was probably just a muscle strain. Both came back normal. Also had chest x-rays and bloods and lots of blood pressure tests, all absolutely fine. I used to have private medical provided by my employer and so I had a thorough check up once a year, all fine and dandy.
I've thought perhaps it was dehydration so I've been drinking more but it doesn't seem to make much difference. I've been eating lots so I don't think it is that. My neck has always been pretty shot and that has lead to tension headaches in the past so sports massage might help.
Yesterday I trained and the headaches were an issue but by leaving 3 minutes to recover between sets and doing lower reps with higher weights I managed a half decent session. Had a dull headache for the rest of the day though.
Is there no one out there who has experienced similar?
I've thought perhaps it was dehydration so I've been drinking more but it doesn't seem to make much difference. I've been eating lots so I don't think it is that. My neck has always been pretty shot and that has lead to tension headaches in the past so sports massage might help.
Yesterday I trained and the headaches were an issue but by leaving 3 minutes to recover between sets and doing lower reps with higher weights I managed a half decent session. Had a dull headache for the rest of the day though.
Is there no one out there who has experienced similar?
OP have you been checked out for patent foramen ovale (PFO) also called atrial septal defect?
Your headaches could be caused by tiny little clots of blood short circuiting your lung (where they are normally filtered out) and passing through a hole in the heart and travelling in bloodvessels to the brain.
Typically this hole (which normally closes at birth) opens with a Valsalva maneuver effort (going to the toilet, coughing or...lifting a heavy weight). The effort raises the pressure inside the thorax which causes the hole to open.
When you lift try to avoid blocking your breathing and breath out a bit which you should do anyway to try to limit the rise in intrathoracic pressure.
I have PFO and doing this avoids the headaches I used to get in the gym so who knows? One of my patients has a PFO and he had a big blood clot cause a stroke when he was playing rugby (at age 35).
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valsalva_maneuver
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atrial_septal_defec...
Your headaches could be caused by tiny little clots of blood short circuiting your lung (where they are normally filtered out) and passing through a hole in the heart and travelling in bloodvessels to the brain.
Typically this hole (which normally closes at birth) opens with a Valsalva maneuver effort (going to the toilet, coughing or...lifting a heavy weight). The effort raises the pressure inside the thorax which causes the hole to open.
When you lift try to avoid blocking your breathing and breath out a bit which you should do anyway to try to limit the rise in intrathoracic pressure.
I have PFO and doing this avoids the headaches I used to get in the gym so who knows? One of my patients has a PFO and he had a big blood clot cause a stroke when he was playing rugby (at age 35).
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Valsalva_maneuver
http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Atrial_septal_defec...
How are you breathing? Sounds strange but I had a similar problem a while back and through a process of elimination found out it was my breathing.
I would often hold breaths at the wrong time while lifting and after a few minutes this would give me intense headaches.
My solution was to just take regular breathers and maybe an ibuprofen occasionnally and as time went on the headaches went away.
just a thought.
I would often hold breaths at the wrong time while lifting and after a few minutes this would give me intense headaches.
My solution was to just take regular breathers and maybe an ibuprofen occasionnally and as time went on the headaches went away.
just a thought.
Gassing Station | Health Matters | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff