Bruises from Lifting??

[breathingsky]

I've noticed bruises on my thighs and around my shins after squatting. Does anyone else get this, and do they know what causes it? I'm lifting hard, but it doesn't feel like I'm lifting hard enough to pop blood vessels! I had taken a break from training for about a month, and have just started back up again. I don't remember this happening before, but it's been happening after my last two legs days.

[breathingsky]

I've noticed bruises on my thighs and around my shins after squatting. Does anyone else get this, and do they know what causes it? I'm lifting hard, but it doesn't feel like I'm lifting hard enough to pop blood vessels! I had taken a break from training for about a month, and have just started back up again. I don't remember this happening before, but it's been happening after my last two legs days.

^^anyone?

[mexiFRO]

It never happens to me. You sure you aren't hitting those parts against something?

[parkerbro1]

Never heard of that one. You might go to a doctor, sounds kinda creepy to me. The only time I get bruises is from blunt impact trauma, not from exercising the muscle.

[breathingsky]

I hope I did bump it and I'm just forgetting (but I don't think so). They're pretty noticeable, and I feel like I would have known when I did it. They appeared after both my leg days, so I assumed it was related. I thought maybe it had to do with taking a break from lifting, and then getting back into it rather quickly? Not sure, but I didn't get them before either.

Hm. Now I'm a little worried! I thought it might be a somewhat normal thing... the only other reason I can think it's happening is that I was doing stretching afterward on a hard wood floor, but I wasn't really "banging" up against it. Guess, I'll have it checked out if it happens again. Thanks!

[smdiskin]

Do you do heavy leg extensions?
If so it could be the roller pressing down on your shins which would cause bruising....

I get bruises from where I rest DBs on my lap....

[breathingsky]

Do you do heavy leg extensions?
If so it could be the roller pressing down on your shins which would cause bruising....

I get bruises from where I rest DBs on my lap....

Genius! I think that's it. Sorry for the public blonde moment. I have them on my legs where the ext. machine was pressing against me. I had done tons of squat sets and like 2 ext. sets, so I assumed it had something to do with the squatting.

THANKS!!!

[lisa+kay]

i heard a guy at the gym say that he got bruisesf rom lifting. he's a real tool and when i heard him say that, i was thinking ... yeah, right! then after you asked this question, i was thinking ... gee, maybe that really can happen. hahaha! i have bruises all the time and i never remember how i get them. i guess i bruise easily and, yeah, the blonde thing too! heehee!

[runnermama]

I am really glad you asked this, not sure how I missed this thread...I was wanting to pose the same question.

I have been having tons of bruises show up since lifting heavy, any they are all on my legs. Some are just small round bruises that could be frrom anything I guess but I have also had some rather big ones show up out of nowhere (2-3 inches in diameter). You would think with a bruise that big, that I would have remembered bumping into something, but I cannot recall any instances. Makes me feel like I am going senile or losing my mind!

I just chalked it up as bruising too easliy due to a vitamin deficiency and started taking my multi religiously. But maybe it is related to heavy leg work???

[breathingsky]

Eeek! Really? The ones on my thighs I think could definitely be from the leg ext. machine, but there is one on my shin that appeared the day after I'd done some heavy squatting, and I wasn't using that machine. At the same time, the shin is an easy place to bruise. Hmmm, hopefully the thread will get circulated around a bit more and we can get some more input on it.

[parkerbro1]

Always check wit a doc (if you have insurance)...but it could also be your diet (low in iron?).

[Defiant1]

I've noticed bruises on my thighs and around my shins after squatting. Does anyone else get this, and do they know what causes it? I'm lifting hard, but it doesn't feel like I'm lifting hard enough to pop blood vessels! I had taken a break from training for about a month, and have just started back up again. I don't remember this happening before, but it's been happening after my last two legs days.

I get them on my thighs from doing Incline DB presses. I rest the DBs on my thighs before I kick them up.

Could your shin bruises be from leg extensions or leg curls?

Or even putting plates against your legs? (to keep them from falling flat-I do this when changing plates sometimes).

[runnermama]

Eeek! Really? The ones on my thighs I think could definitely be from the leg ext. machine, but there is one on my shin that appeared the day after I'd done some heavy squatting, and I wasn't using that machine. At the same time, the shin is an easy place to bruise. Hmmm, hopefully the thread will get circulated around a bit more and we can get some more input on it.

Maybe the smallest could be from resting the dumbells in my lap, but the larger bruises I have seen on the sides of my legs (outer quad sweep). I am not noticing any bruises on my lower legs.

It may be an iron deficiency as I do not eat red meat but I eat lots of green veggies and take a multi every day. Maybe I am not absorbing the iron in my diet as I should? I think I read somewhere that B-12 helps in iron absorbtion? Or maybe it was something else...

[breathingsky]

Always check wit a doc (if you have insurance)...but it could also be your diet (low in iron?).

I take iron, so I don't think it's that. I'm pretty good about monitoring my macros and where I might need to supplement.


I get them on my thighs from doing Incline DB presses. I rest the DBs on my thighs before I kick them up.

Could your shin bruises be from leg extensions or leg curls?

Or even putting plates against your legs? (to keep them from falling flat-I do this when changing plates sometimes).

I thought it might be the leg ext. thing, but yes, could also be the DBs when I do presses. I also rest them on my thighs sometimes. I hadn't taken into account that pressure, and not just banging myself against something, could also cause bruising.

Again, thanks everyone!

[imperfectly_lou]

I have had these before and I freaked out thinking I had leukemia or something (they were in really weird places on my inner thighs - impossible to bang against something), and I did a bit of research, and yes, it is possible to get them from heavy lifting.

[enforcerlady]

I constantly have all sorts of bruises on my legs. 90% of the time I have no clue what they're from. I think the legs just tend to bruise easily. I think my legs tend to bruise at the slightest bump!

I think unexplained leg bruises is normal and nothing to worry about. I don't think its worth a doctor's visit unless its all over the body, or really severe.

[do1more]

Ah ladies, welcome to the world of women who work and or exercise like men. I have done heavy work all my life pretty much. One thing that stays consistent is my ability to bruise. Easily!
This seems to be more common in light skinned, fair haired women. And of course they show up better on us also.
In the summer I tend not to wear short dresses to social functions cause I swear my legs look like I do crack, all different colors of black and blues.
My husband made me get it checked out back in my twenties - Doc said go home and get a ladies job!
Simply hard pressure can cause them - you don't need to bang into stuff to get them.
The good news is NO vericlose veins, those can be painful I hear.

[breathingsky]

I have had these before and I freaked out thinking I had leukemia or something (they were in really weird places on my inner thighs - impossible to bang against something), and I did a bit of research, and yes, it is possible to get them from heavy lifting.

Lou - what did the study say about the reason for it, and is it anything to be concerned about (should I decrease my weight)? Do you have a link? I looked around online a bit and couldn't find anything addressing this specific link bt. lifting and bruising.

[iNatalia]

Ah ladies, welcome to the world of women who work and or exercise like men. I have done heavy work all my life pretty much. One thing that stays consistent is my ability to bruise. Easily!
This seems to be more common in light skinned, fair haired women. And of course they show up better on us also.
In the summer I tend not to wear short dresses to social functions cause I swear my legs look like I do crack, all different colors of black and blues.
My husband made me get it checked out back in my twenties - Doc said go home and get a ladies job!
Simply hard pressure can cause them - you don't need to bang into stuff to get them.
The good news is NO vericlose veins, those can be painful I hear.

thanks for the explanation, do1more. I could not understand where my bruises on shins were coming from. I do my leg extensions pretty heavy (up to 100lbs).

Now, the one on the top of my right foot I know where it came from - from dropping a 25lb plate after a hard bi workout:) My 'blond moment'.

[RoarBack!]

I went to the doctors a few weeks ago and they asked why I had so many bruises on my legs. My only answer was the gym.

I really started noticing them after I began doing squats and increased my weights.

Banging into things is normal for me, but I can usually remember where the bruises came from and these were in weird places.

I think the strangest were below my knee on the side. I had a really big one on my inner thigh too.

Sounds weird, but I am glad it is not just me!

[Mrs_Muscles]

Yay, just glad to hear I'm not the only one! My husband gives me a hard time about bruising easily, but I never did before, and it's only in my legs. I'm never without a bruise of some sort on my legs and I never know where they came from. What's odd is that several times I've gotten whacked in the legs real good and remember saying "Oh, that's gonna bruise!" And then having nothing, yet I still get bruises that show up when I know I haven't been hit by anything. Like you imperfectly_lou, I get them in the oddest places where I'd never miss it if I'd bumped it. I take a multi, so ruled out a vitamin deficiency as the cause. I know it can't be iron because that's my biggest vice... red meat! lol At least I've switched over to the leaner cuts.

[SunnyD902]

I know I will sometimes get a few very tiny round bruises on my quads, about the size of a dime, a couple days after a heavy leg workout. They are too small for me to have rested a dumbbell or to have walked into something. So I can relate!

[donjuandemarko]

That sounds strange. You need to get yourself examine and see why you are getting those bruises. I get bruises on my shoulder when I squat and sometime I see some on my biceps. I don't know they come from.

[ashley2212]

I constantly have all sorts of bruises on my legs. 90% of the time I have no clue what they're from.

Same here... and I can't remember ever running into anything? I always just chalked it up to running into things but being so into my workout that I don't notice! LOL I don't mind em though :)

[SunnyD902]

I seriously think it is just from very intense workouts, my bruising anyway. When you lift heavy you are tearing your muscles. I'm sure that can cause some kind of small vessel breakage. I would be worried if they were large bruises that take longer than normal to fade.

[lanks]

I sometimes get, what I guess are, lifting bruises too, usually on the top of my thighs, shoulders and sometimes biceps.