headache when working out

[HeyHOletsGO]

I have just been through these and just started getting back into gym after 2 weeks of complete rest. In my opinion it needs rest and rest can only heal it. I had a slight headache for 2 weeks straight ever since but as it started to die down I started doing light cardio in the 3rd week. The following helped me.

http://www.apexllc.org/exertion-headaches/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vf3TPLt5mkY

Good luck!

Edit: btw get the doc to check your blood pressure real quick

[Executus]

I am not on any supplements at the moment. I had just finished a creatine cycle days before this occured.

This. Just finished mine 3-4 weeks ago and they've become steadily worse since then.

Also, I had debilitating exertional migraines years ago that started in high-school. I believe I was taking a lot of caffeine pills back then and one day we had to run a mile. I pushed too hard and it felt like something ballooned in my head. Hurt so bad I wanted to vomit for the next 2-3 hours. They subsided for a few months and then came back later during sex. Had some scans done and they found nothing. The doctor prescribed some funky medication which had nothing related to migraines linked to it and it seemed to work. The ones I'm having now are no where near as bad but they feel like the same thing; I think I'm just weary enough to back down my exertion and pay attention to water, ramping up weights, and breathing properly before letting them balloon into agony.

From what I've gathered so far though is that the creatine may have been protecting me from headaches by saturating me with water. That and the violent amount of coffee I've been drinking to keep up with my final semester of college may have additional negative consequences.

What has been working for the past week has been a reverse pyramid style rep-count. I tried flat out to do 3x12 (bench) for 195 and felt the migraine coming on by the 3rd rep. I backed it down to 185 did 1 rep, then 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, and then 11 and magically I was fine for the rest of the workout no matter how hard I pushed. If this doesn't work for you then just keep switching things up to see what works.

[tutururutu]

Thank you guys for posting this, I am 30 minutes away from going to get 2 MRI's that were ordered yesterday and they are both 3600, you have saved me 800 dollars (co-pay). I'm going to take a week off and concentrate on breathing and visit a Chiro.

[JonKingsbury10]

good to hear its going well so far, let me know how it goes when you get fully back into it! I did some cardio today for an hour bringing my heart rate upto 170 bpm and it didnt bother my head at all. As soon as I started lifting light weights my head started throbing right away. does this make any sense to anyone? why would i be able to exert myself so much doing cardio and not be able to preform weight lifting ecercises at less than 50% of my normal weight?

I know the pain, I out of the blue started getting the sudden headaches after the third month of weightlifting(before I never lifted a weight in my life). They were so sudden and painful that I would get up and leave the gym then lay down for 2 hours cause I couldn't move.The pain would get worse everytime my heart would beat. Then after my initial headache which I thought was a fluke, I got them almost immediatly after any type of strenuous exercise, even sex and yes my girlfriend was as pissed as I was. I also was pissed cause I didn't want to lose all my gainz I had worked for due to a headache. Went to the doc for MRI and all that fancy stuff, they said it was a tension headache but I know it was more than that. I took 2 weeks off from lifting weights and was able to do do 3 sets before they came back. I took 3 weeks more off and went back to the gym stronger than ever and haven't had a headache for about 3 months. Looking back I feel my body just wasn't ready for the workload I was putting it through and it needed time to adapt to the massive amounts of squats and deadlifts ,etc I was doing along with a good amount of recovery time. One day you will go back to the gym and you won't ever get them again is what I think will also happen to you but it will be a tough road until that point. But hey you won't die.

P.S. everyone thought I was crazy or over reacting like they probably think you are but I know it's painful if your not willing to have sex in fear of the headaches like I was.

[TMChandler]

After changing up my workout with more weight, I lifted over my head and instantly a sharp pain occurred behind my left ear. It quickly capsized my head and behind the eyes. I tried sitting down and took deep breaths, took some Tylenol, and rested a bit. When I resumed, I was so lightheaded and my head was pulsating. I left and came back the next day. As soon as I did a lift, the same thing happened. I waited 2 days later, felt great going into the gym and as soon as I did a lift...bam, it came back again. Schedule ap appt. With dr tomorrow. I'm still feeling a twinge of it 8 hours later. I sure hope someone has an answer for this I need to get back to my workouts!!

[Gedmin383]

I am experiencing this now. You messed up your neck. Happened to me a few years ago. Piched nerve/pulled muscle due to bad alignment. I went to my chiro the other day but it wasnt enough, I will have to lay off the weights until I get adjusted a few more times. Second time this has happened and it totally sucks. Every heart beat feels like my head will blow. Same goes for sex. Pretty life crippling. It will get better eventually though.