Hi there people who lift,

I'm usually a lurker but had an experience today that I was wondering about...

I've *never* in my life gotten an exertion headache and have been on and off lifting weights for about 8 years. I run regularly and ran about three miles this morning.

So I was doing squats, lunges, straight leg deadlifts, and hamstring curls today and had just finished a set of ten deadlifts with 50 lbs on the bar, which admittedly was too heavy for how fatigued I was from the squats and lunges with short rest times between sets.

I've also never puked in the gym but was pretty close to it today. I figured I had just overdone it but now I'm worried after checking the symptoms on the Internet, of course -- the danger of too much information.

Sorry to babble on, I was just wondering if anyone else gotten an exertion headache and not had any other troubles? I'm sort of a worrier and was ready to drive myself to the doctor but would rather not for all the obvious reasons...especially as I feel fine now, about an hour later.

To clarify, you had lots of pressure in your head plus you felt like you were gonna puke? The former can happen if you're not breathing properly while lifting, which is a bad habit that can start when you begin using increasingly heavier weights; the latter is a feeling I get whenever my trainer kicks my *** especially hard. Every once in a while she'll really give me a run for my money with my heart rate waaaay up there, and I think I'm going to black out. I don't want to chip a tooth on the gym equipment as I'm keeling over, so I chill for a second to steady my breathing rate. People will argue that it's unwise to work yourself that hard, but many pro athletes, weightlifters, etc. don't consider it a good workout until they've puked or nearly puked -- argue that point with whomever you wish. But back to your Q of whether anyone else has had an exertion headache: mine has never lasted past the given activity by much more than a few minutes, so yeah, maybe you overdid it. Or, maybe your lifting just prompted a headache that was brewing anyway. (?) Based on the symptoms you searched on the 'net, what possibilities did you come up with? Had you ingested a bunch of caffeine prior to the workout? Not eaten an adequate protein/carb combo beforehand (maybe you were depleted as a result of the cardio, and the following weight work was too much - this happened to me on Thursday...)?

I was considering that I hadn't really eaten much today, as I was saving calories for a weekend dinner.

And then a few sources on the internet had said it could be serious but usually wasn't...but could be. Which of course was my thought at the time, oww is this what an aneurysm feels like?

I've always heard people talk about throwing up as a result of a workout but it's never happened to me and I've done some pretty intense workouts, but then again... maybe not!

I had this happen awhile back, total of twice now to me in several years, and it was also while I was lifting too heavy. I am good at breathing, so posted here, and I think several people responded that yes, they can in fact get that if lifting too heavy. I think they said a temporary rise in blood pressure from lifting, but not a long term problem. Just a good sign to take it back down a notch on that exercise. I did not feel like puking, but that nausea you had could be from being lightheaded from the low cal intake you had that day. I'm sure more people will post, but it seems to have happened to some people here at least once. Take it easy next time just to make sure.

Thanks, good advice!

Yeah puking and headaches = intense workout!

My kickboxing instructor says he's going to push me on a part of my Brown Belt and make me spar till I puke or cry. I said that that sounded like a good workout!