Headache during intense power excercise

[outlandish]

Lately I've been working on my pullups, and I've noticed that when I really push myself to the limit with this excercise, I get a sudden headache right after I stop. If I stop say 1 or 2 pullups shy of that limit, the headache doesn't happen. The headache quickly subsides, within a minute. I'm wondering if this is a sign I'm pushing it too hard? Is this normal? Should I be backing off before this happens, or just suck it up and get used to it? I don't mind the sensation, but just worried I might be damaging my brain or something.

 

 

[ajasatya]

check your blood pressure

[SgtPepper]

are you breathing during your movements? make sure you are exhaling when extorting force and inhaling when setting up for another pull. 

[outlandish]

I'm not breathing exactly how you describe. I'll try that out.

My BP was good the last few times I had it checked (at rest). Should I be looking at my blood pressure during exercise as well?

Thanks.

[ajasatya]

14 minutes ago, outlandish said:

Should I be looking at my blood pressure during exercise as well?

that's what i would do

[pluto]

Drink more water, maybe try coconut water as your electrolytes might be out of balance or low. Also no need to go 100% all the time 80% is still efficient for results. Also make sure to stretch well and or do some cardio before strength/weight training.

[Michael569]

What is the headache like? is it dull and constant or more pulsating (faster the heartbeat the more rapid the pulsation?

Where is it coming from? (back of the head , top, neck...) 

Do you have a history of migraines, cluster headaches or anything like that? Do you often have stiff neck? 

Do you get it at any other times besides workout? 

[eleveneleven]

A long time ago, this used to happen to me when pulling close to my max, though it almost always happened during very warm and humid weather for some reason (during the summer). Once I started working out somewhere that was better air-conditioned, this seemed to stop. Now I live somewhere much less hot, so it hasn't been an issue at all. Looking back, though, this might have been related to blood pressure (which can be affected by the temperature).

And I second what everyone said. If you're not breathing correctly during the workout (for example, if you're holding your breath without realizing), you could severely injure yourself by running your blood pressure up too high all of a sudden. When you're just starting, there's a natural urge to hold your breath when you're making a lot of effort (like your last few pulls before failure), so make sure you're not doing this unconsciously.

Here's a pretty good explanation of breathing during workouts from an experienced body builder: http://scoobysworkshop.com/breathing/

[outlandish]

Thanks for your help everyone.

That video ^ was very helpful. I think it's quite likely that by the end of my set, I'm unconsciously holding my breath as I squeeze out the last few. I'm watching out for that now.

Worth noting that I especially noticed this headache thing on hot days, when I had done my pullups after a run, so I was probably a bit dehydrated and overheated to begin with. So this correlates with what you noticed. 

Quote

What is the headache like? is it dull and constant or more pulsating (faster the heartbeat the more rapid the pulsation?

Where is it coming from? (back of the head , top, neck...) 

Do you have a history of migraines, cluster headaches or anything like that? Do you often have stiff neck? 

Do you get it at any other times besides workout? 

It's constant, wrapping around the side of my head (both sides) originating from my temples and extending down to the top of my neck. No history of migranes really (but I do get visual migranes sometimes, which I feel is unrelated). Old history of headaches that I've basically sorted out now, so I don't normally get headaches anymore. Don't often have stiff neck anymore either.

 

On 7/18/2018 at 4:47 PM, pluto said:

Drink more water, maybe try coconut water as your electrolytes might be out of balance or low. Also no need to go 100% all the time 80% is still efficient for results. Also make sure to stretch well and or do some cardio before strength/weight training.

Good tips. I think you're right about the 80% thing. It's better to have higher frequency of workouts going to 80% than less often at 100%. This is something I've really learned in other physical pursuits - you can recover faster when you don't red line it all the time, and then you can workout more often. And it's safer. So I'll back off a bit in pushing it to the max, and just do it more often. 

[outlandish]

I figured this one out, in case anyone experiences something similar.

I noticed that by holding the tension in my core after I complete the excercise, and slowly releasing it, rather than suddenly going from intensity to full relaxation, I'm able to avoid the headache sensation. I guess this is similar to how it's encouraged to do a warm-down lap of the track when you run etc. I'm keeping my core flexed and breath baited for a minutes or two after the set, slowly allowing my body to relax rather that quickly transitioning - and it's working!

Probably related to rapid blood pressure changes, and similar-related to concepts of qi/ki/chi/bandas

[Ingit]

It is because during intense excercise your brain vessels dilate that presses against pain receptors on dural sheath... Be a bit comfortable doing excercise... start with light exercise... everything will be good.. drink a lot of water... have proper nutrition...