Headaches while lifting?

The last few sessions, I've been getting sudden sharp headaches on the heaviest of the first few sets

Get a skull MRI. I'd be worried about a possible pending cranial aneurysm...

It can happen to anybody, anytime.

Go see your doctor. Why are you asking for medical advice on a newsgroup???

I guess because it is related to his training regime, and was wondering if anyone else had similar symptoms, and what they did about it.

People do this all the time, Chomp Lady. For example there was a morbidly obese woman here not long ago who wanted to use growth hormone for her extreme obesity. In due course she revealed that she uses huge (hundreds of grams) amounts of vitamin C in enema form, and that she partakes in satanistic rituals. Go figure, Chomp Lady.

Nonsense, I've been having the same sort of probl

le+Search&meta=group%3Dmisc.fitness.weights

The usual cause is a pulled muscle at the base of the skull. The muscles attach the skull to the neck and when pulled cause an intense 'hatband' headache. It is much the same thing that happens when you get whiplash. To prevent this from happening, make sure you keep your head up while squatting and don't look down. Looking down extends the muscles and then when you tense up they get pulled. It can also happen when benching so keep your head on the bench. Relax anything that isn't contributing to the lift.

To see if is that which is causing the pain, link your hands behind your head, tuck your chin into your neck and push your head back into your hands while pulling forward. If it recreates the pain then that is most likely the problem.

To get over it, rest, ice, stretch (just like the test only more gently) and possibly see a chiropractor and/or a physiotherapist. I had the best results when doing both but not on the same day. If you lift, stay comfortably within your strength limits for a couple of weeks and don't strain to lift. If you feel it coming on again, quit what you are doing or you will set yourself back again. You should be better in a couple of weeks or so.

The abobe does not rule out other possible causes, it is just the most common cause. This has been discussed here fairly often.

I had a very similar problem, particularly while squatting my heaviest weights. I would even hear what sounded like blood rushing through my head. Soon after I was diagnosed with high blood pressure and have been on meds ever since. Soon after starting the meds, my headaches while lifting subsided and I haven't had the problem again in over 3 years. So, of course, I always assumed my headaches were cause by the increased blood pressure. Definitely something to look into.

Chomp Lady, did your suit begin life as a parachute?

Almost.

God, I love the web. Consensus from history seems to be that it's common and usually benign, may be caused by tension/pulled muscle in the neck, improper breathing, or dehydration. Large undercurrent of worry about anurysms, tumors, etc. but no actual such cases reported (that I saw). Recommendation to check with a doctor, otherwise back off on the weight and watch form.

Thanks for the link.

Hugh