I was doing squats, and after my third set I got really light headed and almost passed out. This has never happened to me before. I usually get sort of light headed, but this time I was really about to pass out. I sat down for about 10 and it went away, but I never got that light headed doing squats before. Granted its been a while (2 months) since I did squats but damn, it was kind of weird. I know Arnold Schwarzenegger has been quoted back in the day saying he used to do squats till he passed out and woke up 5 minutes later, and lots of lifters will say they have almost passed out from squats or dead lifts....i just never had it happen before. oh well, there is always next week. funny thing is it wasn't even that heavy, squats have always been my worst lift because my knees suck, but who knows.

2/19/2009 3:18:15 PM

...ok?

2/19/2009 3:21:07 PM

i get that feelign lifting heavy/intensely for the first time after a long layoff

my guess it would be something related to excess bloodflow needed rather suddenly resulting in some form of oxygen deprivation to your brain

thats a complete shot in the dark, but i know what youre talking abut...it could also just be a bad day for whatever reason and something abnormal maybe review your diet and activities leading up to the lift


regardless, i dont think thats advice you want to follow so dont go around lifting til you pass out intentionally



[Edited on February 19, 2009 at 3:24 PM. Reason : d]

2/19/2009 3:22:27 PM

Yeah, obviously. Arnold was a bit nuts back in the day

I think I didnt rest long enough between sets. I love heavy lifting a lot....but Im not trying to pass out and purpose

[Edited on February 19, 2009 at 3:31 PM. Reason : .]

2/19/2009 3:22:36 PM

yea you gotta get some oxygen man, its ok to slow down

unless you have a lifting competition on top of mount everest or something

[Edited on February 19, 2009 at 3:32 PM. Reason : d]

2/19/2009 3:32:18 PM

one of the first images when you google image "squat"

2/19/2009 5:12:11 PM

happens to me. Once I rest the bar, I be sure to move slowly and take deep breaths. Leg press is even worse if you try to get up after you finish.

2/19/2009 5:20:35 PM

Hey, at least this didn't happen...

Warning, NSFW (or anywhere really).

http://poetry.rotten.com/weightlifter/

2/19/2009 5:39:39 PM

yeah we have all seen that

2/19/2009 5:42:49 PM

It's an oxygen issue. Your muscles consume oxygen faster than your brain during times of intense exertion, resulting in you feeling dizzy.

Just remember to take deep breaths, pace yourself, etc. Do more sets of less reps if necessary.

2/19/2009 7:26:27 PM

this used to happen to me


more so when I was battling a mild case of hypo (or is it hyper?) glycemia. I just needed to make sure I stayed hydrated and had plenty of fuel in the tank (i used to have to bring a snickers bar or something like it to the gym to eat midworkout)


I haven't had it happen lately, but it would only happen when doing exercises that used alot of energy and were more full body exercises (ie: squats, pushpress, cleans, etc...)


^and like he said, make sure you are breathing correctly- heavy sets usually take a little bit longer, but I still go with the one breath in, one breath out method. that can do it to me as well

[Edited on February 19, 2009 at 8:15 PM. Reason : breathing]

2/19/2009 8:13:16 PM

Quote :

"Leg press is even worse if you try to get up after you finish."

yea the only time I get like this is if i got heavy on leg press and try to get outta the seat to soon...Ive blacked out a couple times from that

2/19/2009 8:42:44 PM

I get that feeling when squatting heavy and deadlifting occasionally. I think it's caused by the sudden spike and then decrease in blood pressure. IIRC, the blood pressure of powerlifers can approach 800mmHg during a lift, and then drop back down. Holding your breath while squatting makes it worse, as you prevent blood flow between your lower half and upper half of your body.

2/19/2009 9:01:27 PM

yeah it never happened before but i usually get light headed after squats.

2/19/2009 9:17:33 PM

Quote :

"snickers bar or something like it to the gym to eat midworkout"

this really is an example of america's desperate lack of education when it comes to health. Despite having a six pack and working out at the gym this shit is not indicative of someone who knows what healthy is

2/19/2009 11:17:16 PM

eating something is a hell of a lot better than having consumed nothing at all dude

also being hyper/hypoglycemic could have something to do with it

[Edited on February 20, 2009 at 12:41 AM. Reason : f]

2/20/2009 12:40:14 AM

holy shit i want to pass out from squatting

2/20/2009 1:59:32 AM

i always get a bit light headed after high rep sets of complex lifts...it's a bit scary since I never have a spotter

2/20/2009 9:16:30 AM

it was kinda cool, my vision got all fuzzy and i was thinking "well if im gonna drop dead it may as well be in the gym"

2/20/2009 12:36:03 PM

you should learn to breathe better


thats kinda almost as important as lifting more weight more often

if you can manage your breathing better during lifts then shit the skys the limit as far as your abilities outside of the weightroom

i get lightheaded and what not also, but i dont look at it like "man this is so cool" but i look at it as something im doing wrong and i need to improve my technique and my habits to rectify it.

thats dangerous, you lifters should know what only a slight falter in poise and balance can do while lifting

[Edited on February 20, 2009 at 1:01 PM. Reason : d]

2/20/2009 1:00:23 PM

Quote :

"this really is an example of america's desperate lack of education when it comes to health. Despite having a six pack and working out at the gym this shit is not indicative of someone who knows what healthy is"

except for the fact that this idea came from my doctor, and was backed up by my nutritionist back when I played football

I would burn through my stores of ready to use energy (see carbs), so a sugar loaded snack was usually a good idea


try again guy




[Edited on February 20, 2009 at 2:25 PM. Reason : s]

2/20/2009 2:21:50 PM

I get lightheaded all the time. Especially when im doing curls bro.

2/20/2009 3:45:34 PM

Yes, this happens because your body is not used to squatting. Since it's been two months or so since the last lift, your body needed extra oxygen for your legs thus depriving the rest of your body. This is where the light headed feeling comes in. Your body focuses on what your muscles demand and if they demand high amounts for recovery then the heart's main focus is on the legs when you lift.

Hope that makes sense. Or you could squat till you puke.

2/20/2009 4:35:43 PM

thats why it is so fuckin hard to run sprints and then try to do just like 10 pull ups afterwards, theres no supply of blood to your upper body relative to the supply going to your legs

thats what i based my shot in the dark on

2/20/2009 6:28:48 PM

Quote :

"Yes, this happens because your body is not used to squatting. Since it's been two months or so since the last lift, your body needed extra oxygen for your legs thus depriving the rest of your body."

Squats are an anaerobic exercise, so your leg muscles aren't even burning oxygen during a squat. It's either an issue with his blood flow or his blood pressure and has nothing to do with oxygen.

2/20/2009 8:10:52 PM

it still can have something to do with his breathing (if he is holding his breath, a problem i talked about in one of my earlier posts, then that could be a culprit)

2/20/2009 8:30:26 PM

even holding his breath is still causing a blood pressure problem. Do a google search on the Valsalva technique if you want to understand why.

[Edited on February 20, 2009 at 8:44 PM. Reason : oops, it's valsalva. vasalva is apparently some sort of sex trick.]

2/20/2009 8:42:28 PM

Im sure it was a fluke, never happened before (and im no stranger to squats) and i doubt it will happen again

2/20/2009 10:46:23 PM

Quote :

"thats why it is so fuckin hard to run sprints and then try to do just like 10 pull ups afterwards, theres no supply of blood to your upper body relative to the supply going to your legs"

Hmm, dunno if I agree with this. If you train correctly (well, train for this sort of thing), then switching from sprints to upperbody work isn't bad at all. I regularly do 200/300/400m sprints interweaving dips, pullups, pushups, etc. without rest.

And to the OP, for a serious response. While breathing could be the culprit, it could also be a slew of other things, especially while squatting. You could be dehydrated, leading to hypotension, which you wouldn't notice with most strength training, except the full body lifts. So it could be as simple as drinking to much coffee that morning, or not drinking enough water during the day.

2/21/2009 9:47:53 AM

Yeah, I go through a bottle of water per hour that I'm working out just to keep from greying out. It's become habitual, and if I ever do forget, I'll remember REAL QUICK when I go to stand up from doing butterflies or something. Even if I don't feel thirsty, I just keep drinking during the workout.

2/21/2009 4:15:47 PM

Quote :

"even holding his breath is still causing a blood pressure problem. Do a google search on the Valsalva technique if you want to understand why. "

yeah, that is what i was saying

2/21/2009 10:03:53 PM

Quote :

"Hmm, dunno if I agree with this. If you train correctly (well, train for this sort of thing), then switching from sprints to upperbody work isn't bad at all. I regularly do 200/300/400m sprints interweaving dips, pullups, pushups, etc. without rest. "

nah it works, weve done 800m sprint followed by 10 pullups, 4 times and your arms are dead by like the third set of pullups

i dont understand it but i definitely feel it, i think the key is that the sprinting is the dominant exercise that you spend by far the most time engaging in, you seem like you are spending quite a bit of time on your upperbody, much more equal ratio

Quote :

"It's either an issue with his blood flow or his blood pressure and has nothing to do with oxygen"

youll have to explain this, but is the point of blood to carry oxygen and other chemicals?

[Edited on February 22, 2009 at 12:51 AM. Reason : g]

2/22/2009 12:49:38 AM

every post has been basically of sentence that has already been said ten times over. I bet he gets the idea of what's up.

2/22/2009 1:23:06 AM

I think it was just all the blood rushing to my legs, then i racked it and stood up quick and started to get really light headed.

2/22/2009 3:37:40 AM

Quote :

"youll have to explain this, but is the point of blood to carry oxygen and other chemicals? "

the blood in his body has plenty of oxygen in it, but a quick drop in blood pressure will prevent the brain from getting the blood it needs. His legs aren't using up all of the oxygen in his blood like some people have claimed. the exercise is temporarily spiking his blood pressure and causing him to almost faint when his blood pressure drops suddenly after racking the weights back.

2/22/2009 1:22:27 PM

gotcha

thanks man

2/22/2009 1:37:22 PM

Quote :

"Ask any body builder and everyone will say they will feel light headed, nauseous and even sometimes even puke when they train big muscle groups with exercises such as squats and dead lifts. Some great bodybuilders even take pride that they puke after an intensive bout of weightlifting as an indication that they have had a fantastic workout. But to many, these symptoms are unpleasant, disruptive and could be even be dangerous and cause injuries. Perhaps, you may also have experienced these symptoms as well. What happened? Well, there could be several causes. • First of all, you may have eaten or drunk too much before your gym workout. So you blood is channelled to your digestive organs for your digestive process. But when you begin to exercise intensively especially on big muscle groups, a lot of blood is channelled away from your digestive organs to the muscles. When that happens, food is now in your digestive system left unattended and therefore undigested and thus causing you to feel nauseous. • Your blood sugar level may be low. This could happen when you are on a low carbohydrate caloric restriction diet or have not eaten for sometime and is now lifting heavy weights. You will feel giddy, tired and may even develop a headache and suffering muscular weakness. It simply boils down to a decreased of energy level for not having enough energy nutrients prior to your workout. • The most common cause of nausea when weight lifting is low blood pressure. It could be inherent that you have low blood pressure and if not, it is caused by change of body position. Have you ever felt giddy when you are sitting stationary for sometime then suddenly gotten up and stretch? Well, if you have had that experience, then the same logic and science applies. The sudden fall of blood pressure happens when you are in a squatting position and then suddenly bursting upwards to a standing position with the blood pooled in your lower body and not sending the blood fast enough to your upper body and your brain. These are some of the reasons why many of us will experience giddiness, nausea and even puke when we do exercises like squats and dead lifts with heavy weights and when working on big muscle groups. Now that we know the reasons, we can avoid these unpleasant symptoms by taking necessary precautions during our gym workout on heavy weight days."

the second "reason" discussed there is exactly what I was saying used to happen to me (and it wasn't because i wasn't eating, it was because I was burning my energy stores off faster than my body was used to- off season training was intense)

2/22/2009 1:54:46 PM