Headaches when working out. What could be wrong

Whenever im pushing myself during working out, whether its a set of push ups or lifting weights at the end of the set when im really pushing like when my face will get red, i will get a pretty bad headache pretty much forcing me to discontinue the workout.  Just has started happening the last week, but it always seems to happen. Do I have a brain tumor or something, whats wrong? =(  

Thanks
Zach

[willtme]

Headache can be a symptom of heat exhaustion.  If you work out primarily outdoors, this could be the cause.  Dehydration can promote heat exhaustion.  Regardless of whether you perform exercise indoors or out, you should drink sufficient water when you exercise.  The recommendation is 10 glasses a day for adults and taking drinks every 15-20 minutes during workouts.  Sports drinks and juices can replace lost nutrients during exercise.  

Some sports supplements are known to cause headaches.  If you currently use supplements, try cycling out one thing at a time to see if something you are taking is causing the headaches.  

Other things to do:
Limit caffeine and alcohol intake, take a multivitamin, have a balanced diet, limit sodium, and get plenty of sleep.  

A final thing, if you are overtraining or performing exercises with "bad form", you can be putting excess stress on your body which could result in a headache.

[phishers]

Well no heat exhaustion or dehydration. i am currently cycling out the supplements with no luck so far, i think im gonna give it another week before i go back on.  I did see something online about tension headaches, which are usually from bad posture, and i have a job where i sit down all day, so thats the only thing i can think of so far which holds any weight.  Im a pretty healthy dude, could eat some more greens maybe but, other then that im in good shape.  The headaches just started all of sudden which is the weird part.  

Thanks for feedback

[phishers]

Well no heat exhaustion or dehydration. i am currently cycling out the supplements with no luck so far, i think im gonna give it another week before i go back on.  I did see something online about tension headaches, which are usually from bad posture, and i have a job where i sit down all day, so thats the only thing i can think of so far which holds any weight.  Im a pretty healthy dude, could eat some more greens maybe but, other then that im in good shape.  The headaches just started all of sudden which is the weird part.  

Thanks for feedback

[STOWMAN]

Zach,

I have exactly the same symptoms you describe.  It just started for me about 10 days ago.  I can do a light workout without a problem but if I am doing squats, leg presses, leg extensions and am exerting myself at say 90% I will get a throbbing headache in the back of my head right above my neck.  I have to stop working out immediately and usually clasp my head in my hands and will have this headache for hours later.  I have been working out for years and never had anything like this.  I added kefir to my diet about 1 month ago and I am going to eliminate this from my diet in an effort to rule it out.  It's the only real change I have made in my diet.  I will post again when I find out what's going on.  I may also contact my doctor, because like you I thought there is always the possibility of a tumor.  Let's hope not for both of our sakes.

Hank

[TheIrishCurse]

Hey Everyone,

I used to have the exact same problems.  I went and saw a Dr. and he said I had most likely strained my neck while lifting.  So whenever my neck and shoulders would tense up during a particularly strenuous rep, the strained nerves in my neck would cause a headache.  He said if I just quit working out for a while and gave my neck a chance to heal, I would be fine.  

In any event, I stopped strength training for a couple of months, and when I started up again I was okay.  Previously I had tried taking a 2 or 3 weeks off, but it wasn't enough.

Hope this helps.

-TIC

[penwill]

Get checked for a pinched nerve in your neck, if you have one , and it sounds real possible, You want to get it adjusted before its to severe.......................See a chiro take my word. Also have your blood pressure checked.

[Rino]

I had a similar problem.  I found out that it was my cervical vertebrae getting out of alignment and pressing on some nerves.  A chiropractor adjusted me and never had the problem again.

[waupunlifter]

thanx evryone for all the coments i was looking around to see what could posibly be wrong with me i thought i also had a tumor thanx for all the info

[Tha Doc]

hey, i read this article because i too have recently been getting headaches during my workout. i am 16, good shape and have been lifting for a couple of years now. i have also currently added lipo 6 to my daily vitamins and supplements to cut up a bit. i was wondering if this could have caused the headaches. i have been taking them for about a month now though so i wasnt sure if that was really the problem since it has just started happening in the past few days. if anyone can give me any kind of help or info, please do so. my email address is ***@****. thanks for the help.

[volleyballintrainin(15)]

i did 200 squats and the headache came right after that i never had it b4 n when i message areas on my head it hurts bad is it the same? what can i do? i was in bad form when i did it still hurts till now hope someone helps me

thx

[Paul764]

This sounds like a Primary Exertional Headache.
This is like a Primary Cough Headache because it  accurs as a result of increased pressure to the head, particularly if the exertion is from lifting weights.
While straining to heave a weight you may inadvertently do what's called a Valsalva Maneuver, which is the term for trying to exhale while holding your breath.
this increases pressure in blood vessels in the head.

[ryan9119]

this happened to me as well i think, i havnt seen a doctor or anything but i was riding up a pretty steep hill and must of had my neck crunched up....got THE WORST headache ever. 2 days later i was doing some "self maintenance" and was struck down again.  guess i have to lay off excercise and sex for a while.

at least i hope thats all

[anonymousanomaly]

I have had the exact same problem.  This is second day with it.  It occured yesterday when I was doing bench presses.  On my last set I guess my for was not the best that or I was not breathing properly when all of sudden I felt a strong pinched sensation in the back of my neck/lower head.  The pain causes a headache but what is odd is that it stays only on the one side of my brain (the left).  The headache stayed for the rest of the night and I was fine in the morning.  I went back to the gym in the afternoon and decided to do some simple exercises pullups pushups and dips.  But it wasn't until I did again my last set of my last exercise of dips that the headache came back..again I decided to push and do about 30 dips.  I found myself clasping my head in my hands as the pain was impossible to work through.

[kevinr515]

hey, my is kevin, and im 15 years old, i think i have the same problem u've been talking about, two weeks ago i was working out and i got such a bad headache that i fell off my machine and was on the floor for five minutes before i could see. It was the first time it happened and i wasnt even trying to do more weight than usual. It's been getting worse and now if i even lift a heavy bag of trash my head throbs and no pain relivers work. My vision goes bad and i lose my balance. It's only getting worse. Do i need to see a doctor?

[RaeRae5]

last Wednesday I was doing squats when a pain shot through the left side of my head.  There was an article posted in our local paper about brain hemmoraging and almost all your symptoms were listed.... I am going to the Doctor tomorrow to find out what exactly happened to me.  Hoping it is just a pinched nerve that will heal on it's own.  You should definitely go see a Dr as soon as possible.  When it comes to certain areas of our body, one can never be too careful

[marissposa]

Hi Kevin,  I think you definitely need to ask your parents to take you to a doctor.

[sportsjunkie29]

I agree w/ Paul764, almost all of the cases above sound like Exortional headaches which is mainly caused by poor breathing techniques (mainly holding your breath while straining to get that final rep or two) while exerting a lot of stress during.  The most common exercises to cause these are squats and leg extensions.  If you get this the best advice to to take at least 2-3 weeks off of strength training.  IF you don't take time off the condition can be chronic.  When you go back to strength training really focus on taking short quick but easy (dont force out air real hard) breaths.  This will take some time to get used to.  Good luck and stay healthy.

[DrNoopurMD]

Hi,

How are you?
Some people get headaches during exercise. These headaches are completely physiological. Please remember to do warm up exercises. Also maintain your fluid intake throughout the work out.
A mild OC pain killer before exercise will also help. Take care!

[gocowboysgo]

Ok i have kiinda a weird symptom simular to this. I was also working out one day last set last rep strained and had a huge head ache in the back of my head on the right side right above my neck. It felt like i stained my seck sort of but i can definitely tell it has something to do with my breating and also some exercises or movments. Ok but heres the reallly weird thing. This happened aobut a week ago, i went to work out a couple days ago and slightly came back again(not weird part). Ok the reallly weird part is yesterday and this mortning when i was using the restroom there was a good amount of blood mixed in with the stool. Im only 20 and in good shape, dont drink much smoke some but generally healthy. Was wondering if the blood could have been cause by this straining and headache i had. When it happened yesterday it was a very good about of blood mixed in adn today not so much just a slight amount. Hoping this isnt colon cancer or anything as i dont have insurance at the moment which i found out yetsterday while talking to my dad. Any advice would b much appreciated.

[gocowboysgo]

also i got the head ache again the day before yesterday while yelling at a parent who wouldnt shut up at a football game, im an official. Also a couple days before that while working out for the first time since it first happened

[Dee85]

go to a neuro or chiropractic, my mom had the same problem.

[phil_head_pain]

hello all,

was searching on th net for "types of head aces" when i found this site...
same symptons, severe head ache will doing weights, real pulsing sensation, feel like my head is going to explode, feel every heart beat as well firing off in my head, hands pressed to either side of my head...
also during "a work out" with my girl friend the same thing happened...

i have a dull head ache after, neck pain as well, right at the top where my neck joins to my head...

does this go away by it self, should i get it checked by a dr, will a dr be aware of this type of thing, did any body get brushed of by their dr...?

please advise on what to do...

[akemp0210]

I have been dealing with migraines since I was 14, now I am 21 and still deal with them on a daily basis. Dr's finally ran some tests when I was 16 and discovered a beignen tumor in my heart (this was suppose to be the reasoning behind my migraines) they went away for a few months and then came back full fledge ever since. I cannot work out, I cannot be in the sunlight for too long, Over sleep, under sleep, cannot be around flouresent lights (which are in every store, gym, dr. offices, schools, etc) Ive been on every single medication for migraines that they've come out with. Nothing works...  I would love to be able to workout once again but anything with alot of head movement (sit ups, pushups, running) Im out for 2 days. I just want them to figure out what is wrong already, its been 7 years of a lot of restrictions. I just want to live a normal lifestyle. HELP!

[trish934]

strong i believe it has something to do with poor circulation! not enough oxygen and energy being transported to the brain. think you'll need to stop and take deep breaths. also see your physician could be mild stroke or something my uncle stuffer those but it may differ with each individual.

[Weslahurd]

Omg! I am so glad I am not the only one going through this. I thought I had some tumor or was about to have something explode in my head. I am 23 years old, pretty great health, could eat some more greens, and well thats about it. One thing I have noticed is that "your" pains are all in the back of "your" necks. Mine is above my temple but it occurs after I start my flat bench, when I am really straining myself.  It starts out with a throbbing sensation and it gets so unbearable I cannot even push through it to complete my workoutI have not been to the gym since Friday 6:00 p.m. and it is now Tuesday 10:22 A.M. and I kinda feel its prescence.. Similar to a bruise, but again there was no blunt force put on my temple. Simply working out in the gym. Does it make a difference if it is in my temple rather than my neck? Any ideas guys. Please email me with any suggestions. ***@****

[jayv1985]

The same exact thing happened to me on the flat bench last monday. I was putting up a lot for my weight but nothing crazy, on my 7th or 8th rep it just started pounding. Went to my physician and he told me it had something to do with to much strain in my muscles connecting my back to my neck. He said take advil or some type of pain killer 2-3 times a day for four days. Then give ur stomach a break from the pain killers for 3 days. Then back on for 3-4 days and slowly get back into lifting weights and treat it as if it were an injury. He said it could potentially stem from sitting at a computer desk for extended period of hours with bad posture.

[jayv1985]

Also, i tried working out the next day but anything i did brought the pounding headache back. The doctor checked my blood pressure, checked the pressure in my head and said everything was normal as far as that so he was confident it was a muscle strain.

[goochlife2]

Last monday, during my last set of bench, I got this terrible pain in my head. It was so bad I did not feel like lifting again. It has happened everytime I lift for now on, and i try to just bear it and continue. I have been taking NO Xplode since the beginning of the summer and Cell Mass, so I dont think thoses are the issue. It cant be from lifting too heavy cause were at the stage where we are going light weight with more reps. any suggestions?

Kyle

[AMB17]

It happened to me the other day. Really bad headache on the last couple reps, made me stop workingout.  I went to a brain doc and he said it can happen among weightlifters because there is a lot of pressure in your brain during workouts.  the headache is called a Thunderclap.

[dumbheadaches]

i get the same headaches! mainly during the 1st couple of sets when i realy push myself. its so painful that it has me on my knees grasping my head. im 20 years old drink tonnes of water, healthy as an apple, dont drink alcohol  or smoke or any of that ****. i dont understand, it *****! :( im going to realy concentrate on my breathing next couple of workouts then report back the results, but i dont think breathing is my problem....

[gsd1111]

hey guys,

this happened to me too. this is a serious comment, and I'm looking for answers: this started happening first, not with lifting, but with masturbating. after two painful masturbating sessions, I googled it and it said it might be an orgasmic headache. I've been working out for a year and a half, and I worked out after I had these painful experiences, and the same pain occurred when I bench pressed. so my question is, for those who masturbate, is there pain there too? for me they must be related, and I'm wondering if it's the same for you.

[bf2k8sr]

Yes it happens to me in both lifting and close to climax in sex (maturbation).  I started taking this muscle gainer (hormone pill) about one month ago and I really think that has been the cause for me.  The supplement is called S-Drol.  I have been working out hard since I was in middle school, and I am now 30.  This happened to me before and if I take some time off, do more cardio, and quit the supplement, it usually goes away.  I also drink a lot on weekends and probably need to cool off on that aspect as well.  I suggest taking some time off on heavy lifting.  My wife and I are going to do a lot more yoga over the next few days and see if that helps get rid of the pain.  I might start back on the weights later next week, and I'm going to the doctor Monday.

[Dr Vinod]

Stress causes head ache, even while masturbating when you do it for the sake of doing, it is habit forming, you do it aggresively you will have this head ache.
Sex is a thing which should be relaxing and everything is in the brain. So all the forms of sex, like oral, masturbating you should be at ease and relaxed.

Masturbating is habit forming and should be discouraged and there is a controversy between many Psyciatrists on this topic. Going for a regular partner/wife is always good .
Lead a stress free life and Yoga is a good idea.

Take care!

[MrPump]

Hey there folks, regarding the headaches in the back of the neck near the head, throbbing, very painful etc. It first happened to me on a saturday workout. I was doing incline dumbell curls. it happened again recently while doing lats on a machine at the gym. both times it was on a day off where I had slept in late, ate breakfast and had coffee, waited for a while (couple hours) and then started the workout. So I was relaxed and not tense. I was used to doing workouts after work in the evening and I usually drink coffee only early in the morning.
My doctor says that I have strained tendon(s) and related it to a tension migraine which occurs to many people on a saturday morning because the tension and stress of the week are released and one is relaxed on their day off. I think he used the term "let down" phase (don't quote me on that)
So he told me to use a hot water bottle on my neck 4 times a day, 15 minutes at a time for about ten days. I don't remember how long I waited before working out again the first time it happened. I will start up easy though when I do get back to it.
My suggestion: let it heal, it will heal. my trainer says it has happened to him in the past too. there is nothing wrong with doing intense sets with great effort on the last few reps, that's how you grow. Just watch your form and be careful. I am no expert but I am learning.

God bless you all.

[jimmyjunko]

I have been doing P90X for 6 months now & currently I am in the 6th week of the second 2nd round of P90x. The last week or so I have been battling these headaches which occur on the right side of my neck/head. Sometimes I can catch it before it explodes into a full blown headache and I let it dissipate for about 5 or 10 min before I start again. Other times it comes on so fast I have to stop completely and not work out for a couple of days because it tends to linger even overnite. Last night I went out to rollerblade and about  5 min. into blading It came on again. I let it subside and felt fine the rest of the nite. This morning I do feel a lingering dull headache in the usual spot. I made an appt. with a neurologist next week.

[Dr Vinod]

You have to evaluate your case properly as your headaches do not occur with day to day activities.
Whenever you work out or do some form of exercise you tend to have these headaches.
This can be stress induced migraine and you have to try different forms of exercises which would be relaxing to you. Try discussing these things with your neurologist. You have to fnd out the triggering agent.
You should wear proper foot wear, follow proper ergonomics, positions etc. Any good trainer would help you on this.
Take care

[steveng]

I got 4 of these headaches/ throbbing pains within the year too while lifting. After a week of rest, it would go away. But it came back today. There could be so many reasons! It could be wisdom teeth, taking creatine, strain on the neck, and breathing. God..what is it?!

[Dr Vinod]

Again the most important thing in these cases is to identify the triggering agent. If it is exercise then you have to take proper food, rehydrate yourself properly during exercises and avoid exercises which causes this headache.Avoid smoking, alcohol and have balanced diet. Try to relax and do not be in stress. Take care!

[HelloRizzudo]

I have a similar problem with those listed above. I've been strength training for about 8 months now, and ive never had any problems. But in the past couple of weeks ive been getting a dull pounding headache in the front of my head just when beginning to work out, even doing simple things like push-ups. The headache is so bad that it causes me to have to stop working out, and its getting frustrating. I dont know if i need to drink more water, or if im breathing wrong, and im seriously considering seeing a doctor

[Dr Vinod]

Go to a General Physician and check your vitals.
It might be that you have a mild sinusitis. Did you have any viral cold during the time you had these headaches? This may be one factor.
Take care and diagnose the problem medically so that you will be rest assured if you have no problem to continue your workouts. Proper sleep and stress free living is also necessary.
Take care!

[BDids]

I get these weight lifting headaches too.  I'm 28, great physical condition, pretty damn healthy if you ask me.  The first time I had them was for about a month and a half a couple years ago.  Everytime I went to the gym I would get them like clockwork.  I was fine until I pushed my body to the limit.  I fought to get through the workouts, often quitting early.  I went to the doctor and they tried to give me migraine meds.  I didn't take them because I don't like to take meds if I don't have to.  I went to a chriopractor, and she took care of it with an adjustment.  She said that I most likely pinched a nerve in my traps/neck area.  I haven't gotten a headache for over a year now, until the other day.  I was benching 225lbs and I felt something in my neck around the 8th rep.  The headaches were back.  F***!  I thought I was rid of these things.  The difference now is that I constantly feel dizzy all day.  I sit in front of the computer all day and I just have a constant lightheaded feeling.  I know that the headache will return today when I get to the gym.  I love lifting weights and getting stronger and don't ever want to give it up.  But these headaches are are so painful and they don't go away after the workout.  They linger around the rest of the night.  I'm going to the chiropracter tomorrow (the 2nd time for this case of headaches).  The first time I went, I thought it would do the trick but I did about 15 pullups yesterday as a test and I felt the headache ready to hit me so I stopped.  Anyways, don't let these stupid headaches stop you in your tracks.  They'll eventually pass.  I don't like working out half assed and can't wait for these things to pass so I can get back to banging those heavy weights again.  Right now, it truly feels like I'm killing myself in the gym with these damn headaches.

[Dr Vinod]

You have to remember that your ultimate goal is weight lifting and for this short term you have to quit it.
The Physician should understand your pain and problem to treat it and once you are absolutely fine you can continue your weight lifting for long term.

For migraines there is always a triggering agent and for you the triggering agent might be lifting of weights.
We advice you to go to a neurologist for consultation and follow up.
Take care!

[rwmhkm]

I started getting sharp headache pain at the top of my head during squat exercises.  The pain was so intense that I would hold my head and kneel to the floor until it passed.  I made an appointment with my doctor and after a CT scan, MRI and MRA, it was discovered that my problem was high blood pressure. I was surprised because all of my life, my blood pressure was usually on the low side, but over the years, it had been slowly creeping up and I am thankful for the headaches as my only warning. If you are experiencing unusual pain, it would benefit you to see a doctor just to make sure all is well.  

[Dr Vinod]

Dear rwmkkm,

You are absolutely right, checking of vitals in a regular way is very important.
Blood sugar, Blood pressure, Haemoglobin, Heart Rate , BMI should be atleast monitored in a regular way, annualy and with increase in age biannualy.

With other problems it is always good to go for a consultation, because most of the cases you would be normal but if you have any abnormality the screening may help to diagnose your problem early.

Take care!

[frank_gonzalez]

I got these headaches while working out before and then they went away. I just recently began getting them. I was trying to figure out what it was, then a couple of days ago, I decided to eat a meal about an hour prior to the work out and I did not experience the head aches anymore. It has been 2 days w/out the headaches. Today will be the 3rd day. Hopefully that was what the problem was. I have however also been watching how I breath and make sure I do slow reps .. Hope this helps ..

[nikoram]

I just starting getting these headaches two days ago when I was on my second set of squats. I warmed up with 135lbs then aded 40 more lbs. As soon as I went down I got an instant headache in the back of my head from my neck.

hurt so bad I racked and sat on the floor in pain for a good 2 min. My head hurt the rest of the day. I took a day off on sunday and when i wen today to hit some chest it came back. On my second set of incline bench. I tried to man up and finish my work out getting through three sets of bench and dumbell presses. I tried to work my triceps after and just couldn't bare the pain.  

So here I am waiting for my motrine to kick in, I'm relieved to find other people have had the same problem cause I was getting all paranoid. I have been under alot of stress this month and working out with heavy weights.

[Dr Vinod]

Hello!
Do not work out while in stress. Have proper sleep and proper food to give you energy and strength.
Proper food is well planned and balanced and does not mean more calories.
Take a fruit platter or juice atleast before the work outs.
Try simple things and if it does not decrease go for some vital medical check up near a Physician.
Take care!

[szikk]

i'm getting headaches (although in/around my forehead, not round my neck) too, nearly every time after doing really fast sit-ups, and pressups...it's been going on for like a month now, am clueless about what to do, but a'm well scared to be honest!!!!

[Dr Vinod]

Hello!

Try to slow down. If you do not get these headaches when you slow down I suggest you to do press ups and sit ups in a controlled manner.
Do you have any cold, flu or sinus problem which is the common cause of this headache?
Check your vitals like blood pressure, hemoglobin and heart rate and if you continue to have these symptoms a neurologist visit would be worthwhile.

Take care!

[lifter2009]

I had a similar thing happen to me just a few days ago:

Last Thursday I did a complete set of squats (good form, per Mark Rippetoe's book) and then decided to try a Max.  I did 315, no issues, no straining.  Then I decided to do a max deadlift (again good form).  I set myself up properly, and then jammed into the lift, with a slight exhalation of breath, I managed to get the large deadlift weight off the floor, and at the top of the lift, it felt like I was suddenly sweating profusely from the left side of my head, about 2" from my temple.

I put the weight back down and touched my head, but there wasn't a great deal of sweat, it just felt like it. (no blood either, lol)  I then started feeling both moderate pain and dizziness.  The pain was extremely localized, just on the left side of my head about 2" from my temple

I continued the rest of my workout (30min) then went home. The dizziness subsided in about 24-36 hours.  The pain I treated with Aleve every 8-10 hours.  It was NOT a huge amount of pain, but it was constant, and when I touched my head I could feel 'something' just under my scalp, and it hurt in 1 specific location when i pushed on it.

I worked out light the next day, and the headache did not increase in intensity, and I relaxed over the weekend.  Yesterday I did deadlifts with my normal workout weight, and made sure I breathed properly.  The pain did not increase, and there were no issues with my headache.

Today the pain is still there, but it is mild.  I am still treating it with Aleve which pretty much completely eliminates the pain.

Did i rupture a blood vessel?  Should I get it treated, or just monitor the situation and go in only if it gets worse? My bp is 147/85 when resting, but it might get pretty high when I am straining to deadlift my max.

[anthonio]

thank you to who ever  mentioned Valsalva Maneuver, i thought i had a tumor or something, i am new to weight lifting and didnt get any advice so this is my first piece of advice for anyone starting off on training with weights "breathe properly and get advice b4 you start"

[Joey299]

I have been lifting weights for about 10 years.  About a year ago I first experienced excruciating head pain when working out.  On my first rep at the gym my head would pound so bad and I would have to leave.  I took a month off and when I went back I was fine.  A year later it happened again.  It just happened instantly during bench presses. I read about this exertion headache information.  This time as it still bothered me I would continue going to the gym and start out at the gym very easy, concentrate on breathing properly and gradually work into a hard workout and be generally fine without a headache.  But this time I noticed that not only are these headaches effecting me at the gym this time but also during sex my head would pound.  I am going to take more time off from the gym again.  I think it stems from a neck strain.  I notice my neck is a little stiff when I wake up and the headaches seem to start from my neck and then spread into the head.  My head throbs and it hurts like a motherf***er.  Glad to hear that this is somewhat common among weightlifters.

[fit2go]

Recently my heaed has started hurting during a strenuous workout.  Seems to start when I do legs.  I am going to see a chiropractor about it.  My sleeping habits may be a cause I sleep in a recliner because if I lay flat sometimes I wake up as though I am suffocating.  My headaches come on strongly when i do legs strenuously.  I too prayed and hoped it was not a brain tumor.  But if it only comnes on when I workout I hope that rules out the scary tumor fears.  I will be in touch with you folks and will keep you in my prayers.

[Stalingrad]

yep, benching moderatly heavy a couple of days ago, headache came.  Now it comes at beginning of workout, subsides toward the end as I use lighter weight.  And yes, it happens at "nigh nigh" time with the significant one.  I noticed that the day I got it, I didn't do cardio warm up, just some light stretching.  I've been working out for 13 years, never happened.  Really bummed, to the Dr's, is this permanent or can I heal this?

[Dr Vinod]

Hello!

Are you working out in a regular continuous way since 13 years without a break? Do you have any viral cold or flu? Check your blood pressure.

I would suggest you to start some cardio in a regular way and see if the headache occurs with increasing the intensity and slowly you can start with lighter weights.

I would suggest you to have proper breakfast, drink enough water, sleep well before coming for workouts and also you need to lead a stress free life.

If with slow intensity and following all precautions you can avoid this it is good to always follow workouts with healthy tips.

If the symptoms continue you would need to follow up near a physician for a proper diagnosis.

Take care!

[Stalingrad]

Dr.,

  I've taken your advice, and am happy to say the symptoms are subsiding.  Prior to each weight workout I do a 10-15 min. cardio warmup concentrating on breathing.  I do 5-10 min. of warming up with light weights really focusing on breathing and staying calm.  Although I probably need to check my blood pressure, I've noticed an increase in "stress" the last couple of months, business/recession so forth.  I've been focusing on getting better sleep as well.  Thanks for the advice
Stalingrad

[Jace2154]

I am a fit bloke , have been doing weights with the right breathing techniques for years. Just recently during sex as i reached my orgasm i had the worst headache of my life , the mrs thought i was having an extra good orgasm but it was just pure pain.Shortly after this during my weight sessions i find that any straining during heavy weights gives me this headache.As soon as i feel it come on i stop and its really frustrating , i cant workout & when i am say doing heavy bench i could really hurt myself if i get 100kg stuck on my chest , i cant even get a little rough during sex or it comes on. I gave it one day rest and i find core/ab workouts are ok but anything where my body tenses or strains just brings on this throbbing headache which lasts for hours , i can feel it more on the left side of my brain , this is really starting to get me frustrated.But thanks for the advise i will be going to a doc tomorrow.

[jacob2010]

I used to have the same symptoms that some people described. I found a way to prevent this.

Symptom: When I squeezed out that last rep, a pain suddenly shot through my head. When I tried to ignore the pain and worked through it, it got much worse.

Solution: Breath heavily throughout the reps. I take a deep extra breath between each rep. I can still use the Valsalva Maneuver, as long as I add 1-2 very deep breaths between reps.

Observations: This happened when I did heavy weights on compund movements such as squats (with Valsalva Maneuver). This also happened when I did high reps of pushups (No Valsalva Maneuver). I also had the very same symptom when I did hold my breath whilst apnoe diving (the pain kicked in also suddenly, it was exactly the same kind of pain).

Conclusion: I think the root cause is lack of oxygen (or accumulation of CO2). I do not think that the Valsalva Maneuver is the root cause. However, using the Valsalva Maneuver in the wrong way, can lead to poor breathing technique, which then results in lack of oxygen/CO2 accumulation.

[Tony1985]

I was doing my leg workout last wednesday, and half way through my workout, while on my third set of leg hack presses on my 7th rep I got a pounding headache. It was more on the sides of my head though. The headache was so intense I had to stop my workout and go home. The next day went back and on the first excercise it was back. Since I havent worked out, I havent stoppped having sex with my girlfriend, but the POUNDING headache comes back while having sex, seems like when my heart starts pumping hard. Anybody know what this could be? I went and had a CT scan today and it came back negative. Please help!

[rivariad]

I've been following this thread since the 9th of January and i thank god everyday for finding people having the same problems that i have. I had the most painful headache  of my life a month ago, while i was pushing myself (holding breath at the same time) on my last rep. of shoulder exercise. I've encountered the same problems that most of you had, headaches while masturbating and having sex the first couple of days, and a wicked pain at the gym. I immediately stopped exercising and began like a week ago with yoga, stretching, and lightweights. Believe me folks it works like a charm. I plan to get into gym next week with an extra attention to my breathing and warm-ups, take it easy, rest, exercise on breathing a lot, and never push yourself for a month, dont even run for a while. ( thats right)

[Blackhawks87]

Hello this happened just recently and has reoccurred the past 3 work out sessions... I went to the gym on my normal routine and after i finished my 3rd set of benching i felt an enormous pressure in my head and immidiately was hit with a severe head ache which halted my work out.  It lasted a good hour, then on my next upper body lifting day, the same thing happened, and then again today... I pulled a neck muscle about a week ago and, i hope that its just a nerve from the pulled muscle...  My biggest worry is that if i take a break from my lifting i will lose all of my progress... is there anyway to know or to ensure i dont lose what muscle ive built up?

[Mack712]

Hey guys! I'm glad I also found this group. I'm 31yrs old and 144lbs. I've been weightlifting for 10 or so years now. Never had an issue other then hurting my neck from bad form. I'm a former smoker, but have quit, i don't drink alcohol, and eat very healthy.
Anyways I was doing military shoulder press (about 135lbs). I did 5 sets in front of my face for the front shoulder muscles. I then preceded to do another set of 5 behind the head military press at the same weight for rear shoulder muscles. In between set I would hit 10 reps of neutral grip pull ups. Anyways on my last set and 8th rep I was pushing hard and hold my breath (I know, dumb) and all of a sudden I had this headache hit me. I stopped and had to lean on a bench for a minute or two. I left the gym and went to get a drink of water. Still in some pain I went to the steam room. The rest of the night I felt alittle pain from the bottom of my head/top of my neck.

I took the next day off from the gym. Next day I went back to the gym since I felt perfectly fine. I did my usual 15mins of cardio on the stairmaster. 2 miles and 200 calories no problem. Then I did 100 situps. I then started my seated curls with dumbbells. Started with 35lbs and finished 10 reps per arm. I then moved up to 50lbs and did 5 per arm and felt the headache start coming. Finished 10reps with the 50s and moved to the 45lb. I felt the headache more. I did 15 chin ups and felt the headaches coming. I then stopped and left. Went home and made an appt with the doctor that day.

Same day I had a CT scan w/o contrast done. Dr said he saw no brain damage, but some calcification where the two brain lobes meet(I believe I've been taking way too much calcium pills. I get about 1400mg from supplements alone). Radiology ordered a CT scan with a angiography which I take tomorrow to make sure it's not a aneurysm. I'm praying it's not. All my vitals check out good. I took a blood test and am waiting the results. I'll be honest this forum made me feel better since I know I'm not alone in this issue it seems.

[phatrob]

It's remarkable to hear some of the similarities to the pain I've been suffering, but I wanted to put out some of my symptoms since they vary slightly from the ones above.  I had been doing P90X for several months and then decided to join a CrossFit gym, where part of our warmups is to do "double-unders", which is simply jumping rope with two passes of the rope under your feet for every jump.  I can do regular jump roping for several minutes before losing my breath, but as soon as I started double-unders, I got the most intense headache of my life within a few seconds.  I stopped, and the headache subsided to a dull pain within about 30 seconds.  The weird thing is, I can do all the other workout moves (such as pullups, rope climbs, wallball squats, etc.) without any new pain.  But if I try to go back and do double-unders, BAM! it hits me again within seconds.  So this happened two days in a row, and the following day I had an orgasmic headache like those described above.  Went to see the doc the next day, and he forbid me from doing ANY exercise until I get an MRI.  Ever since the initial headache, I've been getting mild headaches that last most of the day, every day for about two weeks now.  All headaches are on the left side of my head, from my eyeballs to the top of my head to the back of my neck.  I am hoping it is something like a pinched nerve or spinal alignment problem, since the left back side of my neck where it meets my skull has been continuously sore/tired for the past two weeks as well.  If the MRI comes out good, I imagine my next step will be to seek out a chiropractor.  Here's hoping none of us have hemorrhaging or tumors.

[pop8can]

GO TO THE CYROPRACTER. I just followed the advice from the gentleman above and i could not be more happy. NO more headaches.
(the sudden cause of mine was because somone cracked my back wrong). Thankyou for your advice and God bless.

[Lexamilly]

I cant work out. I feel sick just as I start working out, I get a bit dizzy, I feel like I want to faint. I cant go on roller coaster rides...well the ones that go upside down anyways... It ***** because I have the motivation and the yearn and the want to work out but, not the will with the headaches and ill feelings.
My doctor told me that I need to go to an ENT doctor to check on water in my inner ear due to an equilibrium inbalance.
SO, I go for  my cat scan next week.
Hope we find something to cure coz Ive gained 60lbs! I cant believe this crap! I want to box and run and workout again! I miss my body. boooo!!!

[Veek]

I have worked out off and on for over the past 14 years and have had this headache problem happen to me about 4 times.  It has happened on the bench press every time and hits me in the left upper neck and the lower left side of my head and is an almost crippling pain.  after a minute or so it feels like a bad migraine on the left side of my head from the back to the front.  Usually, the pain would be gone by the next day and I would just take a week off from the gym and be back at it the next week just fine.  It has now been about a month and a half and the headache has not subsided, the doc thinks that it's a pinched nerve in the neck and has prescribed some meds that dull the pain.  I have been to the chiropractor for 5 visits and nothing he has done has helped.  The doc did send me off for a CT scan that came back negative.  So, does anyone have any other ideas?  Thanks

[SuperDeCarlos]

The same happened to me 4 days ago, when doing squats, left side in the back of my head/neck. Since then when i run, have sex, climb stairs, anything that brings my heart rate up, i feel the pain intensly, when i'm resting there is no problem. I went to the doctor, they said it was common in people doing weightlifting, i need to stop going to hte gym for 1 month (i don't know how i will do this, i haven't stopped for more than 2 weeks in the past 10 years). They didn't explain me what it was, just that it was because i pushed too hard while exercising. I will stop for one week, and then begin with cardio, if it hurts i will rest another week. I will let you know when i'm ok.

[guitarman86]

hey folks, exactly the same happened to me about 2 wk ago while doing dumbbell flys on the last set, last couple of reps got this pounding headache at the top of my neck/base of my head where they meet, it came on within about 5 seconds and i had to stop what i was doing once i stopped the headache started to go but i then had a mild headache all night, it then happened when reaching orgasm, which worried me so i phoned the nhs direct and told the nurse everything, she then sent me to a+e to see a doctor, the doctor said there are lots of muscles connecting the neck to the base of the head and that i would have pulled one of those and when the blood pressure gets high through training or sex its causing the headaches, she told me to rest for at lest 20 days, which im going to, and just take it from there...great to hear from all you other guys experiencing this sort of thing.

[chewywater]

For those of you with valsalva/exertion/weightlifting headaches:

What happens is:
When you strain your neck muscles those muscles pinch off vessels that transfer blood to the head. The vessels in the brain then dilate because not enough oxygen is getting to the brain. Then, when you stop straining, all the blood suddenly surges into the now dilated blood vessels in the brain. Pressure increases and it gives you a pounding headache.

Try, when straining, to leave all your neck muscles as relaxed as possible. If your neck is completely relaxed your head will be able to freely make a 'yes' motion or a 'no' motion. Also your jaw should be able to open and close easily and your larynx should be able to slide up and down freely.

If the pain is up from the base of the back of the head it's the 'yes' 'no' muscles you are tensing. If the pain is behind the eyes it's probably jaw clench. If you are getting massive 'make you want to puke' headaches you are probably straining muscles in the front of the neck and those that pull your larynx up high.

Anyway. Relax your neck and see what happens. Once those muscles lock up on you it IS pretty hard to get them to relax. I don't know if the chronic problem is caused by inflammation around the vessels or weather the muscles are just really difficult to turn off once they start getting involved.

[nt300]

I've had this problem for many years. I get real bad headaches 1 ot 2 times a year when strength training. I realized the only cure for this problem is what the poster chewywater is saying. It's all about relaxing your neck muscles as much as possible.

For me sometimes it feels like a hammer hitting me in the head. But most of the time I've learned to prevent such a thing, just relax your neck muscles and consentrate on your workout for proper form with proper weight. Lifting more weight and cheating on your form will not get you any bigger or stronger, just a headache that pounds.

[dglad]

im really glad i found this thread. I just started a crossfit program a couple weeks ago and am feeling a strong throbbing pain at the back left part of my head. After a big WOD or strenuous excercise for 10 minutes which usually includes squats and pullups i feel this pain come on. I have been working out for 15 yrs and never a headache and have been taking hydroxycut to max my workouts. Im going to see a doctor tomorrow but any advice is greatly appreciated.

[williamjackson]

Dude, I'm glad I found this thread. I have the same headache as many of ya'll in the lower portion of the back of my head after I do weightlifting (or even when I tried to just do as many push-ups as possible.) This headache hurts so bad it prevents me from being able to lift weights The next few days after the workout it feels as if someone is pressing their fingers from within my head as a sort of warning to prevent me to work out. It usually takes me two weeks to a month before Im able to go back to lifting again. I have tried often a few days after, however it only re-hurts my head. I went to the doctor and he proscribed Indomethacin. This pill only helps about as much as adivil. Every time this headache starts it usually has to do with me not getting as much sleep as usual. I'm like many of you and want/have to work out or feel "weak and useless." I appreciate and feel sorry for everyone in my predicament.

[ozoman]

Hey All,

I too had a very similar problem to most of the people posting on here.  During an excersize where i would strain slightly more than usual i would get a blistering pain in my head accompanied by a "pulsing" sensation. This happened from any type of weightlifting or physical activity such as sex.  At first they would last say 30 seconds and i could rest for a couple of minutes and resume workout, but they gradually got worse until one time it happened and the headache lasted 3 weeks.

I went to see the doctor who was concerned that it maybe tumour related and sent me for a CT scan.  All the CT scan showed was that i had mild sinusitus, so they put me on some medication to get rid of the sinusitus.
I wasnt happy about this as i knew the headaches from straining had nothing to do with my sinuses, so i stumbled accross this forum and took someones advice to see a Chyropractor, although i actually saw an Osteopath.  
The Osteopath asked me a serious of questions and then laughed at the advice the Doctors had given me.  He straight away realised that it was a trapped nerve on the right side of my neck trapped between the neck and the base of my skull. This is what was giving me headaches, the pulsing sensation came from a lack of blood flow getting to my brain due to arterys in my neck also being restricted by the entrapment.

The Osteopath did a few twists and cracks on my back and then explained that in my case this was "chronic" but he also went on to explain how it has stemmed from an upper back injury.

The main cause of this type of trapped nerve is excersizes such as lat pull downs where your arms go above head height, its not necessarily due to "bad form" either as he explained i have a weakness in my neck due to it being unusually long.

If your problems are similar to mine then i would ignore the advice to "change your diet" or "rest for a month". Resting for a month is only a short term solution as it takes the pressure off the nerve, however the pain will likely come back within another month so this is a waste of time, money and effort.

My advice is go see a Chyropractor or Osteopath. Doctors dont seem to fully understand the situation as they arent specialised in problems related to the spine, if anything ive almost lost confidence in the NHS as if i hadnt done my own reseach i may still have the problem today.

Its been a month sinse i saw the Osteopath, ive had 2 sessions, the headaches went after 1 although i couldnt resume full training until after the second session.  Now Im training again and i have 1 more session (hopefully my last) with the Ostepath just to check that everythings ok.

I hope this helps.

[iisporter]

porter

hey all,

just started Crossfit about a month ago...same thing 4 days ago while doing a workout which included overhead squats....insane headache in the back of my head behind my ear on my right side!  It was the end of the workout so i sat around holding my head for a while.  It got better a day or so later but then 3 days later i was holding my breath to te get rid of some hiccups and then right after started having sex and it was taking a while and Kaboom!!!!  it happened again.  My girlfriend thought she was going to have to take me to the ER.  I have had sex and masterbated every day since the first headache and the most strenuous sex that 1 time was the only time i got the headache...My head is still hurting today although just a dull ache...going to the Dr later today.

[ozoman]

Sounds exactly how mine started, it gradually got worse until i had a 3 week headache.  With it being on just one side aswell it really sounds like a trapped nerve, if the doctor doesnt know what to do with you, get yourself to a ostreopath or a cyropractor, they arent cheap but its worth it.

[Salomi]

This sudden and severe headache is called a 'THUNDERCLAP HEADACHE'.  That's exactly what it feels like.  Mine started a week ago after a workout and I still get it a few times a day, although not so intense.    

[scarbelly]

I want to share this with all of you that are having this problem.  On Thurday of this week, and after 12 weeks of intense training, and 35 lbs lighter, while doing Bulgarian single leg squats with 40 lbs free weights, I felt a massive headache that surged from behind the neck that engulfed my entire head leaving me lightheaded and in so much pain that I clasp my head with both hands. So I took it easy for the rest of the day, but I was not 100%.  The next day (today) I felt my strenghth had returned and I decided to do shoulders and abs.  After my five minutes warmup, I began to do Arnold shoulder press with 20 lbs free weights, only to receive a second dose of a massive headache that made me stop in my tracks and put down my weights.  After regaining composure, I googled massive headaches and was led to this blog.  Thank God for this blog.  After reading I rushed to my physician and he told me the following: When you strain while lifting, you create pressure and stress on the arteries and blood vessel that it constrict the blood flow going to and from the brain.  Consider what happens to your blood vessel to what happens when you squeez a tube of toothpaste, the tooth paste secretes on opposite direction. Exact same thing with the blood vessel.
Now since the headache was the worst and most painful headache that I have ever experienced, he has scheduled an MRI. suspended all training, put me on Bystolic med, to slow down heart rate and lower my blood pressure (even though its normal) until the results of the MRI, just to make sure that I do not have an aneurysm.  If everything turns out to be negative, then I can resume training after a four week rest period of all trainning and then, and only then, begin with Cardio only, and when he gives me the ok, begin to lift again at a slower and lighter rateand with less frequency.
People please be careful and take care of yourself.  I will come back and post follow ups.  I did this because of the serousness of this particular matter and it seems that there is much unclear information.  At least here with my condition you get more concise info.  Bottom line, see your doctor before you hurt yourself.  

[scarbelly]

JUst wanted to modify the last parragraph of my post when I said "unclear information" I meant so much different information.  There are physician here posting and they deserve respect.  Sorry guys!!

[scarbelly]

Got MRI back.  No problems in brain.  Now seeing a Chiropractor and a neurologist.  Lets see who has the answer

[workaholic999]

I used to get these "lifting headaches", until I realized it was from my Gingko Biloba supplements.  There was a very strong correlation between the frequency of these headaches and the amount of Gingko I was taking.

[Gemrat]

I just got a throbbing headache yesterday on the left side of my head about two inches above and and inch behind my left temple while doing dips.  I may not have been breathing correctly.  Also, I had a large regular cup of starbucks coffee with lots of sugar 30 minutes before the workout.  Also, I had been dehydrated based on the amount and color of urine I produced for a while, most likely due to profuse sweating during workouts.   I think the combination of coffee, dehydration, valsalva, and a vigourous workout that included a cardio warmup and then weight lifting that had my heart rate around 177 most of the time did it.  I plan to get hydrated, breath better during exertion and not drink coffee before exercising next time.  I will share the outcome.  Funny just describing the headache here has brought back the headache ~ although less intense.  

[Gemrat]

Worked out today and made sure to breath out on exertion and inhale when not exerting.  That helped.  Very little headache today and only when I wasn't breathing correctly!  I think this will help me breath better in future and also, my heart rate did not increase as much because I was breathing more correctly.  Thanks everyone - for my specific scenario - these tips worked.  

I did not see an MD - no insurance. . . . . and not worth $100 plux radiology tests in urgent care.   If it persisted, I would have gone to MD - but it didn't . . . .Yeah!

[Jakesheadhurts]

The same thing has been happening to me recently, I take supplements - BCAA's, Creatine, ect.  It started when I was hung over and decided to do a heavy legs day. (Im dedicated :P ) Honestly, I know i shouldnt be drinking while trying to make gains through heavy lifting, but it happens. I was doing a hard set of squats, with a good amount of weight, and at the end the pain started in my neck and had me grabbing my head in agony. The pain sent me to the ground, but I endured and continued my workout.  Well, now recently everytime i've had a significant amount of strain in my workout the same headache reoccurs. I actually have the headache right now as I type, I got it tonight doing some heavy incline press.  Glad to see that other people have this same problem and im not alone. But I still don't wish this on anyone, as I know how hard it is to make the gains that we do make, and any time off is upsetting.  Im going to try to keep posting and let everyone know my progress.  Thanks for all the help and the advice, and please if anyone has really found solutions to this, keep posting.   Stay strong friends.

[Gemrat]

Wow!  We sound like fanatics!  . .. . or at least you do :>))!   Be sure to stay hydrated  . . . . I think that is a key factor . . . . . and do yourself a favor and take a day off after the big hangover . . . . and/or overhydrate to compensate.     Just remember, the headaches should not continue.   I would not continue to workout during the pain.  Some of the pain neurotransmitters/neurons actually remember the pain and the pain becomes 'chronic' and very difficult to stop  . . .. at least.  At worst, you actually rupture a vessel and live to be disabled.   (death, also a likely occurence with a ruptured vessel, would probably be a more attractive outcome for those who like to workout so much)

Be careful.   Don't workout thru the headache and if it persists see an MD before you hurt yourself.

[bamm36]

I was having the same problem when I go my max I having a throbbin type feeling in the back of my head on the left side...please telling me something if u hear anything........email..***@****

[BFII]

Same thing happened to me, I just started to get back into working out and 3 days i was working out for about 20 minutes. After i did my last rep of pull ups and hit the ground my headache came on. It was actually more then just a headache, it felt like my head was about to explode. I went inside and sat down and by that time i had broken out in a gnarly sweat. Tonight i had a minor similar occasion and now i'm on here. Tomorrow i have my chiro appointment so we'll see if that helps. I do use cell tech hardcore and i know i dont eat enough, breathing correctly during your set also has a pretty big influence but ill update you guys manana. I hope this helped some, thanks for all the other posts.

[rambuctious]

Just wanted to add my experience, since this board has been the best source of information on this topic that I've found so far on the web. I had the same type of headache as most of you, a sharp pain at the bottom of the hairline on the right side, wasn't too intense a pain but made me stop and hold the back of my head for a few minutes and, you know, relax, and be sure I wasn't dying. I kept working out a little bit after that but then I left because I felt so weird. Mostly pain in that spot and behind my right eye, also a little bit on the left side of the back of my neck. And a little bit of nausea.
Mine happened when I was doing a seated leg press, absolutely pushing myself to the limit and with very little warm up. I did one set of 240lbs, then one 280 lbs, then I tried to push 300 as much as I could, on the 7th rep I felt a little pinch, but ignored it and on 8th it really hit.
I wasn't too worried about it that night, but in the morning I read about aneurysms and got super paranoid, so I have tried to avoid exerting myself whatsoever for the past 4 days (since it happened). It's flared up a little bending down to pick something up, and I can't even really think about lifting heavy without it flaring up. And like an earlier poster it seemed to get really bad when I was reading about aneurysms, prob combination of stress and hypochondria haha.
I haven't been to the doctor, it seems like if it was an aneurysm either I wouldn't have felt it (unruptured) or I'd be dead by now. But I'm definitely going to take at least a month off of lifting. And I don't know if I'll ever try to push myself to the limit with compound exercises again.
Anyway I just wanted to add my little story, I'll post again in a month or two if things improve (or don't).

[nick2243]

Hi, I've been having this intense headache, but it's actually towards the top of my head on the right side, and that's the only place where the pain is coming from. I've been doing regular weight training for the past few months, but this happened out of nowhere. I stopped afterwards, and even though i haven't lifted anything for about 2-3 days, there is still that mild headache throughout the day, and I'm worried if it could be something serious? can anyone advise me as to what i could be experiencing?

[BFII]

Anyone get them hardcore and then after have a headache with gnarly waves of agonizing, brain busting pain. It just feels like badass throbs till your head is about to explode

[KANDYAS]

I have had the similar experience when bench pressing. A massive migraine in the temples then nauseau & fatigue afterwards. I also thought OMG  it's a"Tumor", went to the physio & docs & both have said it appears it could be over exertion & not enough oxygen to the brain resulting on pressure in the blood vessels. Everyday I worked out & try to push through it but it was so bad. Even to the point I bent over in the shower to pick up the shampoo & the headache just hit me. Had to lie down so I'm taking some time off & not lifting heavy weights to the extreme I was before remembering to breathe/exhale properly when pushing against the resistance. God I'm a girl & thought I would never have to go through this as I've always done weights & I'm pretty fit but have to admit I havea new trainer & he's been working me very hard, the hardest I've ever trained so I think this it the culprit

[roav]

Thanks so much to everyone who has posted ... this thread is very valuable to me. I had some severe headache while finishing leg press and I thought I might have damaged something terribly......

Yesterday I was completing the last set of leg press. (Actually last week when I was doing them, on my last set it did feel like my head was going to explode but that was it.) My routing is squats (3x5), leg press(3x8), front squat(3x8), leg press (burn, 2 sets of 40). When i got to the last 10 reps of the last set of 40 in the leg press i felt pressure in my head. The second to last rep my head had an explosive pounding. I paused wanting to finish, I breathed and I let my legs come to my chest. I then pushed back up on my last rep. More pounding/throbbing. For me the headache was on the sides of my head, my temples. I had to hold my hands over my head. I have never had so much intense headache occur so quickly. Well i rarely have had headaches throughout my entire life....so this was very concerning.

I have been reading this post and I realize that many people first get the headaches in their LAST SET. Usually this is when you are most tired and really straining to complete the last reps. At this point I believe I hold my breath just to squeeze out the last few reps. I do believe that I was not breathing well.
When the weight would come down on  my leg press i would breath in slightly and hold my breath. when pushing out (extending legs) I would still hold my breath until my legs extended half way then i would breath out. This is probably wrong (please comment on breathing technique) since the first part of the press seems to be the hardest.

Today my head is not pounding but i still have a slight discomfort in my temples. I will take the advice of many of you and rest for a few days.

Do you think I need to see a doctor. Did anyone who went to a doctor receive any bad news?

[ONEPUNCH]

I was doing lat pulldowns at the gym yesterday. As I leaned forward to pull the bar behind my head, I felt a stabbing pain from the back of my neck up the right side of my head. It seamed to be behind my eyeball as well. Ive been working out sperattacally for about 15 years and have never had this happen. So I was gonna take today off. But I grabbed my dumbells and started doing curls and it hit me again. Now i have an appt with my sports dr in two days for a dislocated medicarpal bone. What should I do and what could this be. I have read that u say live stress free. But thats imposible as I have a 2 year old girl and i just moved onto a military base far away from home.

[samdeluxjones]

dull throbbing pain up back side of neck and head.
came on during deadlifts, i was holing breath so my own fault.
bench today after 2 days rest and same again so stopped.
gonna take a week off and try concentrate more on breathing properly with lighter weights for a while see how it goes..

38yo training for 3 odd years.

[rambuctious]

I said I would post again if I got better and I did, so here goes. My first post is a couple up if you want to see what my situation was.
I waited a full month before going back to the gym, kinda feeling better, then I started working out and bang - right back where I started. Felt terrible. So I looked up some other stuff on the internet, actually at that time I had developed a real tender pain right on top of my head and looking into that led me to find out that there is his muscle that runs from behind your ear to your shoulder, and if it gets strained it can cause all sort of weird neurological problems. by massaging that muscle the pain on top of my head went away, like instantly. it was crazy.
here is what i think happened. doing leg press my head was against the diagonal bench, so it was at an obtuse angle, and i was pushing super hard so i tweaked it.
to solve this problem (what i had anyway) massage that muscle, take a few days off maybe, and afterward be conscious of how your head sits on your neck, you should almost have a double chin. especially when you are working out! don't push your head against non flat benches. and even in regular life i've changed my posture quite a bit to have more of a double chin kinda. just doing that brought me to 100%+
i'm sure a lot of people have other problems but that worked for me.
good luck to all of ya

[jbata]

I was just benching fairly light weight and on the last rep I struggled half way up and all the sudden the sharpest pain shot from my neck to my head, instantly turning to the worst migraine of my life. I dropped to the ground for five minutes just bracing my head. I wanted to scream but the pain was sun unbearable I couldn't even do that. My head throbbed for an hour after and slowly went away. I am very nervous I really injured my neck.

[milhaidabo]

I have the same problem.  It started few days ago when i was in the gym.  The pain is so intense at the back of my neck where it connects to the head, until i have to stop my exercises.  I can feel palpitation and a clench-like pain in the upper neck area.  Should i continue my workout?

[jbmann]

im 18 yrs and have had similar promlems. seems to come when im doing back or shoulder exercises. talked to a chiro and said it was my occipital nerve. supposedly all you need is a re-adjustment. im going tomorrow.

[Hulkmaster]

I am a 22 year old male who used to play college football. Just recently roughly two weeks ago I was lifting weights and got a small head ache that peaked and then dissipated. And from then until just the other day, I did lat pull downs with an acceptable amount of weight, and it caused an extremely bad left temple pain. The pain just suddenly comes on when I do shoulder exercises I've found out.

So I stopped working out once this bad head ache arrived when I did lat pull downs, then I got on the bike. The head ache slowly disappeared and just remained dull as if I had agitated something in my head or shoulders/neck. That is when I decided to take a two day break.

I gave myself two days rest, and then I came back to work out and I was doing shoulder presses when the left temple head ache came back, but I had been doing bike and biceps/triceps before I did this, with no real head ache to speak of.

My main concern is if I should go and have a physician look me over, or if I should simply stop working out for a couple of weeks and see if shoulder exercises trigger this left temple head ache that throbs until I rest for a couple of minutes. Could this be a pulled muscle or a pinched nerve?..I did notice that my spine and my neck have been a little more crackly than usual. I sit in an easy chair 8+ hours out of the day with my head slightly bent forward, and then I go and workout. I also have this ice thawing sound in the back of my neck/head, which I've only been able to find people who have had it online in a google search. Some say that it is harmless, but I'm not sure, it doesn't affect me when I work out though, and it's closely associated with my stomach rumbling..I really just want to find out what is wrong with shoulder exercises..

[wfswizard]

Working out causes tension, If you are fit or not and are getting headaches you need to check your bloodpressure, sodium levels and triglycerides.  If anyone one of those is high, it will result in causing a headache.  see your doctor for a physical.  I only know this cause I am physically fit with high bloodpressure and if I dont take my pills and work out, I end up with a headache that lasts for a while.

[Ratx]

Thanks, for all the advice you have no idea how relieved I am now. I'm 30 and went to the gym today, started lifting and after about 15 reps I collapsed from a throbbing Headache and for about 5min I was in agony. Got home and sitting here it still hurts but I feel much better "knowing" I'm not going to die. I jumped off some cliffs about a week ago into the ocean and sprained my neck and lower back, and today was my first day back at the gym so it makes sense... I think but I'll go and see a chiropractor...

Thank To All

[girlslifttoo]

Hey Mack712...how'd the doctor's visit go?

[BurtBakman]

i get crazy head aches after doing a particular workout it seems during crossfit training. A mix of benching body weight and then doing as many pullups as possible. Thats when i get the head ache in the back of the head. I would love to find out the cause..

[ref75]

as soon as I get a mile or two into a run my head starts pounding.  its always on one side of my head and its only after my body temp goes up.  if I have cold water with me and pour it on my head and neck while running I can run for days but if I dont the pain gets worse and worse until Im almost blind in one eye and I throw up and Im out of commission for at least 24 hrs.  I love to run and run a lot of marathons but its getting really bad...any ideas on why the heat would do that to me?  I drink 1 gallon of water a day, no caffiene and eat 4000 cals a day of lean protein/carbs and veggies.  Asparin (aspirin) doesnt help the pain at all nor does upping or lowering my sodium.  ANY ideas!?

[gk707321]

Thanks for the advice. Two days ago I had a similar experience on my last set of bench press after two weeks vacation. Went to the doctor today and they ordered a scan to rule out an aneurysm.  While I wait, this thread has helped calm my nerves realizing that the vast majority of you don't seem to be dead! Still worth checking out just in case.

[pdog27]

I had the exact same thing happen to me less than a week ago. I was doing bench press and was going for forced reps and I turned my head to find my spotter and after doing the forced rep I felt like my head was going to explode. The pain went up the left side of my neck, into the left side of my head and then into the top of my head. I tried to do another set after that and I was fine until I began to struggle. The pain was just as intense. I have tried to work out lightly since but the pain reappears. I guess I will be off for a while.

[Tay12312]

This thread gave me much relief to hear im not the only one but also some concern as no one has a definitive answer to what is causing these debilitating and sudden headaches.

Im 20 yrs old and have no history of any medical conditions, i eat healthy, dont use any drugs, get enough sleep and am in good shape. I have been working out for 5 months now and am trying to bulk up for the military. Yesterday though while at the gym i decided i would take it up to the next level so i warmed up then put on more weight than i have ever tried on the pulley machine doing a chest workout. It was going well until i hit my 6th rep. I held my breath pushed until my hands shook then pushed some more and then right before i completed the rep a horrible pain shot through my head and started pounding. I didnt want to ***** out so i tried to finish my workout but the pain was too much to bear. I thought i had aneurysm and was going to die. So i went home and took some pain killers and the pain went away.

I thought it might have just been a one time scenario so i went back to the gym to and on the last rep of a dip the headache came back with slightly less intensity but with the same  characteristics, a throbbing pain mainly located on the left and back side of the head. So once again i had to end the workout and take some pain killers.

I will be joining the military and cant afford to be going to a chiropractor for the rest of my life and would greatly appreciate any if anyone finds out whats actually going on.

[boswell90]

Tay, I have the exact same thing as you. The other day I was doing some concentration curls, on the final rep and I get a blistering pain on the back of my head, just above my neck, but to the right. I finished the work out early. I then worked my chest, on my final set of Benching, last rep it comes back again in a BIG way and I call it a day. The throbbing pain lasts for a while but then turns into a headache. I decided to leave it for a few days, but whenever I exert myself slightly the pain comes back and lingers, it's not as painful as before thank god, when ever I run up the stairs and please excuse me when I say this, if I masturbate it comes back.

Whats going on?

The general consensus looks like rest and trapped nerves.
I don't warm up or down, I eat healthy, I take whey protein, I sleep well, I drink a fair bit, being a Student.

Please help :)

[Kypros]

Hi guys there is 1 week since i got this you all talking about and thnx you made me not to worry about finding out that im not alone cz i was realy bad. i was taking a suplement that helps to pumb up your musculs and i think that what caused the problem.Too much blood + too much presure at that spesific spot.I think what we have it is a reaped vessel.
the day after i got this i went to gym again to try if that hapens again.i did my warm up and i sated on leg extension machine.i did a set with no kg and then i added more and started my second set and that was it.I felt the bits of my heart goes up and then like a "pit,pit,pit..BOOM"
i thought i was gona die.i felt the taste of blood.i couldent walk from the pain.i had a powerfull headaich for 5 hours.Worst day of my life.
I think what we have it is a riped vessel cz the moment the headach came i feld the taste of blood.and it is verry logical.why to be a nerve?i didnt used my neck's musculs the firs time..and why every time my heart puls goes up i get that feeling that it will blow up again?
multivitamins might help +rest to heal a vessel...sry 4 my english

[HeadAcheAd]

Wanted to share my experience with this group.  I am not a doctor, and am not giving medical advice, simply sharing my experiences.  

About a month ago I was on bench in my second set when I had a sudden pain in the back of my neck to the front of my head, only on the left side of my head.  I didn’t take the time to properly warm up.  Threw plates on both sides and cranked out 15 reps before getting into my routine.  Second set and I was floored.  I thought it might have been dehydration so I took my time, drank some water, did a couple more sets, but couldn’t stand the pain.  I tried to lift the next day, but the lightest weight gave me a headache.  I turned to forums like this and learned the phrase “weightlifters headache.”  Tried one more time to lift the day after, and the headache was back.  After that, I took two full weeks off from lifting.  

Two weeks later, I head back to the gym.  First day back I spend 45 minutes warming up on a bike, and then started with lat pull downs.  Second set, the headaches were back.  Angry and frustrated, I walked out of the gym and scheduled a doctor’s appointment.  The doctor scheduled an MRI, which came back negative.  My doctor said I likely strained something in my neck.  He suggested I take another week or two off, and ease back into lifting.  He also suggested I take an Aleve about an hour before I planned on lifting.  

Just this Sunday I went back to the gym, about a month after I first got the headaches.  I took an Aleve an hour before and drank a lot of water that day.  I warmed up on a bike, I stretched, and I did head rolls in-between every set.  Wasn’t an intense workout, but I left headache free.  Monday I went back, took the same cautionary Aleve, lifted some heavier weight, and again, no headaches.  Yesterday, I went pretty hard, and still no headaches.  I’m cautiously optimistic that these headaches are gone.  

So a month off, drinking lots and lots of water, taking an Aleve an hour before lifting, and stretching (especially head rolls) seems to have done the trick.  

Highly recommend you all go see a doctor.  These headaches can be the sign of something much more serious.  

[Gregg123]

i have the same problem, started the other day when i was doing squats last set had a shooting throbbing pain in the back of my head all over. i then returned back to the gym the following day it happend again whilst doing bench press so i carried on but doing lighter weights which wasnt to bad. so after that i had a rest day and returned today done my second set then it returned so i left the gym straight away. but to me it couldnt be anything serious because of the amount of people explaining the same problem and pain, but i am still going to visit the DR as you can never too carefull. i think it might have something to do with the muscles in my neck or just straining too hard, but today when i was training i made sure my breathing was spot on so therefore could be a muscle related problem


thanks

G.A

[Htownnofrown]

I used to get that when I smoked cigarettes. My Dr. said that could have been the cause. The sharp headaches stopped when I stopped smoking so I think thats what it was, for me at least.

[rjkm]

the same problem with you guys! pain in the right side of the head and neck. i just do 5-10min light warm ups. pain occurs at the beginning of my first exercise bench press,military press, lat machine,set one from reps 8 onwards. but can continue finishing my whole program.pain subsides with lighter exercises though the pain remains. experienced this since last week. planning to take a rest and visit my neuro.
by the way i read the whole thread just want to hear the guys started this,hope you are all fine. thanks everyone!

[theocs]

Same thing happened her. Yesterday while doing seated bicep curls i got this vicious pulsing/throbbing pain in the back of my head(where my skull connects to my spine). Ive been working out for close to five years and ive never had this happen. But, this thread has made me feel better. All I could do yesterday was sit with my head in my hands. I have pretty good form during my workouts, but, like everyone else, I tend to hold my breath when going heavy. Im hoping breathing is the problem.

[Jason382]

Thursday night I was working on my biceps and triceps and while on my last set doing 50lb curls I tried to get 1 more rep out of it and found myself holding my breath. My face got bright red and when I got home I noticed I had a really bad headach... didn't notice the headach right after but anyway when I got home I took 4 advil and it seemed to get a little better. All day friday it was ok but I still made a doctors appointment anyway. I had a BP of 143/90 which my dr said was from some of the supplements I was taking (Jack3ed and Recreate), and he wanted me to cut back on the caffene and salt. He also said my reflexes were good and he checked my eyes too and said everything looked ok. Didn't have the headach when I was at the doctor and he told me if I get it again to go to the ER and get a head CT Scan. After the Dr I noticed the headach again it ended up going away after a while and I've noticed it on and off today. Havent gone to the ER for the CT because I am worried about the cost. Could what I have be the Primary Exertional Headache talked about earlier or something more serious? I am going to California on Wednesday and dont want to have to deal with this headach... Should I go get the CT to just to make sure? Anyone know how much it costs? I have insurance but just wondering so I know how much I will have to pay.

Thanks,
Jason

[rjkm]

i tried to recall if i had this headache before and if my recollection was right, i had this 4 years ago, i was frightened then and i stop working out maybe 3-6months and its gone.on and off to the gym  from then. just had a regular workout 2009 till this day and i have this headache now for two weeks. im taking naproxen twice daily for 3 days now feel a bit better but still the same when starting my exercises throbbing headache on the right side of the lower neck to upper head extending to the right eye .going to neurologist on wed and planning to stop or to take a rest going to the gym and hopefully everything would be okay.

[rjkm]

just visited my neurologist. no need for ct scan coz ive done it before; negative result tight muscle on the neck. constricted not enough oxygen for the brain and causes headache. gave me tramadol but dont want to take it. i want to find an alternative way on dealing the pain. anybody could help? thanks guys!

[dtrock78]

Very nice page here.  I want to make a couple points:

1. The medical term (for most) of what people on here are describing is a "Primary Exertional Headache".  Most general practioners, including the one initally responding to this post - Dr. Vinod, are not that familiar with it.  This is also know as "Weightlifters Headache".

2. The best way to descibe this is a sudden, crippling, pounding pain that originates in the base of your skull, and spreads outwards.  Once this begins, the pain typically throbs with your heart rate.  Loud noises, physical exertion only make it worse. The headache can last for hours or days afterwards.

3. IT IS VERY IMPORTANT you do not "work through the pain".  This is similar logic to keep running on a broken ankle.  Think of this phenomena as a bruise in your brain.  You need to rest to let yourself heal.  If not, please notice the common theme on here expressed by people, the next day it simply starts sooner and gets worse as they continue to work out.  Take a week off, maybe 2.

4.  One of the previous posters mentioned this was a result of clenching your neck super tight, hit the nail on the head. You are temporarily cutting off blood flow and/or raising your blood pressure in your head.  The sudden surge (or lack of) for lack of a better term, bruises your arteries.  This is why, unless you rest yourself and be careful with your blood pressure, it wont get better.  Its like repeatedly punching a bruise on your arm.

5. The first time I got one, I was in college. I was leaning forward slightly doing pectoral flys on a universal, neck slightly bent in upright position.  I felt a sudden pain, in pace with my heartbeat, come over the base of my brain, as well as the top of it.  I kept pushing, and then it felt like someone poured boiling water over my brain.  I freaked.  Stumbled to the nurse office on campus, they gave me a CAT scan (was negative) and told me I had a concussion somehow (please).  I took it easy for a week or so and didnt notice it again.

6. Second time (11 years later) actually happened yesterday.  I was on flat bench, finishing off last rep or so on my weight limit for bench, and within 3-4 heartbeats I felt a sudden pain, got worse with each beat, and then...BAM!  Out of nowhere.  Full-on raging headache, pulsing with my heartbeats. I mumbled something to the guy spotting me and immediately left.  I went home and layed in bed and just felt this awful throbbing at the base of my brain, I felt like my head was going to fall off, it was horrible.  I took 2 Advil and it eventually subsided.  This morning my head is still sore, if I get up quickly or walk up stairs at work, I can def. feel the tick, tick, ticking of the pain coming back.  I plan to rest at least a week or so, not doing anything strenous.  What stinks is I'm supposed to go snow boarding next weekend and don't think I'll be up for it, we'll see.

Good luck all!  And don't worry, most of you don't have an anuerysm!  However, if you get loses of vision, dizziness, etc, like that one poor guy on this thread earlier explained, the sounds like something more serious than this topic.

[rjkm]

thanks to you! i agree, it happens to me 4yrs ago and i am  off to the gym now running for two weeks and thank God i am getting better :)

[Dennkh]

I get the same headaches, they started about two weeks ago.  My buddy from work suggested creating, he said I could do four reps more; so I did and pushed my self so hard and while I was benching I felt an extremely painful sharp pain at the top of my neck.  Since then I have been having headache and they get wores everytime I workout.  I saw my doctor and he doesn't know what it is, which is not any news.  I have an appointment this coming up Tuesday, with a headache spetiolist.  I will try to keep you guys updated.

[hyzerchick]

If you regularly get severe headaches that are generally on one side of your head with pain focused behind one eye and last between 30 min to 2 hours, Google "Cluster Headache" or go to the John Hopkins website fmi: www.hopkinsmedicine.org. I started getting headaches over 10 years ago when I had to start running and swimming on a daily basis for my summer job. Within minutes of my workout ending I'd get a severe headache. The worst of it would be over within 30 minutes, during which time I wanted to rip my head off.  I believe I've been having "cluster headaches" which can occur daily for a "cluster" of weeks, then they can dissappear for months or even years before returning. The pain is usually more severe than a migrane (migraine) pain but the duration is shorter. In fact, the duration is so short that OTC medications like Excedrine aren't absorbed by the body fast enough to take away any of the pain. I've found that applying a flexible ice pack to my traps, neck, and base of skull seems to help dull the pain more than medication. This type of headache often affects young adults; I was 19 when I started getting them.  Many times I'll even wake up in the middle of the night with one of these headaches. Different people will have different triggers and I think my triggers are intense physical activity, temperature (I seem to get them more during summer months), and neck positioning. Unfortunately there doesnt seem to be any magical treatment for these headaches other than just avoiding the triggers. Either way, see your doctor for any severe headache and good luck!

[Garrett951]

I read through all your guys' comments and i can completely relate. It's a terrible pain near the back of my upper neck/lower head. For me though i didn't want to stop working out so what i did was whenever i worked out i drank a ton of water, lowered my weigh on everything about 20 lbs., focused on my form, took deep calm breaths, and tryed to pin the strain on my muscles instead of my face/head. Haven't had any problems since.

[sdixon85]

I have the exact same symptoms, during my last set on the bench press, i was straining and i got a sharp pain at the lower left hand side of my head, which then got worse and started throbbing making me dizzy.

I have jusst got back to the doctors today, and he said that i had strained my neck muscles, causing the pain throughout my head (although my neck dosent hurt at all) He prescribed me 400mg ibruprophen to take 4 times a day for 10 days. He also said that i have to stop my strength training for at least 1 week. (Although i really dont want to as im going on holiday in 6 weeks, and want to look good for that, ;-) lol)

[NateThegreat89]

Hey what's up guys I'm a 14 year old kid that works out alot. Just recently I have been getting huge headaches during the last couple of reps that ruins my whole workout. I have been doing some research and an 80% sure it is due to a pulled muscle in my neck. I have just lately been getting into heavy weightlifting which I can handle and I just had the best couple of workouts I have ever had. Does anyone have any other advice to help either deal with this problem and to work through it or to get rid of it. Thanks  

[NateThegreat89]

Hey what's up guys I'm a 14 year old kid that works out alot. Just recently I have been getting huge headaches during the last couple of reps that ruins my whole workout. I have been doing some research and an 80% sure it is due to a pulled muscle in my neck. I have just lately been getting into heavy weightlifting which I can handle and I just had the best couple of workouts I have ever had. Does anyone have any other advice to help either deal with this problem and to work through it or to get rid of it. Thanks  

[NateThegreat89]

Hey what's up guys I'm a 14 year old kid that works out alot. Just recently I have been getting huge headaches during the last couple of reps that ruins my whole workout. I have been doing some research and an 80% sure it is due to a pulled muscle in my neck. I have just lately been getting into heavy weightlifting which I can handle and I just had the best couple of workouts I have ever had. Does anyone have any other advice to help either deal with this problem and to work through it or to get rid of it. Thanks  

[vishvnath]

HI i have the same issue guys, and really scared,
i got this while doing a high intensity squat, i did 90kg 25 reps and almost killed myself to push to complete the 25 reps, now m facing again and again same issue in my training whenever i am trying to push my limits,
please help me. m really scared badly

[anta01]

hi!
I'm happy i found this b/c its good I'm not alone and there was a lot of great advice although inconsistent thru out the thread.. but anyway...

ive been a heavy lifter for years, i have worked out hardcore thru colds, flus and hangovers and never walked out on a work out until about 2 weeks ago when i was doing flat bench dumbbells and halfway thru my first set my brain felt like it would explode! i sat and tried to calm it down but for th first time in my life, i walked out of the gym!

i was so scared i took a week off, then went back and decided to make sure i was very hydrated and concentrated ion my breathing while starting at much lower weight than I'm used to and working my way up. well, i still got the headache but it was bearable. now i get them a lot tho, i work out thru the headaches and it seems breathing is VERY VERY important to keeping the headaches bearable but now I'm getting them during intense and even not-so intense sex.

went to a doc and she seemed concerned but not as worried as i thought shed be... i thought she have me air-lifted to a hospital for a cat scan or something, lol

she mentioned sinusitis, sleeping better, less caffeine and more water. I'm going back for a sinusitis test... whatever that is.

tonight during sex w my lady i had to stop b/c of a headache pop up. man... what the f+++ is this? I'm really nervous. like so many others mentioned i am as healthy as an ox! i eat great, i drink occasional lite beer like bud 55 which is basically beer flavored water and i exercise 5 time or more a week!

pinched nerve? anurism? tumor? hydration? sinusitis? chiropractor? the only thing making me feel comfortable is knowing that this apparently happens to lots of guys and im  not alone. ill bookmark this thread and check in often and throw out any advices i get along the way. either way i will never take 2 weeks or a months or months off from working out but i will concede and slow down and a bit if thats what works.
this sux, guys.

[Q34]

I have almost the exact same syptoms (symptoms) as the people on this thread.  Im 21 and I've been working out since I was a freshman in high school.  It started 3 days ago at the beginning of my chest workout with a throbbing pain right in the back center of my head that seemed to spread throughout both sides.  Worked through it and it went away before I had finished with all my stations.  Then happend again when I was doing arms yesterday.  Was pretty bad but again went away after about 20 minutes.  Today I started my shoulders with seated dumbell press.  After the second  set my head was throbbing.  I took a knee and tried to shake it off and continue my workout but no dice.  I hated walking out of the gym after one exercise but it seemed to be too serious.  After going through this thread I plan to take a week off and really rehydrating myself.  Hate doing this because I'm deployed and I've only got a little over a month left but I guess I cant be too careful about my health.

[deklyn419]

i just like to say thanks to everyone posting something on here bc i've been freaking out over this as well...last thursday doing pull down lats the back of my lower left head felt like someone was pulling and twisting my hair (as if in a fight) and giving me a nuggy all in the same motion...i had been pushing myself at the gym the past few days b4 that and thought i ruptured something...i took a motrin and the headache subsided for the most part and i was still thinking clearly and nothing like my vision or face altered so i figured it was the heat (altho i was inside it was 97 outside)...the next day i was feeling better and i decided to go to the gym and on my bike ride down i felt the headache come on again..i bugged and went to an er where it started to subsude, the dr didnt do much, asked me typical questions gave me a prescription for percasets (i took 1 and it didn't do anything, except maybe make me a little loopy) i didnt do anything the next day but the following morning i started getting it on w/ my lady and in the middle the headache started throbbing again...im gonna go see another doctor tomorrow and probably now a chiropratctor but im a little less worried about it now bc of this thread..i dont wanna stop lifting but it seems like the best option for now...lets pray that all it is is a nerve acting up...if i find a way to beat it i'll keep people up to date...

[Deborah78]

Make sure you are using shampoos that are safe! I have experienced severe headache,and nerve weakness that almost ruined my health! Not just shampoos one must be careful with any product that one uses! always read the labels and then check out online for the ingredients..most chemicals that are used in our day to day products do contain a lot of harmful chemicals!
http://www.livestrong.com/article/150346-bad-ingredients-in-shampoos/

[Deborah78]

Make sure you are using shampoos that are safe! I have experienced severe headache,and nerve weakness that almost ruined my health! Not just shampoos one must be careful with any product that one uses! always read the labels and then check out online for the ingredients..most chemicals that are used in our day to day products do contain a lot of harmful chemicals!
http://www.livestrong.com/article/150346-bad-ingredients-in-shampoos/

[cheesey18]

dang this happened to me about a week ago. I've been lifting for 3 months and everything was good until one day my head just popped while I was pushing myself to do a hard rep. The front left side of my head was pounding. During every set it would come back and I couldn't stand it anymore. I really don't want to take a break but it seems that there's nothing I could do but wait it out. I also get the headaches during masturbation..which really started to bother me. Everyone else that had this happened to them, did it go away after a few weeks? Months?

[vishvnath]

have the same issue,,,,got the same pinched nrve headache 1 month back and than again and again whenever m pushing my limit...
m a addicted to strength training but undesirable taking 2 week off from the training...let see what will be the result,....

[Gaf1991]

So glad theres alot more people who this has happened too. Im 19 and trained since I was 14 bu more seriously for the last year. Diets great and also only drink water on a daily basis! Happened to me Monday whilst squatting heavy, felt something in my back an then throbbing headache on left hand side of my head. Carried on and felt the pain subside gradually... Been to the gym twice since then an same occurence. Been taking fat strippers which from now i will stop. Also heard this can be from stress etc and lack of sleep..
Did pressups this morning and the pain came on as soon as i started basically to test myself going that bit further.. Seen the doctor today, told me to 'take it easy' or not train, but we all know how hard that is! Being referred to a hospital (CT Scan hopefully) and also booked chiropractor for monday to see if I have trapped a nerve.
Will keep you updated, lets hope none of us got something serious!

[Feves1650]

Exactly the same thing.  Front left side of my head.  Nothing happens when I'm doing light cardio, but the moment I push myself lifting the front left side of my forehead gets a sharp pain which subsides just slightly and lingers at ~60% whatever the worst it got to.  Any info would be great.

[CuteNsweeT]

Are you all making sure you're adequately hydrated (2liters minimum a day, plus extra if sweating) ? I know from personal experience that if I don't drink enough the day before, I get sharp shooting or sometimes throbbing pains in my head if I lift heavy weights above head-height, or do inclined crunches. Also, breathing correctly is another obvious-but-often-over-looked solution! Heavy weights tend to make you hold your breath as you concentrate on the lift, but lack of oxygen is the last thing you need, so try to maintain normal breathing throughout your lifting sessions, or at least let your heart-rate and breathing return to normal for a while between sets. Both of those things I learned the hard way. I hope it's something as simple for everyone else here...

[2five0]

I am currently experiencing the same symptoms with the pain in my neck and head.  I went to the Doc right after the first time it happened and Doc said it was a tension headache.  I took a week off from the gym and i went back today and the same pain came back.  It feels like my head is going to explode and my neck is strained.  I stopped my supplements and im going to try some muti vitamins.  I dont think its bad form because the pain comes whenever im finishing up a set whether im doing pull ups, squats, or bench press.  I dont want this to become a chronic problem but i also dont want to take 2 months off.  is there a faster way to get rid of this problem?  

[Feves1650]

So I talked to a Neurologist because it's been two weeks now and I've lifted 4 times.  Since the first one it's been first set that the sharp headache in the front left of my forehead comes.  He said if there was a neck pain it would probably be an exertion headache, but since it's so local and in the front of my head only I should get an MRI.  I will update with the results when I get them.  It is definitely a blood pressure straining something in the head, but if it were an aneurysm there would be some pain radiating further and down the neck.  The little advice I got from talking to a neurosurgeon on the phone was to get it checked out if it is a recurring local pain.  

[freddy911]

I had this really sharp pain on the right side of the head while doing forced deadlifts. The pain lasted all night. A week later, while doing barbell rows, by the 6th rep, this pain began to develop from the right side of my heck leading to my head. it would go away 2 minutes later.My neck would feel uncomfortable throughout the night. I went to chiropractor and he said its just a strained neck. He also mentioned to warm it up well before workout because we dont put the same stress on our neck like arms or legs. He said in my case it was nothing too serious because its only hurt when lots of pressure due to very intense workouts, but if you feel dizzy or throw up it might be a lil more serious.

[vishvnath]

Agree with CuteNsweeT.

As you can see i posted the same issue of pinched nerve and headache  one month back.

and i believe i get rid off with this after doing the following things.

I took 2 week rest
After two weeks i again tried 20 reps high intensity Widowmaker Squat ,,And didnt got the headache again.

main issue is warm up,,,,if you are not properly warmed up than only it will come,
Water intake and pre workout meal is also essential.

So far i,ve completed 2 session of high intensity LEG's workout,,,and didnt felt any issue,,,,,,let see further,,,,I'll update you guys,,,,

happy Lifting

[vishvnath]

To: All
Agree with CuteNsweeT.

As you can see i posted the same issue of pinched nerve and headache  one month back.

and i believe i get rid off with this after doing the following things.

I took 2 week rest
After two weeks i again tried 20 reps high intensity Widowmaker Squat ,,And didnt got the headache again.

main issue is warm up,,,,if you are not properly warmed up than only it will come,

Second and most important is PROPER BREATHING is very necessary
Water intake and pre workout meal is also essential.

So far i,ve completed 2 session of high intensity LEG's workout,,,and didnt felt any issue,,,,,,let see further,,,,I'll update you guys,,,,

happy Lifting

[Budfrog]

Well I am so pleased I came across this site as it has put my mind to rest ... almost.

I am early 50s and have been into moderate fitness for most of my life. Lifestyle wise I stopped smoking around age 40, eat healthily band drink alcohol only at weekends and whilst on holiday. Being honest I do sometimes binge drink when the company is good or I feel in the mood.

Since being moved from an office where I had access to a free gym I have bought a few free weights and a good sit-up bench which I use daily for around 20-30mins.

Last Sunday I started doing my regular routine with 25 inverted sit-ups with no issue. However when I stared with the weights I had a sharp intense pain in the right side of my head at the back. The headache stayed with me for a couple of hours and after one paracetamol it subsided. On Monday I decided against the weights and just did 50 inverted sit-ups with no issue. Yesterday however I called into my local store to purchase some dumbells and whilst walking back to the car carrying them the same shooting pain returned but a lot shaper. I drove home and the headache was intense for most of the afternoon until some strong painkillers. Overnight I could sense the headache was still there and today (Wednesday) although not nearly as severe I still feel a slight headache in precisely the same spot.

Going back to the Sunday I was probably de-hydrated and had elevated Blood Pressure due to alcohol on Saturday evening so in one sense I only have my own stupidity to blame. It has acted as a real wake up call as far as alcohol is concerned and I will ensure from now on that I am fully hydrated and warmed up. I intend to rest and abstain for at least the next week and start only minimal exercise after that. Alcohol wise I need to make a complete re-assessment of my lifestyle and drink sensibly (if at all) in future.      

[Lifesa0y]

I read your posting about what happened to you regarding your "weight lifter's heacache".  I agree it could be something more serious.  

Encephalitis: caused by HSV I, HSVII etc.  could have no symptoms at all or symptoms found on Mayo Clinic Website.

Here is another story:

My son goes to the gym and shares equipment with whomever goes to that gym too.  He does not have a compromised immune system, or dehydration, or heat exhaustion and is a healthy 18y/o...etc.  He complained of getting headache (HA) behind his eyes during his workout and ask me what I thought it was.  I thought he was not breathing correctly or had bad form.  Well, he took 3 days off and began to lifting again.  This time his HA was in the back of his head, came on all of a sudden, and he rated the pain an 8/10 with 10 being the worse pain he has ever felt.  I am not a doctor either, so I took him to the urgent care.  Everything came back negative.  

Unfortunately, It happened again, but worse.  This time when I took him to urgent care, they did an MRI and saw swelling in his brain and lab results revealed a virus in his spinal fluid.  They diagnosed him with encephalitis and told him to rest a week, practice good hygiene habits by wiping down equipment, and ease into workouts by taking Naproxen 500mg about an hour before his workouts.  They gave him further instructions:  only until the swelling was in control and the virus had passed about 7-14 days.

We found out Herpes Simplex Virus (HSV I and HSV II) is highly contagious and very common in sexually active people.  I explained my son was not sexually active yet.   They explained that it could be a latent disease and it is passed on through body fluids like sweat, and fomites like the gym equipment especially when someone has active/open lesions.  So, my son is not in the habit of wiping down the equipment to protect himself, and he may have gotten it from there.  Gross!

The physician assistant (PA) told him Naproxen or Aleve before every workout could make his blood too "thin" and may cause excessive bleeding if taken over a long period of time.  Also, that my son should just wipe down the equipment and place a towel or wear long shirts or pants or put other barrier down before using a piece of equipment to prevent getting herpes which could lead to encephalitis and thus the headaches.  I am still grossed out about the whole say 30 or 40y/o sweating and working out with all his contagious stuff floating around and then my son goes to use the equipment afterward, ewww! who knows where he has been and what girls/guys he has hooked up with.

Naproxen is a similar anti-imflammatory to Aleve.

[presson]

i'm fifty years old. i used to get migraines but i changed my diet and they went away. i've never had a problem working out.

last week, i was bench pressing 185 pounds when i felt pressure where neck meets skull. i ignored it and finished off with 30 push-ups with my feet raised on the bench. on the last rep, my head exploded. the pain brought me to my knees. but it passed and i finished my routine. i also learned that sex is out of the question until i figure out what is going on.

on monday, i ran sprints and did body squats and my head felt fuzzy but did not explode. the rest of the week went without incident so long as i didn;t work out. on friday i saw a chiropractor and he cracked my neck. it sounded like a machine gun.

today, 7-23-11, i went to the gym feeling strong. on my third set of bench presses, i felt the pain. i rested and tried another set with 165 pounds and my head exploded on rep number 10. i had to leave the gym thinking i would pass out or throw up. currently, i'm sitting on my sofa with a headache waiting for it to pass. i plan on seeing a doctor. more to follow.

[Budfrog]

Good luck and I hope the problem is a minor one which is sorted out quickly. I am slightly older than you and the thing that i have learnt since having this problem is to take things a little slower.

[Nerevarine]

dude! I had EXACTLY the same thing man. It's literally just where you don't breathe correctly and thereby straining yourself. If you try and have sex (or masturbate) but keep your breathing light and relaxed (I realise this isn't easy) then you will find that you can have sex (or masturbate) without any pain at all. Just take it easy for a few weeks and you'll be fine m8.

[presson]

last post july 23. thank you Budfrog. i saw a doctor last week. asked me a bunch of questions and took blood and stuff. he wants to schedule me for a cat scan but we need permission from health insurance. it's been four days...i could be dead.

i did nothing all week. on friday i went to the park and ran some sprints, but not too fast. just enough to get very winded. then i did body squats. towards the end of my set i started to feel pressure in the back of my neck and my temples. i stopped working out and it didn;t hit me full force. i looked in the car mirror and the vein on the side of my head looked like it was going to burst. so i said heck with it and headed to happy hour.

today i went to the gym. tried doing tricep push downs but the pressure started again so i stopped after the first set. walked on the treadmill instead until i broke out in sweat. i guess i have to sit tight until i hear from the doctor. i can't begin to share how frustrating this is.

[jameysnow]

alright guys.. there are a hundred posts on here about the initial pain which we've all had... lets start with some feedback on what does and does not help.. my headaches are caused by heavy lifting days predominantly chest and back.. whatever stresses my upper back seems to cause the headaches along with squats mainly due to the pressure of the bar on my upper back.. time off helps.. but i feel this is a temp solution. these have become more frequent so (after negative mri and brainscan) i've started  trying trigger point injections.. no real difference. and my concern is that if this is a tendon tear issue or blood vessel issue, if the nerve blocks do help, they may allow me to make the condition more dangerous w/out knowing it. ive seen a few posts recommending chiropractic or osteo work to help release a pinched nerve. this seems to be the most sound suggestion ive read. please someone discuss successful and unsuccessful treatments..
correct form is crucial. and breathing and rest help, but these are  coping mechanisms for this issue which seems to be either thunderclap headaches, cervicogenic headache, occipital neuralgia, exertion headaches, possibly Arterial Venous Malformation etc... what works?? what doesnt? can we get a chiropractor to chime in?

[presson]

follow up post. mri came back negative. now doctor wants me to see a neurologist. appointment is in two months. in the mean time, here is what ive learned over the last couple of weeks, since this thing started. i can run intervals without issue.

breathing and hydration are suddenly very important. i can work out at the gym so long as i watch my breathing and do not exert myself to the point of holding my breath. i can't bench press. but i can do push-ups and pull ups to a pump but being carefull not to strain. i can work on my hamstrings. also, during back and arm exercises i must breath deeply and frequently.

when the tension builds in the back of my neck during any pushing exercise, i get a slight painful pulsing sensation in my temples. i stop until it passes and i continue training so my workouts now take longer. if i don;t stop, my head explodes. the search for what ails continues.

[presson]

more information: http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/sex-headaches/DS00645/DSECTION=causes

[JoeWil]

See dtrok78's post from 3-17-11. This is the best advise I have seen. I googled Primary Exertional Headache and got good information. I got this headache for the first time ever yesterday during 25th rep of pushups. I had already completed squats and deadlifts and had moved on to pull-ups/push-ups superset when it hit. I went to my chiropractor last night. This morning while having sex with my wife, I got the dam headache again. I have been lifting steadily over the last year and a half and in excellent health, low blood pressure, etc. I will take a break for a week and try sprints, then gradually go back to weights.

Thanks to dtrok78 for a good post and good luck to the rest of you.

[ajay3]

at first i thought i had a problem with my back so i went to my doctore n he ordered an mri and an xray, well nothing was wrong, everything was normal. but as more time goes on i am starting to have crucial neck and shoulder pain anytime i do jus bout anythig. i would describe my pain as strainous in about anything i do.. tlkin on the phone even feels like its straining. i usto work out alot and now the pain is to severe to work out. all i want to do is get back to working out. im only 19! any help??

[mangosalsa]

i get this... i've experienced it for close to 10 years already (33 yrs old now) and it pretty much stops me from making great progress because i would have to stop heavy lifting for a period of time.  Anyway, about 5 yrs ago, it got so frequent, even non-exercise things, like taking a poop would give me the headache... so i got a CAT scan... they found nothing.  I found that warming up with running... like a really good run, not just jogging, helped most times, but not always.  i have also recently discovered that its worse if i'm not concentrating on form, and letting my chin go down towards my chest and pulling my shoulder blades together.  Anyway, that's the extent of my experience... I may go see a chiropractor at some point.  good luck all!

[GusLondon]

I had this last night Oct 4th 2011. Had done some heavy lifting bicep curls 1 second up 4 seconds down to maximise time under tension. Then moved onto squats, which is when the headaches started. Using the 1 over 4 technique again. I've always hated squats but now they've spooked me. Am taking couple of days off and if head feels better will try again. Maybe leaving squats until next week. Thought I'd caused an aneurysm. I'd be happier leaving squats out of my regime altogether and just use the walking lunge with dumbells. But my PT tells me Squats and Deadlifts are the best exercises in the gym.

[saul8732]

My name is Saul Im 18 years old, 5'8 165. Few months ago i was at my best benching 240 and squatting about 350. I had absolutely no headaches. Stopped working out over the summer and have recently starting working out again. I got my first headache doing a set of curls with the straight bar. It wasnt terribly painful and I thought it would go away which for a while it did. Today I was doing dumbell shoulder presses and on my first set it hit me like a ton of bricks. I have had bad migranes (migraines) before and I can assure you this was by far a lot more painful. Started at the neck and made its way to the back of my head. I thought id tough it out and finish the set. By the time I was done I had a throbbing headache and could hardly breathe from the pain. Im eating healthier than ever before and I have good form in my workouts so I am perplexed as how this could have come about. Im not even lifting as much as I used to.

[Stansho]

I'm a 44 year old male in good health and fitness. I've been hitting the weights hard for a couple of months and made some real gains. I've been taking Creatin Monohydrate for the first time. Two weeks ago I started getting major pain in my forehead and temples area - especially when benching. So painful that I couldn't continue the workout and the headache lasted for hours. I've never suffered fro migrains in my life and never had this problem before.
Been to the doctor who guessed it was Tension Headaches due to stress. I'm not stressed. She suggested a cold compress on my forehead when the headaches happen but that makes no difference.
I can run as hard as I like and I get no headaches.
So annoying 'cos I want to get more muscle noy just fit. I've done the running thing in the past and achieved good levels. I now want to look better. So annoying as the training was going so well.
Totally sympathise with Presson's problems and would love to se how he gets on. I don't want to stop weight training for a few months only to find that I've lost all that I've recently gained and the headaches still come back. Very frustrating.

[earey99]

Im 19 years old, and i've also been suffering these headaches. I've been training with a cage fighter for a year, and only until last week I first suffered this headache. It was on my last set of the leg press, on the last few reps, and then I had a severe throbbing/pulsating pain at the front right of my head. It was so severe that if I tried lifting more, i'd have to stop. I carried on training, I felt good on flat bench, then I was doing hypertrophy on inclined bench, and again the severe throbbing pain returned, worse than the first one. That was four days ago, and since then I've noticed, when I try to masturbate the throbbing pain returns, increasing in pain with each throb. Has anyone had any luck with the Doctor? I've recently started taking Zinc and Vitamin C tablets each day, and Im wondering whether or not these could be the cause? I even get a mild throbbing pain when cycling up a hill, going at a moderate pace. Very frustrating!

[outofbreath11]

I'm 45 and recently started working out to get back in shape.  I need to lose about 10 lbs and tone up.   Problem is once I start doing any sort of cardio, I start getting a really bad head ache in the back of my neck & temples.  I work thru it but it's hard to get motivated about getting back in shape if this is what I have to look forward to every time!!!  My trainer said to drink more water during the day, so I'll do that.    

Any other thoughts?

[Lissette33]

Thank you very much I truly  apreciate this responses I think I better see a specialist to see what is wrong with me.

[nurseinstead12]

A Headache is  a pain in the head or upper neck. It is one of the most common locations of pain in the body and has many causes.I think you should properly take the diet.

[Stansho]

My headaches are gone!!!
All I can say is that I eased off on the training a lot and when I did train I reduced the intensity. I could feel the pressure build in my head when I weight trained and just stopped when that happened.
Whether or not stopping taking Creatine Mono made any difference I don't know. However, I'm back at the full intensity training and taking the Creatine (although I have halved the amount I was taking to about 5g a day). I also am trying to breath better instead of holding my breath when really straining but I find that hard to do. When I hold my breath I can lift/push more weight or squeeze another couple of rep's out. I know that those extra couple of rep's can make a big difference to my gains.
Well just though I'd share my good news. What a relief it was for me. If I get any relapses I'll let you all know. I wish all of you luck with getting rid of your issues. Cheers.

[aelephant]

I'm very relieved to come across this post.

I'm 27 and have been working out for many years. I've had this "extertional headache" a couple of times in the past, mainly when trying to push myself doing heavy squats.

I would describe it as starting as a throbbing / tightness in my neck that spreads into the back of my skull. It is brought on by exertion / straining and worsened by that as well. I too feel the pain intensifying when climbing stairs, having sex or masturbating. It seems to me it could be connected to blood pressure and/or exertion.

My pain seems to go away at night when my neck is relaxed, but slowly comes back during the day. I've started taking an NSAID, ibuprofen, which helps tremendously. During the day the pain is almost completely gone, although I can still feel it there, underneath the ibuprofen and waiting to come back.

Since my pain seems to start from the left side of my neck, I've started stretching my neck to the right to loosen / relax the muscle on the left side. I'm going to try to take a week or so off from lifting and ease back into it when I do go back.

Why is it worse this time than other times? I was an idiot and tried to "work through it" to finish up my sets. I highly recommend no one EVER try to "work through" this kind of pain / headache. Stop IMMEDIATELY if you encounter it and wait for it to go away completely before starting again.

[themonk007]

3 weeks back I got severe head ache when I was doing bench press. It was the back of my head, towards left side of my head. I stopped benching and continued other exercises. The head ache was there for next two days continuously. After that it started coming on and off when I climb steps, bend down or do house hold work etc. My neck was also feeling rigid and sore. So I went to chiropractor couple of times, he gave some heat therapy but that didn't help. I started getting that headaches even after that. So I went to a physician and I was told not to do exercise for 6 weeks.

3 weeks after my headache started, I still didnt do any exercise, but still I am getting this headaches occasionally. And my neck is sore all the time.

Please tell me what to do? Which specialist to consult?

[ingi900]

I find my headaches do not come on during exercise, but an hour or so after and last for some time. the headache just feels tight and throbbing, but not in my neck. I think the exertion theory sounds right, due to poor breathing technique, as during  swimming i hold my breath between strokes. it also happens after running for a period of time ( 20+ mins ). I just am not sure if this theory fits my symptoms with a headache post workout

[poohbear9901]

OMG this is exactly what happened to me. I recently hired a personal trainer. I am on week 6.  I have been doing great, until the Roman Chair was introduced. I was on my 3rd set of 15....when i got this intense pain on the left top side of my head (trainer said it was because I was doing it wrong). I had to sit and hold my head for 15 minutes before I could continue.

The pain never really subsided, I just went on to do cardio. It took pretty much all day for the pain to stop. Today I was back at the gym and doing my warm up, 3 sets of 10 pushups and 25 jumping jacks and BANG....the pain is back in the same spot. It's excrutiating and in the same spot. It's almost 6 hours later and i'm so uncomfortable I feel like I'm going to throw up. I just took 3 advil. I don't know if I should call the Dr or not.

[susan_7]

Very relieved to find this website as it gives me a bit more hope that everythings ok with my boyfriend. When he was lifting weights it felt like a pop in the back of his neck/head and had such a bad headache he vomitted. Its happened a few times now and called the NHS and they advised him to go to hospital. Hes had various checks and being kept in overnight and in the morning getting a CRT scan and possibly a fluid taken from his lower back to check for any bleeding in the brain. The doctor said it would either be a trapped/strained nerve in  the neck or bleeding, Im hoping to god for a trapped nerve.
Please please dont waste time and check with your GP its not worth it not to.

[gettinfit]

I have also experienced this type of headache when doing weights at the Gym. My solution is to ensure I have a warm up running/jogging on a treadmill for 15 minutes with enough intensity to get my heart rate to 80-90% of my maximum heart rate by the end of the 15 minutes. I then begin my weights session.

I know that it is better to do weights prior to any cardio but unless I follow this routine I get that very severe headache which occurred again last Thursday when I didn't follow my normal routine. Did a solid session today and no problems.

I have another strength session this Thursday so will see how I go.

[Rex31]

Same thing happened to me on Legs. I was doing 500 seated press and it was a headache I have never had before. It went away later that day and the next workout I was fine, and today, shoulders I got it even worse! I guess I will have to wait and see how it goes tomorrow. It was the back of my head to, I have never had anything like this before. Age 21-190 LBS.

[predatorinstincts]

Hi All i have been workingout for 7 years now and with an athletic physique, so just for change i hired a personal trainer and my main priority was legs.So im in the 2nd week of leg's workout and while doing the leg extensions of 15 reps with some really good weight i felt this sharp excruciating pain i literally pulled my hair but it subsided after 5 minutes. 3rd week into it this time on the smiths machine 14 th repetition i had this pain again twice the amount compared to the first time. The personal trainers told me that its normal when we do squats and push the envelop to the limit. They said even they have experienced it and they quit for a week to let the pain go. The same week doing an upper body workout the trainer wanted me to do pushups with the feet on the bench and after the 10th rep the pain started and he told me to get into to the squats cage and hold the bar on the top and do leg raises..Shortly after 9 or 10 reps the pain started to aggravate and i had to stop. Today i masturbated and i noticed as i approached the orgasm the pain came back with x 4 times higher. ( I have been used a pro hormone and im doing a PCT cycle) i have read that some PCT supplements increase high Blood pressure. Do you think that this is aggravating the situation? I will stop taking the pills from today. But I hope its just tension related pain and not internal bleeding in the head. Please any help would be highly appreciated.

[themonk007]

Best thing is to take 3 weeks off the weight lifting. I know it *****, but thats the way. I too got the same pain had to take 2 months off before starting weights.

[pseud0rican]

same thing happened to me man..doing leg press and dead lifts bring on the headaches...went home, jerked off and same thing...it came back. not sure what's going on but i think i will see a dr.

[Bathgateqos]

I am a 53 year old male, just getting back into fitness. Working with my trainer yesterday, and about half way into the session, we were doing bicep curls. On the last rep, I felt as if my head was exploding on the left side. The pain subsided after a couple of minutes, but returned when i started squats. I stopped the session at that point.

36 hours later i am still left with a left side headache but it eases with Ibuprofen. I tested the " self relaxation " method and that brought it back with a vengence.
So no sex, no weights for a couple of weeks. this sight has been great as i was quite worried when I was still in pain today.
I will post follow ups.

[northgaboy]

first off im glad im not the only one with this problem. i was pumping weights "first time uping to that wieght size" and all of a sudden i got a headache really bad one i wonder if i just give it a rest for a month or so it will heal, but i really want to continue my work out

[zen7]

hi I'm 18 year old and I've been working out for a long time now and i don't take any supplement or protein shakes i just eat rice and egg and whatever my mom makes, but one day my friend gave me some pre-workout stuff i had the headache for the day. Ever since then i started having the symptoms describe on this forum and i immediately  thought of a brain tumor. I am big on my form for my workout so i dont think it's that and i hope it's just a pinch nerve

[jayallen]

Did you ever find out what happened? I just started getting these same headaches a few days ago, and though I haven't been working out they come on extremely strong duruing any form of sex, even if I'm not doing any of the work.

[outchy]

oh goodness, I stayed home from work because of a headache followed by throwing up right after a zumba work out last night. Sounds to me like everyone in hear does squads or lifts weights but in my case i do the dance work outs. Everytime i do the work out i come out with a pounding in my head and throwing up and hour later. Last night i wasn't able to catch a minute of sleep and the worst part is that i came to the conclusion that maybe working out is not for me, although i do love it and i need it because im setting the whole day at work. I dont' know what to do or if it's normal, i do drink water the whole day specially when i do my worrk out but the pain is a different story. Please somone help!!

[row408]

I was training in the gym 5 days a week and all of a sudden i started getting a throbbing pain in my head, now soon as i start i have to stop throbbing and lightheadedness .  
any one else ever had this

    

[Capri_ank]

I've had the similar headache about 10 days back. I took rest for about a week and went back to gym today. I kept the intensity low during exercise and opted for less number of reps, with proper inhalation/exhalation.

Although the headache didn't came back, but I did felt some stress in my head nerves whenever i eat something or try to chew a gum for longer time .

Do i need to see a doctor or wait for some more time ?

[themonk007]

Take a month off from weights and use hard pillow for sleeping. I went to doctor, got an x ray and even saw an orthopedic surgeon, all said take it easy for 2 months. U just need to take it easy for a month or so. I had to take 3 months off from weights after getting that horrible headache which I got during benching. I re-started weights last week, I didn't get that pain.

[pmdmello]

Hi,

I think you have pin pointed the root cause of the problem, as I suffered from a similar pain for a couple of days and now when i read your reply i realize that the last couple of reps I wasn't breathing properly, i just tried to push too hard.....

Thanks a tonnee.........

[hemikat]

Mine's doing the same,  iin the temples,  pulsing with every heartbeat.  Sometimes during sex..sometimes during workout...Mine actually generates a knot at the base of my skull about golf ball size when it's acting up.  Doc. took x-rays and said I have severe arthritic neck. gave me a script for physical therapy but I travel so haven't gotten set up for that yet.  But i'm continuing my routines as usual.  Just making sure I have good form while working out.  Actually my neck feels stronger from the workouts, but debilitating headaches still occuring at those times.  

[jdthebugman]

When I was about 9 my headaches would turn to migraines, bring a gallon of tears to my eyes, then I'd throw up, fall asleep then wake up later feeling better. Luckily my cousin realised my issue one day and firmly massaged the muscles up & down the back of my neck with her thumbs. I stopped crying IMMEDIATELY! My folks cancelled my dr's appointment the next day & I've never seen a doctor for any of my headaches. It's been the remedy for 95% of my headaches ever since. I keep a 1" thick, 3' long round wood stick to roll up & down the muscles on the back of my neck. Then I'll use my fingertips to massage even further. Keep in mind you need to use force to loosen up the muscles.
FOR WHAT IT'S WORTH: After a long day at work one time I really wanted to do ab crunches but I had a mild headache. I sucked it up & did 3 sets of 30 & my headache was nearly gone!

[jeksj]

I had the same exact thing happen to me while doing a bootcamp class.  It happened when I was doing pushups.  The only thing that I did differently is I had started taking 7-Keto and I stopped and it hasn't happend since.

[TarakYella]

paul764: yes paul u are right in my case . even i noticed this,when ever i dont take proper breath while lifting weights mostly while pushing above my limits i get headache. so i started concerating on my breath while lifting weights, after that my headache decresed 90%.

[Desi2482]

Wow omg'd I've totally enjoyed really reading through this thread. I'm an average healthy young woman, and I just started Insanity. I usually work out a few times a week, but nothing this intense. I'm only on Day 2 and I've gotten these massive headaches each time. I will use the advice and check my breathing and blood pressure.

Question: I know that I've pinched a nerve in my neck before, which might also be causing my headaches. But, because I am a full time student I cannot afford health insurance, how can I see a chiropractor without it? Or s there something else that I can try to do to relieve the tension in my neck and shoulders?

[geoff752]

I dont know if any1 can remember doing this in secondary school im from the uk by the way , there use to be this huge buzz around school that if u took 20 deep breaths then held your breath and pushed really hard aka make your face go red, you would go all dizzy and feel funny ? then you got a horrible intense pain in your head ? , i remember my science teacher catching me doing this as daft as i was , she explained that adding pressure after intense breathing starves the brain of air hense the dizzy headache feeling after. Anyhow  Ive been worried sick for the past 2 weeks , I also get a horrible pain in the neck/bottom of my head. Ive literally try to rule out everything only seems to come doing my last 3 reps or so its more of an intense pain then it passes after a couple of deep breaths. I still get dull headache afterwards.   Ive found this helped me try to get some fruit before a workout and a pint or 2 of water , but the main thing is to do literally 5 mins on the treadmill slow jog get your heart rate up and most of all try to relax , sounds hard to do when doing an intense workout but i find if u can zone out and focus on your breathing is the key .     Never ever take deep breath and hold it inn on your last rep , your starving your brain of oxygen and the added pressure of  the weight your trying to rep hense the intense pain in your neck/head.  

[themonk007]

Hi Desi2482,
I went to a chiropractor after I got that headache from weight..All he did was apply a heat pad on the neck and shoulders and asked me  to take it easy for a month. I think u can get a microwaveable heat pad and use it urself.  I also went to a doctor and I was asked to use a hard pillow while sleeping and stop weights for 2 months. The hard pillow really helped in stopping the neck and head pain.

[jwits84]

Hey BDids you sound like me.  28 - pretty darn healthy.  Everything good except these headaches.  I have gotten them twice now, doing leg presses.  The pain was just below my head on the right side, throbbing with every heart beat.  Lasted for hours, I hate not being able to push myself in the gym.  Why go to the gym when I can't even work out hard enough to have any gains, right?  I sit at a computer all day too, poor posture I am sure.

Anyway, how are you doing now?  It's been a few years.  Does it still occur?  I am thinking about seeing a neuro and definitely a chiro.

[mikel169]

solution here: I read all the posts, tried the chiropractor aproach even though i never heard one good thing about them before this. i had the same thing...head ache( doesn't matter where according to the chiro) front, under eyes, jaw, left, right, back off head, they are all linked to the neck. the chiropractors cracked my neck four times now over a month and a half, seeing good improvement.stared working out now at about 75% weights, working out great, think i need a couple more visits, well worth 15 min visit at 35 bucks a pop. hope this helps you all out. the chiropractor can explain why this is happening much better than i can, good luck all, i won't be back.