Puking/Vomiting After Deadlifts?

ironhajee

Hello to my esteemed MFP community and thank you for joining this discussion.


I would like to ask a question.

Recently I viewed a video on Instagram which displayed a young female performing the deadlift exercise. During the exercise however, around full extension, she started to "get sick". I have observed this in many different videos ranging from male or female athletes, whereby the lifter gets sick or vommits, typically from doing a heavy weight lifting movement. Obviously this is due to over exertion...

A gentlemen then commented saying "Anyone know why this happens" and boy oh boy is that a great question!

My question is : What is the SCIENCE behind this? What physiological or anatomic factors cause these individuals to "get sick" during this period of over exertion most frequently observed during deadlifts?


I have no experience with this personally, yet I would love to be educated on the science of why this might occur...

Thank you and I look forward to your insight!!
Cheers and Happy Training

glevinso

I am not a doctor but the explanation I have always heard is that in order to provide enough fuel to the muscles for the extreme task, blood is shuttled away from less critical areas. One of those critical areas is your digestion. Your body also has a similar response to being poisoned in that it tries to shunt blood away from the area that it could become contaminated (your stomach). Part of that poison response is to get rid of anything that might have been in there.

So in a nutshell, your body uses blood from around your gut to help power the exertion, but then tricks itself into thinking it is being poisoned because that is something that might be happening when blood leaves the gut area, thus get rid of whats in there.

I could be entirely off base here, but that is the story I was told long ago.

SonyaCele

sometimes my belt is too tight and if i ate a burrito or drank a lot of water i'll feel like i'm gonna vomit, which is why on deadlift day i'm careful about whats in my stomach. i never have vomitted though. but i pee all the time on heavy DL because my core is crushing my insides and squeezing everything out
I've also gotten dizzy deadlifting i think because my oxygen is all going to my muscles instead of my brain, but a heavy DL will definately take every bit of energy out of me and there is no energy left for anything but passing out. I havent' passed out before, but i've had to kneel down right after a heavy DL before. This was just when i was beginning before i figured out how to DL smoothly without this happening.

ironhajee

glevinso wrote: »

I am not a doctor but the explanation I have always heard is that in order to provide enough fuel to the muscles for the extreme task, blood is shuttled away from less critical areas. One of those critical areas is your digestion. Your body also has a similar response to being poisoned in that it tries to shunt blood away from the area that it could become contaminated (your stomach). Part of that poison response is to get rid of anything that might have been in there.

So in a nutshell, your body uses blood from around your gut to help power the exertion, but then tricks itself into thinking it is being poisoned because that is something that might be happening when blood leaves the gut area, thus get rid of whats in there.

I could be entirely off base here, but that is the story I was told long ago.

Thank you for your insight and perhaps this is indeed why these athletes experience the "getting sick" effect. Blood is transported to where it is needed the most.

I know this to be true with long distance sports for sure. For example long distance cycling. As the athlete travels further and further less blood is available for digestion. Hence why these pro cyclists elect to utilize liquid gels and Gatorade for energy/fuel. Yet even at some point the nutrition is too much that Gatorade will just "slosh" around in the gut as blood is required to power the leg muscles hard at work.

This seems to be a very accurate explanation in my opinion ... Thank you once again for your valuable insight!

Cherimoose

ironhajee wrote: »

Thank you for your insight and perhaps this is indeed why these athletes experience the "getting sick" effect. Blood is transported to where it is needed the most.

That can apply to endurance athletes, but a deadlift set is only like 30 seconds, and i would think the digestive system could handle reduced blood flow for that short period.

I agree about having food in the stomach or the belt being too tight. Another possibility is that some people have a hiatus hernia, and when they strain, it constricts the stomach, causing nausea. Just my theory, not something that's been proven.

Packerjohn

Was it a comperition? Just a theory but could the lifter have psyched herself up so much she maid herself physically sick?

VeryKatie

When people run too much, they also vomit. Is it related?

JoRocka

VeryKatie wrote: »

When people run too much, they also vomit. Is it related?

over exertion is over exertion- not sure it really matters why.

SonyaCele

i wonder if the release of endorphins can make us feel like we are gonna vomit, like how a surge of drugs makes people nauseous. I know when i'm at the hospital and they give me pain medicine they'll offer me anti nausea meds if i need them. heavy lifting and running are both known for releasing lots of endorphins.

stealthq

Wonder if it has anything to do with the blood pressure spike when lifting heavy. I've gotten sudden and short lived pounding headaches from lifts at my limits. Done the dizzy thing, too. I've gotten nauseated if I've not eaten for a while before a lifting session but I think that's a low blood sugar thing.

Willbenchforcupcakes

It happens. Sometimes you create so much pressure that whatever you have will come out. And if you're on the platform, especially pulling for a record or a personal best, you tend not to stop pulling.

ironhajee

stealthq wrote: »

Wonder if it has anything to do with the blood pressure spike when lifting heavy. I've gotten sudden and short lived pounding headaches from lifts at my limits. Done the dizzy thing, too. I've gotten nauseated if I've not eaten for a while before a lifting session but I think that's a low blood sugar thing.

Does this happen frequently?
Have you tried sipping on a sports drink?

NekoneMeowMixx

I know when I tried out a lifting belt, it was pressing into me pretty badly. It just didn't fit right, and it was digging into my hips and ribs, and crushing my insides. I only managed to get through 5 sets of squats and 2 half-assed sets on deadlifts before feeling sick to my stomach and super dizzy. I wound up having to leave because I felt just awful...

I'm pretty sure the belt had a big part in this. Not sure what other factors could cause this, outside of overexertion, and/or what you eat (or don't) beforehand?

ironhajee

These are all great thoughts!

Does anyone know of depletion of glycogen can be a cause of this dizziness and feeling of "passing out"

Thanks and let's keep this discussion going until we get to the bottom of this lol!!

Cheers

SonyaCele

ironhajee wrote: »

These are all great thoughts!

Does anyone know of depletion of glycogen can be a cause of this dizziness and feeling of "passing out"

Thanks and let's keep this discussion going until we get to the bottom of this lol!!

Cheers

my dizziness was basically from not breathing right, once i figured out how the whole breathing before during and after the lift, i don't get dizzy. Deep breaths before my lift is crucial, to fill my blood and brain with lots of O2.

SonyaCele

Iron_Miss_Canada wrote: »

It happens. Sometimes you create so much pressure that whatever you have will come out. And if you're on the platform, especially pulling for a record or a personal best, you tend not to stop pulling.

i have burst blood vessels in my eyes before from the pressure.

ironhajee

SonyaCele wrote: »

Iron_Miss_Canada wrote: »

It happens. Sometimes you create so much pressure that whatever you have will come out. And if you're on the platform, especially pulling for a record or a personal best, you tend not to stop pulling.

i have burst blood vessels in my eyes before from the pressure.

Oh my, I feel like that's a bit dangerous. Be careful!

lisalsd1

I haven't actually thrown-up, but felt like it. It's usually a combination of too much food too close to deadlift time plus my belt. For me, it'd the internal pressure + volume of food in the stomach.

G33K_G1RL

I found this interesting article :

http://skinnybulkup.com/exercise-induced-nausea/

Bending over during a period of maximum heart rate, especially while inhaling. The esophageal sphincter is a band of muscle that closes off the top of the stomach. It prevents stomach contents from re-entering the esophagus. Unfortunately, it’s notoriously weak and can open due to an overfull stomach, bending over while drawing a heavy breath, or a highly elevated heart rate.

stealthq

ironhajee wrote: »

stealthq wrote: »

Wonder if it has anything to do with the blood pressure spike when lifting heavy. I've gotten sudden and short lived pounding headaches from lifts at my limits. Done the dizzy thing, too. I've gotten nauseated if I've not eaten for a while before a lifting session but I think that's a low blood sugar thing.

Does this happen frequently?
Have you tried sipping on a sports drink?

Only when working at 98%+ of 1-rep max and not every time even then. I never drink sports drinks, but I do keep water with me. It should not be an electrolyte issue. I was usually lifting within an hour or two of lunch.

FYI - Been on a break over the holidays and because of craziness at work. Just trying to work back into it.

blues4miles

I puked on a run once and have felt like puking after completing a run several times. My heart rate was always pretty high in those scenarios (like 97% of my max). I read at the time it has something to do with not getting enough oxygen so it's your body's defense mechanism. Like you haven't reached the point where anything bad would happen but your body makes you puke so that you'll slow down and nothing will. So could be an oxygen issue. Also some people just throw up easier / more often than others. Might not be completely related to exertion.

ironhajee

stealthq wrote: »

ironhajee wrote: »

stealthq wrote: »

Wonder if it has anything to do with the blood pressure spike when lifting heavy. I've gotten sudden and short lived pounding headaches from lifts at my limits. Done the dizzy thing, too. I've gotten nauseated if I've not eaten for a while before a lifting session but I think that's a low blood sugar thing.

Does this happen frequently?
Have you tried sipping on a sports drink?

Only when working at 98%+ of 1-rep max and not every time even then. I never drink sports drinks, but I do keep water with me. It should not be an electrolyte issue. I was usually lifting within an hour or two of lunch.

FYI - Been on a break over the holidays and because of craziness at work. Just trying to work back into it.

Well keep up the good fight! Remember slow and steady wins the race!