Working Out and feeling dizzy

jharrison3528

Help! Recently started working out 4 weeks ago at a crossfit gym. Every time after I workout I feel lightheaded and like I am going to vomit. I eat protein before the workout and drink plenty of water. Anything I can do to help this?

amorfati601070

There are so many etiologies that can lead to dizziness or being light-headed. We can only really only guess and can't really make conclusive statements here. Anyway, maybe this might help.

Perfusion or lack of oxygen to the brain is one cause and is what causes syncope. This stems from the cardiovascular system..such has hypotension or hypovolemia (although you say yo stay hydrated). It could be some heart arrhythmia which effects cardiac output ( reducing blood supply to the brain)...can really only know with an ECG... Electrolyte imbalance could also be a cause, especially if you're sweating..you could end up with hyponatremia..if you're drinking heaps of water without sodium that could also lead to that. It could also be a combination of heat-stress/hyperthermia and the latter.

The other thing that might be contributing to it is a hypoglycemia..since you said you only eat protein before the workout. Glucose is the main source of energy (carbs) so you might be depleting your glycogen or not have a normal blood sugar level. Try eating carbs maybe, see if that makes a difference.

Hope that helps!!

quiksylver296

Are you low carb?

sijomial

Simply trying too hard for your current fitness level perhaps?

Generally not eating enough? (Are you trying to lose weight and how big a deficit have you chosen?)

I'd also suggest carbs before and protein after as a worthwhile experiment if you are seeking to time a dose of protein around your workout (which although it can be helpful isn't an absolute requirement).
It's carbs that are your main fuel for high intensity exercise.

BTW - some people simply prefer to exercise fasted and feel sick if they eat anything beforehand, some people are completely the opposite and need to eat something beforehand.

azuki84

GENERALLY speaking, one cause for dizziness can be due to electrolyte imbalances. check where you are getting your K+/MG/NA/CA+/CL- if your calories/macros are decent

Jthanmyfitnesspal

This happens to me more frequently as I get older. It sucks! You do a hard workout, then feel dizzy and sick afterward. Or worse, you get dizzy in the middle of the workout! I feel the pain of anyone who goes through this! If you work out regularly, it will get better. Throwing in some lower intensity workouts can boost your performance on the higher-intensity ones.

Here are my approaches:

1) Warm up. If I ease into a workout more slowly, I do better. If I jump in at my highest exertion, I can end up on the bench. Generally, you need to avoid over-exertion. You will get stronger over time.

2) Pre-feed with simple carbo. For me, this means around 100kcals of something sweet, like a banana or apple. I always have a packet of "Gu" with me for longer workouts (running, cycling, or hiking for more than an hour).

3) Electrolyte drink. I typically drink a full 16oz of electrolytes before a ride or run. I like "Nuun."

4) Working through mild dizziness: sometimes I will hit a little dizzy patch during a run with loss of energy. If I slow down and even walk a little bit, it will sometimes completely go away and I can continue as if nothing happened. (If it's very bad, I take a "Gu," see above.)

Lietchi

Aside from all the excellent suggestion already given, I'd like to add this one: do you do a cool down after working out? I've had times where I felt bad when I immediately stopped after an intense workout, doing a cool down (for example slow walk on the treadmill) helped me.

jlhflex

No offense, for something like this, I would not ask a single person on an APP.. Go to a doctor. You are going to get far too many "expert opinions here that could lead to injury or possibly death. See your health care professional and they will lead you to the correct answers.....

yukfoo

I agree with sijomial. Your going too hard for your fitness level. Dial back your intensity until you can get through it and feel energized. The big problem with overdoing it is that eventually you'll associate exercise with feeling bad and quit. Or worse, you'll injure yourself and put yourself out of the gym for weeks or months. Dial it back... you'll get there and feel great as you progress. Good luck

dmschuh

I agree with the above 1) see your doctor to make sure there are not medical issues causing this and you are OK to do CrossFit; 2) could be you need to build up to Crossfit if you haven't worked out in a while? 3) again carbs before workout and protein for recovery (I am no expert, but that is what I did and felt much better!) - but again, see your doctor first. I wanted to throw up after my first 1-hour long kickboxing class, but that was b/c of the sudden jump from nothing to full on and I didn't eat anything before. I didn't feel nauseous after the first class b/c I ate carbs beforehand and made sure to stop and take a break when I needed one (took many breaks and did a modified version of everything at first). I also found that if I drank too much water while working out, that made me nauseous as well. If you do too much at first, you risk injury and/or burnout.

sarabushby

Is the dizziness when you stand from sitting or kneeling? If so, take a google for ‘orthostatic hypotension’ and post exercise induced version. You may recognise the symptoms or that might not be your issue at all, but could help.

cwolfman13

I would see a Dr.

Beyond that, I don't really view CF as a beginner friendly fitness endeavor. I did it ages ago for a few weeks as a fitness novice and I was working well beyond my fitness level at the time. It may have changed since then (about 10 years ago), but they kind of prided themselves at that time for punishing workouts that would leave people puking and otherwise hagard. They would chant things like "Your workout is my warm-up" and other such nonsense. Being in a calorie deficit certainly doesn't help matters either when you're engaged in intense/strenuous physical activity.

BrianSharpe

There could be any number of reasons but I suspect that it may be a simple "too much, too soon" scenario (something Crossffit is notorious for). BTW it's not protein you need immediately before working out, it's carbs. While both protein and carbs deliver the same number of calories per gram it take longer to metabolize protein, you may have been suffering low blood sugar.

metaphysicalstudio

This has been a constant thing for me for more than 20 years. Sometimes it's incredibly scary. I have had every test done by doctors. Eventually, I just had to move into a mental space in which I could remain calm when my body felt like it was *kitten* down or dying. Meditation and metaphysical musings has been my primary tool. There has never been a way to stop it from happening except to go in and give myself space to pass out, vomit, suffer aphasia, see aura, and lose my vision temporarily...and try to just stay calm. I know that is extreme, but seriously, that is all that has worked. I am a big fit ess person and started having these episodes when I was 21. I am 42 now. The episodes reached their apex in my 30s but they continue today

westrich20940

If you are feeling that way every time you workout, you should definitely go to a doctor to see if there is something wrong.

I've only felt this way twice. Once I'm almost positive it was hypoglycemia - which I don't typically have any issues with. But I had gone on a fairly long day hike with a friend the day before (9ish miles) and then when I got home I was just too tired/didn't feel like making dinner and I wasn't feeling hungry so I just didn't. I did eat some trail snacks, and then we got take out Chinese in the town we hiked in for lunch. Fast forward to the next morning - I wake up, hungry, and begin making breakfast....then start to feel nauseated, sweat, get some tunnel vision --- and basically thought about the day before and realized I didn't eat enough. Found a take out packet of maple syrup from Waffle House in the pantry and downed that, felt fine within 5-10 min.

2nd time, I ran 6 miles in the morning (fasted, but I am pretty sure in the previous days I ate enough)...felt amazing on my run. On the way back when I was ~1.5 miles from the end I KNEW I was gonna get a PR. I'm sitting near a tree after my run and thinking "OMG...I'm not even sweating...... ahhhhh I'm not sweating...." and then I was PROFUSELY sweating. Like dripping. And I felt an emergent need to go to the bathroom. That was fun. =/ Luckily my cousin and his wife happened to show up and he had a big bottle of water which I commandeered. He's also a paramedic.

Those stories to say, in once case it was because I hadn't eaten enough and the other I was likely already dehydrated before my run. So, if I were you I'd start thinking about whether you are eating enough (really think about how you calculated your current daily calorie goal bc you could have done it but it just might not be enough), whether you are generally properly hydrated, or whether you may have a blood pressure or other health issue.

kshama2001

I agree that it would be a good idea to see your doctor, and that CrossFit may be too much for you at this time.

That said - how much water are you drinking during the workout? If I drink too much too fast I feel like puking also.