Good job, linski. I don't think your headaches are related to your lifting.

-Vince.

Yes! I do get migraines and I have a couple of thoughts. First, if you don't already track them, start doing it. It can help you see patterns and triggers. 2nd. drink MORE water, make sure that's not the issue. 3rd. are you straining/tensing your neck during lifting? I have found that when I bench press I was also pushing my head backward into the bench, causing headaches. Make sure you are relaxing muscles again after lift sessions. Hope things improve for you and congrats on progress!

^ neck tension is a great thought

Yes I have started getting these too. Right when I am doing the squats. did some research online and found could be due to dehydration, empty stomach or breathing technique. I am wondering if anyone else is having these issues with squatting. I have a feeling I am not breathing properly. Love to hear if anyone has the same issue and found what worked for them.

Are you squatting with the Valsalva? Which means you take a deep breath in to stabilize your torso, then you hold the breath until you're at the bottom of the movement, exhale, rinse, repeat and go up and exhale again. Alternately you can also hold your breath through the entire movement.

Mehdi says to exhale on the way up, but I'm going with Rippetoe on the breathing. Either way, breathing in/holding your breath is what stabilizes you for squats and deadlifts which is super important. It's going to feel weird at first but you'll get used to it.

I never get headaches during lifting, but then again I'm not headache prone to begin with. Usually if I get them, it's related to neck tension and then I just have to work out my neck musles via massage/stretching to get rid of that.

P.S. Could it be sinuses/allergies?

I've had migraines since I was 12. I currently have them down to 1-2/mth usually around PMS week although my can be triggered by a simple glare of light. I always have a headache for about an hour after exercising, doesn't matter what kind of exercise I do. The intesity of the workout also corrosponds with the intensity of my headache. interesting! One theory is that exercise dilates blood vessels and in turn these blood vessel can "rub" on nerves in the brain in turn causing headache/migraine. The other theories, water intake, breathing, muscle tension are all something to be considered also. Also I have noticed the more processed foods I eat the more likely I am to get a random headache.

Do your headaches go away after your exercise is over, say within an hour or 2?

I know I hold my breath going down. Not sure if I exhaled coming up or after I came up. But the headache was instantaneous. By the time I went down to squat my third time, my head was throbbing like hell. And this was on my working weight.

Then it could very well be blood pressure related, since Valsalva breathing will transiently make your blood pressure increase. But, the important thing about Valsalva breathing is that you breathe into your belly (deeper), and not just into your chest (shallower).

You could try practicing "dry" Valsalva maneuvers, i.e. doing them without weights at all and basically just while you're standing or sitting around until your body gets used to them.

I notice that I hold my breath the entire ROM during the squat, while during the bench press I inhale while lowering and then exhale slowly as I push up.

I guess everyone does it a little differently. My breathing even varies by exercise.

Bottom line is that you breathe in a way that is safe for you. It's perfectly fine to do inhale while lowering/exhale while lifting, but understanding that if you do so, you need to pay extra attention to spine/core stability because you're not giving it the extra Valsalva support, and you might have to go easier on weight increases. Which is fine since nobody is paying us to be at a certain weight lift goal in x amounts of weeks, so we're free to progress at our own pace.

Y'all be safe out there, that's all that matters.

Can you explain valsalva breathing ..?

It's basically just breathing in deeply (until your belly sticks out) and then holding your breath while you lift.

It's a highly debated technique because of blood pressure concerns, so just FYI, although healthy people will usually do fine with it. Feel free to Google it and arrive at your own conclusions.

Valsalva can also cause headaches because it can cause increased pressure in the head. We use it to get patients to try to lower their heart rates when they are in SVT. It can cause a dramatic drop in heart rate and even cause you to pass out or feel very dizzy. I haven't looked into the whole valsalva thing for lifting and I'm not saying don't do it, y'all's know your bodies, but I think in the case of headaches it may exacerbate the situation. I know if I have to strain too hard for a poop I get a headache (and i need more fiber) and that is basically a valsalva maneuver and that's my TMI Tuesday lol.