Getting headaches during exercise

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debrag12
debrag12 Posts: 1,071 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
So I try to work out hard at the gym. When I do cardio, even when I drink a lot of water at the time, I tend to get a headache by the end of it and I just can't carry on.

I always go to the gym first think in the morning, could it be due to eating the wrong food before I go?

Replies

  • edwardkim85
    edwardkim85 Posts: 438 Member
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    are you on a low carb diet ? then that is probably why.

    Also, you might not be drinking enough water and be dehydrated.

    Had similar issues when I thought carb = bad and tried eating as little carb as possible.

    Realized good carb = good for weight loss and started eating more complex carbs and headache = gone.
  • Greytfish
    Greytfish Posts: 810
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    What are you eating and drinking before bed and before and after the morning workout?
  • debrag12
    debrag12 Posts: 1,071 Member
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    nope not on any sort of 'low' anything diet.

    I drink 8 or more glasses of water during the day and drink loads during exercise. I try to have eggs for breakfast or toast & dinner is varied - meat, veg, rice, pasta etc

    After a work out I like to have a salad with protein.

    I am working on healthy eating, I have not been logging over christmas
  • Torgrills
    Torgrills Posts: 103 Member
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    Any cardiac issues? High blood pressure? That would be the direction I'm going in.
  • debrag12
    debrag12 Posts: 1,071 Member
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    nope nothing like that
  • gracielynn1011
    gracielynn1011 Posts: 726 Member
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    Has happened to me before. Usually I will notice it is because of one of three things, being dehydrated (still possible even if you drink during exercise), going too long since last meal, or not having enough protein in the diet.

    The dehydration thing would be because even though you drank enough today and are currently chugging water during your exercise, what about yesterday and the day before? I noticed once that even though I drank 12 glasses of water that day, the few days before my intake was low so I was still dehydrated. That hasn't happened again.

    Another instance, I hadn't eaten in a while before working out (I'm an evening person) and even though I was hungry, I didn't have a snack. Halfway thru my workout I was sick and had a raging headache. Stopped and ate a light snack, and it didn't take long to go away. Same thing on the instance that I was low on protein intake over the previous few days. Went back to normal on that and my sick weak feeling went away.
  • debrag12
    debrag12 Posts: 1,071 Member
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    I need to be more consistent with my eating I think and experiment with different foods.
  • tcunbeliever
    tcunbeliever Posts: 8,219 Member
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    If I start getting a headache during exercise I stop for about 30 seconds and make sure all of my muscles are relaxed and not overly tense...sometimes I get so caught up in getting through the workout that I don't notice I'm stressing and my shoulders are tight, I'm clenching my jaw, etc. Once I relax and make sure I'm not overly tense anywhere, I resume the workout and the headache goes away.
  • TavistockToad
    TavistockToad Posts: 35,719 Member
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    if you exercise first thing in the morning it could well be dehydration, after all you wont have drunk anything for 7-8 hours while you were alseep...
  • Commander_Keen
    Commander_Keen Posts: 1,179 Member
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    are you on a low carb diet ? then that is probably why.

    Also, you might not be drinking enough water and be dehydrated.

    Had similar issues when I thought carb = bad and tried eating as little carb as possible.

    Realized good carb = good for weight loss and started eating more complex carbs and headache = gone.
    Is this the first time you are exercising?
    Has your diet changed recently?
    Have you exercised before with out getting a headache..
    Just like this person said, almost verbatum (sp), I to got headaches from working out, if I had too low of carbs.
    I know you said, you are not low of anything, I would say increase it.. Increase your carb intake by 50g to 100 grams and see what happenes.
  • edwardkim85
    edwardkim85 Posts: 438 Member
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    "exertional headache." It is linked to heavy exercise. They are usually benign and are linked to a possibly having inherited a susceptibility for migraines. - See more at: http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/advice/workouts/cardio/why-do-i-get-headaches-while-running/#sthash.Xlvciyyh.dpuf
  • dpvike80
    dpvike80 Posts: 32 Member
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    Any cardiac issues? High blood pressure? That would be the direction I'm going in.

    I would check into this as well.
  • Torgrills
    Torgrills Posts: 103 Member
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    My only other suggestion would be to add some electrolytes to your water during your workout. Could just be an electrolyte imbalance from the exertion.
  • debrag12
    debrag12 Posts: 1,071 Member
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    "exertional headache." It is linked to heavy exercise. They are usually benign and are linked to a possibly having inherited a susceptibility for migraines. - See more at: http://www.fitnessmagazine.com/advice/workouts/cardio/why-do-i-get-headaches-while-running/#sthash.Xlvciyyh.dpuf

    Yes I've been having headache all my life, same with my mum. I can get them quite easily but not usually migrains.

    Commander_Kee - I shall increase my carbs, I don't always reach my 'goal'

    dpvike80 - I have been checked. My BP is 137/74, HR at rest is 78
  • Greytfish
    Greytfish Posts: 810
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    If you drink as much as you say you do and you sweat when you exercise, it's more likley you are overhydrating and flusing out needed electrolytes, especially if you are doing hard workouts with just water for hydration.

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