Why Is My Body Getting Weaker and Failing Me???
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sunscoutie wrote: »sunscoutie wrote: »I added an edit to my original post with my stats & answers to the sleep/calories questions...
1900-2200 calories should be enough to get you though, depending on the timing of your intake. may want to eat carbs a couple of hours before one of these sessions. If you already do that, recovery is probably the issue, more rest or time between sessions may be in order
I do the lifting Tue/Thu/Sat. I felt like I was putting enough time in between. And those are a LOT of calories. My trainer told me to start eating like that in February. I was doing fine until a few weeks ago. I just don't understand how I can eat so much and still fail so bad.
What does your trainer say? I know he's not a doctor but one of his trainees working till sickness should concern him. Is he noticing specific patterns in things you do at class that could be causing it? Certain exercises or movements?
I would talk to him about modifications. Any good trainer should have modifications available for every exercise that make it easier to do at lower fitness levels.1 -
He asks if I have been drinking enough water and getting enough protein. I don't get as much as he says I should. Last time, he told me to start taking amino acids.
I am going tonight and will talk to him about workout intensity.
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Do you have any other recent stresses going on in your life? Such as mental or emotional? That can take a toll on your body as well. I have started to keep a log of my workouts and I have noticed that when it's close to my "time of the month" I tend to feel weaker and my lifts are not as strong due to hormonal changes.0
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What do you mean by "hypersets" and what kind of rest periods is he incorporating into your heavy lifting? Typically when the intensity (weight on the bar = intensity) is highest longer rests are mandated between sets. I know a lot of personal trainers who are time crunched (1 hour is a pretty short workout for a strength based lifting routine especially if part of that hour is cardio) and they try to do too much. They shorten or even eliminate rest periods, incorporate super sets/giants/compounds when they aren't needed and push too much into this condensed time period. I see this at my gym and I've experienced it myself. This on top of maybe not getting enough calories to fuel this type of training and too short of a recovery period for the amount of work being done could definitely lead to exhaustion and possibly symptoms of overtraining... also, are you doing an actual routine? I've seen a lot of trainers constantly change the exercises every session. This leads to a lot of DOMs and the illusion that progress is being made. They don't track weight on the bar and they don't track progression - just change everything every time. Clients feel the DOMs and think - must have been a great workout!10
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Why not ask the teacher what he or she recommends you eat before? Or ask the other students what works for them.3
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Do you have any other recent stresses going on in your life? Such as mental or emotional? That can take a toll on your body as well. I have started to keep a log of my workouts and I have noticed that when it's close to my "time of the month" I tend to feel weaker and my lifts are not as strong due to hormonal changes.
No other stess, no. Last week was my worse week yet, and it was the week leading up to my "time of the month". Could be part of it!0 -
jseams1234 wrote: »What do you mean by "hypersets" and what kind of rest periods is he incorporating into your heavy lifting? Typically when the intensity (weight on the bar = intensity) is highest longer rests are mandated between sets. I know a lot of personal trainers who are time crunched (1 hour is a pretty short workout for a strength based lifting routine especially if part of that hour is cardio) and they try to do too much. They shorten or even eliminate rest periods, incorporate super sets/giants/compounds when they aren't needed and push too much into this condensed time period. I see this at my gym and I've experienced it myself. This on top of maybe not getting enough calories to fuel this type of training and too short of a recovery period for the amount of work being done could definitely lead to exhaustion and possibly symptoms of overtraining... also, are you doing an actual routine? I've seen a lot of trainers constantly change the exercises every session. This leads to a lot of DOMs and the illusion that progress is being made. They don't track weight on the bar and they don't track progression - just change everything every time. Clients feel the DOMs and think - must have been a great workout!
I meant "supersets"....haha.
I think you are correct. We do not get a whole lot of rest as we do back to back exercises. Then we get a rest when we are being shown the next set of exercises. We do NOT do a routine. It is different each time I go. It is similar exercises but the whole workout will be mixed up.
Now I"m feeling worried about this....I'm paying a LOT of money for these workouts. I am starting to feel like I would be better off with a basic membership and do my own workouts. Except...I signed a year contract8 -
It sounds an awful lot like Crossfit. People over pushing themselves at Crossfit have been known to get Rhabdo.
Common early symptoms of rhabdomyolysis include:
muscle pain, often extremely painful aching and throbbing
muscle weakness
muscle swelling or inflammation
dark-, cola-, or tea-colored urine
general exhaustion or fatigue
irregular heartbeat
dizziness, light-headed, or feeling faint
confusion or disorientation
nausea or vomiting
Now severe rhabdo requires medical treatment, but perhaps you were starting to show early signs?6 -
Hello Sunscoutie, I am taking a stab in the proverbial dark here, but do to the fact that your blood work returned normal results, I would have to say that you might not be getting enough nutrients on the days you do your intense workouts. The issue with predicting one solution to your energy issue is that we would have to know what was your food intake looking like prior to your weakness starting. The 2 or so week delay between your nutrition changes and your weakness manifesting could be related to your fat stores, sounds like you have depleted them. Plus now that you are lifting you have probably experienced a gain in lean muscle which you would not necessarily notice on the scales. The addition of lean muscle does require additional nutrients to fuel it. As you can imagine it requires more food to fuel higher levels of lean muscle. If you have never lifted before, that would cause you to feel like you have never eaten as much before. If you are concerned with retaining water you can add lean protein to your diet, things like fish.
All that to say, or echo what another post mentioned. I would up your overall calorie intake on your heavy workout days.
I would do it gradually and to avoid having to stuff the food an hour or two prior to the work out, I would take in the extra calories earlier in the day when you are more sedentary. It will help build up your glycogen stores that will power you through your workouts.2 -
I hope you figure this out soon..It's no fun not feeling well when you think you are doing all the right things. What does your trainer think? and from what your doctor said, has the doctor ran more tests to get you answers you are looking for?? Good luck!0
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Hard to say without seeing it live, but I'd probably say the trainer isn't training you as much as they are making you work hard. There is a very large difference between the two, and no, just because you sweat and fail doesn't mean it was a good workout. Scam artist trainers just throw random routines at people to get them really tired so the trainees think it was a good workout. Huge red flag that it isn't planned ahead of time.
Is there a certain point (lower or upper body exercise) that routinely gets you to failure? Maybe you just need to lower the weight. Is it the cardio portion? Cardio after heavy lifting is really hard, and gives no more benefit than skipping it entirely until a non-lift day.
Sounds to me like you got got, and would indeed be better off looking for and sticking to a tried and true routine on your own.
All that being said...When you do classes, the trainer/instructor is going to do a pretty generic routine. Not really fair to expect it to fit what is best for you.
Also...caffeine. Taking a pre-workout or an energy drink a bit before your session might just give you the jolt to push you through. Some consider it cheating, but if having a cup of coffee before busting your *kitten* makes you not feel like *kitten*, then why wouldn't ya?
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I took last week off from working out. I've started eating/drinking better and taking vitamins. I feel so much better! Last night I went to the gym (was nervous about it taking me back) and started feeling woozy about 20 mins in to my workout. I paced myself, took several mini-breaks and drank water. I was able to get through it, but barely. My normal trainer wasn't in yesterday, so another guy worked with me and 3 other people.
I think this is going to boil down to not doing these workouts anymore. Maybe I can get out of the contract, maybe not. If I can't, I'll just go to the workouts and do what I want! haha.
I started this training thing because I needed to lose weight and wanted to make a change. It went to heavy lifting and eating a *kitten* ton of food to try and survive. I've lost a couple percentages of body fat, but I've been going 5 months. I'm not sure if this is where I need to be or not....4 -
I feel for you, I honestly think the work load you are placing on your body greatly exceeds your food intake. Your central nervous system seems really worn out.
Anyways doing want you CAN would avoid you loosing the money you have put into the training sessions.0 -
Have you tried the obvious of consuming some carbs when you start to feel unwell? “Getting more protein” is not going to bring your blood sugar back up. Drink half a Coke or eat a jelly or something else to give yourself about 24g very quick sugary carbs, sit down, and see if you feel better within 15 minutes. If not then it’s probably not blood sugar.4
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@sunscoutie are you eating enough? Have you changed your diet? Are you getting enough magnesium?1
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I think you may need to eat more fuel before you work out. Something with carbs and protein but easy to digest and not a lot. My ideal breakfast is a half bagel with a small serving of Greek Yogurt, with coffee.
Also drinking enough before (not during) your workout. Like in the couple hours before.
If you are lifting heavy for close to an hour, you may want to try something intra-workout with carbs. I like a 12 or 20-ounce Gatorade (the original, not G2 or Zero) with 20-30g carbs. Just sip it between sets.
You are correct the week before your period is the worst. Studies show you can lift heavier and handle bigger workouts in the first 2-3 weeks of your cycle (up to ovulation) and eat less. You eat more and/or crave more in the 2 weeks after ovulation, and a lot of women perceive workouts as harder. The hormones help or hurt you.0 -
I workout 3x a week for a little over an hour. I lift heavy. When I run supersets with not much rest, I do start to feel woozy sometimes, but I just rest a little longer and the feeling passes. I'm doing a program that prescribes less rest than my previous program. It's more challenging. I push myself when I can, and take more rest if I need it. I have yet to actually vomit, it's just the feeling.
I also eat very soon before I work out (making sure it's protein and carbs) and sip Gatorade the whole time I'm working out (for the carbs). I also make an effort to get a lot of water before I work out. Since you work out in the evening, you should focus on keeping your muscles hydrated during the day, not just right before workout time. Drink as you go all day.0 -
sunscoutie wrote: »I try not to eat anything within an hour of these workouts because they are so strenuous. I don't want to puke! I don't really monitor this much...I eat whatever is around when I get home from work and then my workout is at 6pm.
Hmm. You might ask the instructor if they have advice for food you could eat in advance that would rest easy on your stomach but also help fuel you.
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How's your BP? Do you take electrolytes?0
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Woozy during lifting or woozy during the cardio part? How long does the cardio last, HIIT style? Are you on any medications?
IMO your calories are fine. No reason you should not be able to lift heavy for an hour then do 15-25 min HIIT afterwards without feeling ill.0
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