I feel bad after exercising very heavily

[Phil P]

I'm not talking about a fair amount of exercise all day, like in skiing blacks from 9 till 4. More like really pushing myself running or bicycling or weight lifting.

If I really push myself, I can feel lots of blood pound in my head each heartbeat and it hurts. Also, I feel awful until I get my second wind, that is the time when the body switches to burning fat and carbs instead of protein.

But the most notable effect is that I get depressed during and after heavy exercise. It's the same feeling I get when I have extreme lack of sleep. Nothing seems interesting, my head hurts, and I want to go to bed.

Is this my body telling me to back off, or am I just out of shape? Do you have the same symptoms?

[pensive_pilgrim]

Also, I feel awful until I get my second wind, that is the time when the body switches to burning fat and carbs instead of protein.

You sure about that? I thought protein was the last resort.

I get a 'second wind' too, I guess, but I just think of it as getting warmed up. I'd say you're out of shape. I'm assuming you don't exercise regularly, or else you wouldn't be asking. I always feel kinda shitty if I take a long time off and then get back into it. You pushed your body past what it's comfortable doing, that's a good thing. You have to eat good food and sleep well to let your body recover and get better at what you're trying to do.

Follow a regular exercise plan for a little while, pay attention and notice if doing the same thing gets easier the next time you do it. If it doesn't there's something really wrong with your diet and sleep, but it really should. The body adapts really well, especially the heart and lungs.

Oh and I guess you should take into consideration if you're taking any medications. The blood pounding in your head thing sounds like what used to happen to me sometimes from stimulants.

[Hephaestus]

I would also question how well you were staying hydrated. If you get too dehydrated and don't take measures post workout, you can end up feeling really really shitty.

[skip]

If I really push myself, I can feel lots of blood pound in my head each heartbeat and it hurts. Also, I feel awful until I get my second wind,

What kind of warmup do you do? What's your THR range?

[notdavidlynch]

Depends. I had this thing last year where any heavy lifting gave me an awful headache. It only lasted a few weeks. I still don't know what it was. How do you feel during sexual activity?

Right now I think my body is responding to lifting as it should, i.e. I get all pumped up psychologically and want to move around and break shit and ejaculate everywhere. I kicked a chair across the room today during a rest period. Feels good.

[kari]

Right now I think my body is responding to lifting as it should, i.e. I get all pumped up psychologically and want to move around and break shit and ejaculate everywhere. I kicked a chair across the room today during a rest period. Feels good.

I hope you recover soon.

[stuck]

Your body might be telling you to eat better.

[Thevenin]

I agree with Hephaestus that you need to stay hydrated--this is really important. But, regardless of the preceding, it sounds like you are "overtraining." Depression associated with heavy exercise is a clue that you're overdoing it. Too much exercise is destructive--it breaks down muscle. You've got to learn what your limits are.

Additionally, you should try taking in more protein, particularly whey protein after (some say before and some say before and after) heavy exercise. Whey protein generally approximates the optimum mix of amino acids, particularly branched chain amino acids, that are necessary for anabolism. Also, whey protein becomes quickly available to the muscles, and induces muscle protein synthesis. Bottom line, whey protein aids in recovery and building muscle. Whey protein isolate is best but more expensive than the regular stuff. At night, switch to casein (another milk protein) before bed. This tends to inhibit muscle catabolism and is also available as an extended release protein source throughout the night. The efficiency of protein availability and amino acid content varies quite a bit among protein sources. For example, chicken is considered a better mix (i.e., is more efficient) of necessary amino acids for building muscle than is beef. Regardless, to build muscle and increase strength, you need a lot of protein. It is best taken as multiple doses throughout the day instead of as one huge bolus. Muscle protein synthesis continues on days that succeed heavy exercise, so it's important to continue protein intake on days you're not doing heavy resistance exercise. There are a lot of data regarding exercise and protein intake--look up peer reviewed papers on PubMed. I view whey protein not as a supplement but as food.

[99Problems]

Hydration is extremely important, for example: The muscles & blood vessels of area you are working out swell with more blood, where does that come from? So somewhere else is getting less blood, if you are drinking water your body can make up the blood volume. Without water at best you'll feel shitty, at worst you can get severe cramps or pass out. That's not even considering water loss through sweat.

It is best if you consume some calories while working out. When I was a serious weightlifter I would consume 400 calories in my 1 hour workouts. Trying to use workouts themselves for weight loss is not the best idea, good healthy weight loss happens from an increased metabolic rate. If you are on a decent exercise program you are burning extra calories at night too. It's sound counterproductive but trust me on this, DO NOT starve yourself through workouts.

[Phil P]

As I mentioned, I don't feel as good till I get my second wind, which I guess is moving from carbs to fat? So warmups to break that barrier before the heavy exercise sounds like a good idea. Previously, I just kinda jumped right in.

If I'm dehydrated, I'll notice that I get a lot more dizzy and lightheaded and overall more shitty than if I'm hydrated. It definately is very important to stay hydrated though. But most of the time I try to stay pretty hydrated, which is hard with the 4% humidity we have in CO.

I don't take stimulants for the blood pounding though. It kinda hurts and its between my pineal gland and brain stem and I can feel it in my ears. I don't like that.

I have noticed that my craving for protein rich foods goes up a lot after a lot of exercise, so the whey consumption thing sounds like a good idea. We have a 5 gallon bag. But I eat a fair amount after a day of exercise, such as skiing, but not during the activity. I'm not hungry then.

There's this 4 mile gravel bike loop my my house. If I do it in 30 minutes, I feel ok afterwords, if I try to do it in 20, that's when the depression and blood pounding comes in. But I think if I did it more often and in gradual steps, the 20 minutes deal might feel more natural.