I need help

[hokey71]

I feel sick after working out and this morning I ralphed! I need some help, ideas, anything to help prevent this.

First I will list what I am doing.

Monday, Wednesday, and Friday I do Cardio. Sometimes 30 minutes and sometimes 12 minutes of HIIT training. I've been doing it on an exercise bike since it is so cold but I will probably go back to riding outside and running as well.

Tuesday, Thursday, and Saturday I weight train. Here is my current routine.

5 minute warmup on the bike
squats/deads
pullups
bench
rows
mil press

I alternate the deads and squats every other workout but everything else I do everyday. 3 sets of 6-8 reps each. I stretch before and after. I've been working out for almost 3 months and sometimes I feel sick and sometimes I don't. This morning was the first time I ever actualy vomited though and it kind of worries me. I work out first thing in the morning and I've tried not eating, eating light, drinking a protein shake, or just water but I still seem to get sick. Sometimes I just have to lay down for as much as 20 minutes or I feel like I'm gonna hurl!

I wake up around 6am, although lately I've been trying to get up around 5:30am so I'm not late for work because I don't feel good. I eat a banana sometimes and drink a whey protein shake and then water during my workout. I don't eat a full breakfast because I know that its not good to workout right after eating a lot. If I don't eat anything then I sometimes can't even get through my workout before I start to feel sick.

I don't know what to do. I've tried alot of different things and read alot about it but nothing seems to work for me. I don't have a lot of oppurtunity to workout which is why I chose the early morning. When I get home it's 6-6:30 sometimes later and then I spend time with my wife and then it's 9:00 or so and I don't want to workout that late at night!

Help!

 

[g8r80]

I think puking is a sign that you are pushing it and you should commend yourself. I don't puke anymore but I did often in the first few months of working out. It goes with the turf. That said, I do best when I eat 1 - 2 hours before a heavy workout or physical activity. Since you have to work out in the early morning, you may want to set your alarm to get up, have breakfast, and then go back to sleep before getting up later to work out. That is what I do when I have a heavy, early morning bike ride.

 

[CAndersonCSCS]

You may want to extend your rest intervals a bit and decrease them over time as your conditioning improves. This is especially true if the nausea created by your workout tends to reduce the effort or quality of your routine.

That being said, if you're pushing yourself you can expect to have those types of days from time to time.

 

[hokey71]

eat

I think puking is a sign that you are pushing it and you should commend yourself. I don't puke anymore but I did often in the first few months of working out. It goes with the turf. That said, I do best when I eat 1 - 2 hours before a heavy workout or physical activity. Since you have to work out in the early morning, you may want to set your alarm to get up, have breakfast, and then go back to sleep before getting up later to work out. That is what I do when I have a heavy, early morning bike ride.

I've heard of hardcore lifters waking up and eating in the middle of the night...I'm not sure if I'm that hardcore...lol. Yeah my wife thinks I am pushing it too hard but what the hell does she know!

So you think I just need to push through the pain until I get more accustomed to it?? How long should it take because I really don't like throwing up...lol.

Would eating later at night help at all? I really don't eat for several hours before going to bed and my understanding is that it's not good to do which is why I don't.

 

[hokey71]

reply

You may want to extend your rest intervals a bit and decrease them over time as your conditioning improves. This is especially true if the nausea created by your workout tends to reduce the effort or quality of your routine.

That being said, if you're pushing yourself you can expect to have those types of days from time to time.

I'm not sure if I have enough time to increase my rest intervals as it takes me a good hour to complete my weight routine now. I would have to cut something out in order to do that. Any ideas on what to cut out? What if I did something like:

5 minute warmup
Squats
Pullups
bench
row

5 minute warmup
Deads
pullups
bench
Mil press

Would that work?? Is only 4 exercises good enough? Alternating deads/squats and rows/mil press? Should I try to do less sets?

I don't mind a little over exertion but vomiting is no fun so I am looking at doing anything to stop it that's within reason.

 

[CAndersonCSCS]

That's actually not bad. Also, consider reducing total workout time by cutting sets instead of dropping an exercise altogether. You can always add the sets again later. Think of any of these solutions as temporary until you increase your conditioning, then you can add back the volume and decrease your rest intervals as you go.

Also, if you're not already, try being active during your rest intervals instead of just sitting down.

 

[g8r80]

I've heard of hardcore lifters waking up and eating in the middle of the night...I'm not sure if I'm that hardcore...lol. Yeah my wife thinks I am pushing it too hard but what the hell does she know!

So you think I just need to push through the pain until I get more accustomed to it?? How long should it take because I really don't like throwing up...lol.

Would eating later at night help at all? I really don't eat for several hours before going to bed and my understanding is that it's not good to do which is why I don't.

I just tough it out. My wife and son also puked when they first started out, but after a week or so, they stopped ... until you increase the training effort again.

I wouldn't recommend eating later at night, but I am not a nutritionist. You might want to post this question in Derwydonn's "I want to help" thread. Ideally for me, eating 1 - 2 hours, preferably 2 hours, before a physical activity is ideal and if that requires getting up early, eating and then going back to sleep, so be it. I do that just about every Saturday before a big fast bike ride.

 

[hokey71]

sick

That's actually not bad. Also, consider reducing total workout time by cutting sets instead of dropping an exercise altogether. You can always add the sets again later. Think of any of these solutions as temporary until you increase your conditioning, then you can add back the volume and decrease your rest intervals as you go.

Also, if you're not already, try being active during your rest intervals instead of just sitting down.

So you think maybe I should just do like 2 sets of each but keep doing all the different lifts?

Technically I am not totally doing nothing during my rest periods either. I do walk around a little and I also have to switch weights around and adjust my rack too. Sometimes that's a fair amount of work also.

 

[hokey71]

reply

I just tough it out. My wife and son also puked when they first started out, but after a week or so, they stopped ... until you increase the training effort again.

I wouldn't recommend eating later at night, but I am not a nutritionist. You might want to post this question in Derwydonn's "I want to help" thread. Ideally for me, eating 1 - 2 hours, preferably 2 hours, before a physical activity is ideal and if that requires getting up early, eating and then going back to sleep, so be it. I do that just about every Saturday before a big fast bike ride.

I don't think I WANT to tough it out if I will be puking often or even feeling like I'm going to puke for 20 minutes after a workout. I'm glad you commend me for pushing myself but I'm afraid if I keep pushing myself to where I'm getting sick or even puking I won't be doing this for long.

I have been steadily increasing my workout since I started about 3 months ago. I started very light because I didn't want to make myself so sore, like I've done in the past, that I wouldn't be able to workout for days. Luckily I've gotten slightly sore which I can handle and have been increasing my workouts each week. I also started out with a Crossbow machine, similar to a bowflex, and have since gotten a rack, bench and olympic weights. I definitely get a much better and harder workout with the weights but it's also tougher to switch between exercises. The extra work in between sets has made it harder and I'm sure that's a contributing factor also.

I'm still not sure what I'm going to do at this point. All I know for sure is that I am NOT going to stop working out!

I've lost 14.5 pounds. I feel better and look better. I fit into my clothes better and people are starting to notice which makes me feel like it's all worth it!

 

[~LV~]

Feeling like you want to puke after a workout could be due to having a deconditioned Central Nervous System however I can bet my life on it that it's because you aren't eating before you workout. A pre-workout meal is a MUST and should never be missed.

 

[hokey71]

eat

Feeling like you want to puke after a workout could be due to having a deconditioned Central Nervous System however I can bet my life on it that it's because you aren't eating before you workout. A pre-workout meal is a MUST and should never be missed.

Well I do eat before I workout but it's very little and I work out right afterwards. I usually eat a banana and a whey protein shake or sometimes make the shake with the banana in it but I start working out within 10 minutes of eating that. I know I should wait longer but time is an issue. I started to wake up a little earlier than normal because if I start to feel sick after my workout I end up being late for work.

Normally I get up at 6am but I'm thinking of trying to get up at 5:30 and drinking/eating my protein shake and then starting at 6. I'm not sure that's enough time as everywhere I find it says I should wait an hour after eating.

I couldn't find much information on a deconditioned Central Nervous System but I found this definition:

A state in which the cardiovascular system does not work as efficiently as it can, usually caused by a change of environment, such as long periods of bed rest or space travel.

I do work out in my garage which sometimes is quite cold and then afterwards I go in the house which is much warmer. I thought about this before that it could have an effect so I started doing my stretching after in the garage instead of in the house and stayed in the garage during my cool down period. It didn't seem to make much of a diference though.

 

[vaecicla]

Something on the internet suggested that vomiting after exercising could be caused by increased endorphin levels, Endorphins have been associated with nausea and vomiting but that's all I could see.

 

[CAndersonCSCS]

I've also read that a decreased blood pH brought on by lactic acid build up has been associated with nausea/vomiting. I think you're just gonna have to experiment with things a little until you figure out what works. Might even want to take daily notes on food intake, sleep, rest intervals etc. and compare the days you feel sick to the days you don't. Might be able to uncover something that way.

 

[hokey71]

decision

Ok. This is what I've decided to do...for now. Let me know if this makes sense.

I lift 3 days a week and 2 of those days I am pressed for time since I have to work but the 3rd day is Saturday which I don't work. So I am going to cut my workouts short on the 2 work days. I will switch deads/squats and rows/mil press on Tuesday and Thursday and do the full workout on Saturday. Like this:

Tuesday
5 minute warmup
Squats/deads
Pullups
bench
row/mil press

Thursday
5 minute warmup
Squats/deads
Pullups
bench
row/mil press

Saturday
5 minute warmup
Squats/deads
Pullups
bench
row
mil press


I will also increase my rest time which will make up for the time savings of skipping a lift. I was doing 90 seconds between reps and sets partially to fit all the lifts in to my schedule and also to build endurance. I will do 3 minutes instead which I understand will build more strength than endurance but that's certainly not a drawback just a different goal set.

I worked out this morning and although it isn't Saturday it IS a holiday which means no work so I decided to go for the full workout with 3 minutes between sets and I felt great. I also ate a good breakfast (Cream of wheat with banana, walnuts, and maple syrup and a protein shake) and worked out an hour and a half later.

Obviously eating a good breakfast and waiting that amount of time could have made for a better workout but I do that normally on the weekend anyway and I still felt better today than before.

Let me know what you think of this plan.

PS.
I'm really glad I joined these forums and am able to get some feedback from others. It's been a ton of help so far and it's only been like 2 months!