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2003/09/13, 08:26 PM
Literally. I just added squats to my leg workout as I know that they are probably one of the best leg exercises you can do. I have done them twice (once on a smith and once free) and both times it gave me a WICKED headache. It feels as if there is a huge pressure building up on my brain.
My friend told me to pop my ears to see if that relieves some of the pressure. It helped a bit, but I still had a headache.
What am I doing wrong? I don't think I have ever heard about squats giving a nasty headache before. I think I'm doing them right: I space my feet should width, I place the bar on my traps, I keep my head straight and up, I bend down with my legs... I can't see whats wrong with my posture.
Do you have any idea whats doing this? I really want to do squats, but if I keep getting these headaches I won't be able too.
Any advice is welcome, thanks.
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- Its never about how much you can lift, or how many reps you do. Its just about doing it, and doing it right.
~Brad~
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2003/09/13, 09:54 PM
start off with light weight: even so, start off by squating with just the barbell and then slowly work your way up. Try and pinpoint the problem by doing this. It just might be that you get headaches when squating but be aware that squating does exert alot of pressure. I myself get lightheaded when I do super heavy sets.
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2003/09/13, 10:10 PM
yeah, could be an exertion headache.
Are you sure the bar isn't pressing on your cervical spine? That could cause a wicked headache.
Are you holding your breath?
Is the headache in any specific area?
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2003/09/13, 10:29 PM
I was going to suggest the same thing as asimmer...Are you breathing?
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Beleive you can, and you are halfway there.
Ivan Montreal Canada (aka SpongeBob Square Pants to some!)
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2003/09/14, 01:20 AM
Hmmm...
The headache feels like its in the back of my skull and the top of my brain. I breath while doing them as well.
It makes sense that I may have the bar pressing against something on my spine... Where should I set the bar if not on my traps?
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- Its never about how much you can lift, or how many reps you do. Its just about doing it, and doing it right.
~Brad~
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2003/09/14, 11:02 AM
Try doing front squats, if the same problem occurs you should see a doctor and have a physical...on squatting, your blood goes to your legs, and it is a total body workout, so some sort of "blacking out" or headache is natural...i don't know to the extent or the severity of your headaches, but if it's like a migrane then you better get a Dr. opinion. There is a difference between workout pain, injured pain, and maybe in your case brain pain....be smart, if it's an unnatural, non normal workout conditional pain...see a professional.
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If hard work and persistence were the keys to success, most people would opt to pick the lock.~Dick
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2003/09/14, 11:35 AM
A head ache that comes from the base of your skull and radiates up over the top of your head is a tension headache, caused by ther muscles at the base of your skull compressing the nerves there. It could very well be pressure from the bar, if that is the case.
Shrug your traps up as you step under the bar, get the bar on the lowest comfortable part of that meat, then unshrug. The unshrugging and relaxing of neck and shoulders is important, I had a training partner who got neck fatigue and headaches because she was holding her necvk and shoulders in a tense, shrugged position during the entire squat movement.
Front squats are a good alternative to find out if it is the bar placement or the move itself causing the head aches, but it is hard to continue raising the weight on frontsquats because of the compression on your front delts (at least for me).
Good luck! Try some of these things and see if it makes a difference.
Also - when you have the headaches - try putting two tennis balls in a sock and lying down on the floor with the sock under the base of your skull, so the tennis balls press that area where the tension is coming from - should help.
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2003/09/15, 10:22 AM
Also try placing the bar a little lower on the traps, and are eating something before this workout and are you drinking enough? Just as you would not drive a car with out prper fuel and fluids same thing with your body!
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Eat More, Drink More, and Lift Harder than you thought you could, welcome to Becoming!
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2003/09/15, 02:51 PM
I think it has to do with where I am placing the bar. Now that I think about it when I rub the area just below where my neck connects to the spine the muscle still feels sore (bad sore) from doing the squats. I think the bar must be rolling off my traps and onto the spine.
I have done squats before and never got a headache (nearly a year back)
The next time I do them I am going to try push my traps out and steady the bar on them so it does not touch any part of my neck or spine.
I'll let you guys know how it works! Thanks for the advice.
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- Its never about how much you can lift, or how many reps you do. Its just about doing it, and doing it right.
~Brad~
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2003/09/15, 05:28 PM
I was holding the bar too high up on my neck the first time I did squats and had a terrible ache across my neck and shoulders. Now I place it lower and I do much better. I think this is a hard one to do without tensing up.
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~Victoria~
...There are no shortcuts to any place worth going.--Beverly Sills
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