Sevrikus Posted August 12, 2008 Share Posted August 12, 2008 I was just working on the rings, holding myself up in an L-sit position, and all of a sudden I got this stabbing/shooting pain in my right temple. I'm one of those lucky people who never suffer from headaches, so this experience came as quite a shock to me. I'm thinking that perhaps I wasn't breathing properly during the exercise and that was what resulted in the pain. Is this something I should be worried about? Has anyone else had a similar experience? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Coach Sommer Posted August 12, 2008 Share Posted August 12, 2008 Do Not Hold Your BreathYes, in all probability the headache was caused from your holding your breath while exerting yourself. The tension in your body should come from muscular contraction, not from holding your breath. You should be able to breath normally, albeit somewhat shallowly, during a ring strength series.Yours in Fitness,Coach Sommer Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DSears Posted August 18, 2008 Share Posted August 18, 2008 Dr. Doug McGuff has an article in one of his books about EIH. Unfortunately, it's not on the web anywhere. Most of the time EIH occurs during leg press or leg extension during normal weight training. His solution is to have his trainees do neck work first to increase the blood flow to the brain. I don't remember the technical details but the neck exercise seemed to increase the circulation. You could try some manual resistance if you don't have a neck machine. And, as Coach Sommer said, definitely don't hold your breath. One trick is to put your tongue on the roof of your mouth. You can't tense your face and clinch your teeth when you do that.David Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sevrikus Posted August 21, 2008 Author Share Posted August 21, 2008 Thank you both. The tongue on the roof of the mouth tip, in particular, is very useful. I haven't had a reoccurrence, so I'm hoping it'll never happen again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Garre33 Posted September 5, 2008 Share Posted September 5, 2008 I've had TOO MUCH experience with these headaches... If yours are anything like mine, they are probably exertion headaches. The pain is crippling and I can't work out for a few days after. I just had one a few days ago while doing handstands (although it wasnt as bad as it could have been because I can feel them coming now), so now I'm afraid to work on those anymore for a while... (that day was the first day I held a free-standing handstand for 15 seconds...) I try breathing during handstand work, but all of the blood rushes to my head and it feels like it will explode causing me to have to stop... Any advice? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest Garre33 Posted September 7, 2008 Share Posted September 7, 2008 After reading around a bit more, I guess I will cut my sets to 3-5 seconds each since I just started doing handstand work this week... Maybe I went too far on them. And as for the headaches, I'll try eating sugar before a workout (in case of low blood sugar headaches) and I'll take half of a tylenol before each workout. When I go back home for winter break I am going to see a doctor about these headaches because I don't think it's normal Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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