Exhausted During Lifting. Why?

So I’m doing my workout tonight. I do some DB bench presses, everything feels rather normal. I go to do squats, and I get about halfway through my second set, I feel like I’m about to fall over. I have just started getting a good warm feeling in my quads, my glutes haven’t even warmed up, but my heart is going about 200 beats a minute, and I feel like every ounce of energy has been drained from me.

Even though I knew it would ruin the exercise, I decide to take 5 minutes of a break and try for 2 sets more. By the end of the next 2 sets, same thing. I barely got through my exercise, don’t feel any sort of pump or soreness, and feel like general crap.

I don’t have a cold, and strangely enough I find this happens to me at least once or twice a week. I’m not always exercising when it does happen, but I can tell when it is occurring.

Does anyone have any advice as to helping me out? I drank some super sweet chocolate milk before my exercise (figured the sugar would help get rid of the weak feeling), but it didn’t work.

If anyone can help me out with this, I sure would appreciate it. Not only is it annoying, but I know my performance is being hindered by this annoying trait.

Meatwad

Without knowing more, I can suggest a few possibilities.

Dehydration; this will cause in increase in heart rate, a change in blood pressure, a lack of pump and a feeling of lethargy. This is the easisest to rule out if you are drinking plenty of water throughout the day. (By the way, if you think you are drinking enough water, add about a half gallon to that to be sure)

Overtraining: I won’t go into it to much, but you sure mentioned some symptoms of it. Try a week or two of rest, maintain nutrition, hit the weights again and see how you feel. If this cures it, revise your routine to include more rest, decreased intensity.

Reaction with sugar; I’m stretching my knowledge here and guessing. However, for some with diabetes, a large intake of sugar will make them sluggish, thirsty and have a rapid pulse.

Tell us more about you: Age, height/weight/BF, general conditioning, training experience. Are you sweating excessively when you train or otherwise? Have you had a recent physical?
Also, good general advice is if any symptoms persist more than two weeks, see a Dr. If this is not just a training issue (and hell, even if it is) it may be, or become a health issue.
Good luck, take care of yourself.

Sounds like you need to improve your conditioning. Sprints could help.

Do you take any stimulants? Are you eating enough? Do you have some deficiency? How long have you been lifting? Has this always occured?

Well how long before was this super sweet milk drank. Sounds like a blood sugar crash to me. You may need to be drinking a carb containing beverage during your w/o or look itno better pre w/o nutrition.

also are you taking any stimulants??

The fact that this happens when you aren’t exercising throws up red flags. You may have circulation problems or something like that. You may want to see a doctor.

It does sound a lot like a sugar crash as was mentioned. I’ve had this happen before and it was always directly related to what I ate prior to the workout. Some complex carbs a couple hours before hand do the trick for me, lifting heavy on an empty stomach usually messes up my workouts.

[quote]Xvim wrote:
It does sound a lot like a sugar crash as was mentioned. I’ve had this happen before and it was always directly related to what I ate prior to the workout. Some complex carbs a couple hours before hand do the trick for me, lifting heavy on an empty stomach usually messes up my workouts.[/quote]

Maybe, but the fact he mentioned that it happens when not lifting tells me it may be something more serious.

Definitely, diabetes, among many other possible blood conditions can cause the problems he’s experiencing. I’d examine my diet first and tehre weren’t any glaring deficiencies I’d talk to my doctor. In my particular case, when I experienced this, it was my diet and a very slight chaging in the timing of my meals in relation to my workouts resolved the issue, this could be something totally different.

I’m 22 years old, 5’8", and 145. I have worked out for a few months now, and do a 2x a week program. The exhaustion doesn’t happen all that often, but it seems when it does even the most simple activities take all of my energy to do. It really sucks.

I have never paid attention to what I eat before I crash, but I know it doesn’t seem to have any rhyme or reason. I do know I stopped drinking soda a few months ago, so caffiene isn’t the deal. I don’t drink enough coffee or tea for it to be in my system constantly.

I’ve had tons of diabetes checks cause for one reason or another my mom was convinced I had it when I was a kid, but the bad circulation thing is very possible cause my hands and feet are always freezing.

Thanks for all the advice,
Meatwad

I am in no way an expert when it comes to working out, but I was feeling like this alot and it was discovered I’m borderline anemic. I get to feeling weak, tired and will get headaches…and not just from work outs.

Go get a physical - when and what do you eat during the course of a day?

I sometimes experience exaustion during cutting cycles due to calorie restriction. Try eating a bit more focusing on complex carbs, lean proteins, and good fats.

If no one has said it yet, see a doctor. If it happens randomly once or twice a week regardless of what you’re doing, it sounds scary.

hydration make sure ur fully hydrated before you work out and drink plenty during but sip it dont gulp it down cos then ul be pissin like a camel 4 the rest of the day. as many other people have said crash in sugar levels eat low GI foods through out the day and when it comes to a work out 15mins before have a high GI food or drink to get u fired up 4 ur work out. also do ur squats first always do your ore functional complex moves first.

[quote]Meatwad8 wrote:
So I’m doing my workout tonight. I do some DB bench presses, everything feels rather normal. I go to do squats, and I get about halfway through my second set, I feel like I’m about to fall over. I have just started getting a good warm feeling in my quads, my glutes haven’t even warmed up, but my heart is going about 200 beats a minute, and I feel like every ounce of energy has been drained from me.

Even though I knew it would ruin the exercise, I decide to take 5 minutes of a break and try for 2 sets more. By the end of the next 2 sets, same thing. I barely got through my exercise, don’t feel any sort of pump or soreness, and feel like general crap.

I don’t have a cold, and strangely enough I find this happens to me at least once or twice a week. I’m not always exercising when it does happen, but I can tell when it is occurring.

Does anyone have any advice as to helping me out? I drank some super sweet chocolate milk before my exercise (figured the sugar would help get rid of the weak feeling), but it didn’t work.

If anyone can help me out with this, I sure would appreciate it. Not only is it annoying, but I know my performance is being hindered by this annoying trait.

Meatwad[/quote]

It sounds like low blood sugar which could be remedied by taking in more complex carbohydrates before training or possibly even avoiding carbs and eating more protein and fat before training.

I have the problem with doing squats for sets of 12 that on the second and third set I feel like I want to die, it just uses up every bit of energy and I’m lucky to not barf. I think it is mostly conditioning. they say squat till you puke for a reason…