Nearly passed out: push pressing yesterday

[musketeer]

So I was done with the heavy stuff and doing one last "pump" set with 165lbs, going for 21 reps! I have this thing that I do to prepare for a working set where I take a deep breath for every rep that I plan to do in the set. It's like a ritual and gets me focused - also, the more reps I am about to do, the more oxygen I'm likely to require, 1RMs are all ATP whereas a 20 rep set require something from all systems.

I cleaned the weight after taking in 21 deep breaths and fired the weight up.
Up, down, up, down, up...
I was facing the mirror and suddenly realised that I could not feel anything in my body working - no pain, no straining, I couldn't even hear my music playing. I was just watching myself pressing the weight and it was almost like when you will something to happen on the TV - but although you are with it, you are not controlling it. I stopped feeling the floor and couldn't even feel my grip on the bar. As it came down a 6th or 7th time I pushed it away from me and it fell the 5 ft to the floor (rubber on rubber so not too loadly - not thet I'D have heard it!). I took two steps back and found the wall and leaned there for 20 seconds, my head absolutely spinning. Eventually I was able to take my hands off the wall, but I realised that I had been a few seconds from passing out completely.

 

[Tweakle]

I find standing overhead pressing and zercher squats to be the most brutal work... I've had nosebleeds doing both :S

good thing you didnt take a dive into the rack, that would have sucked

 

[seizer]

Did you eat enough before your workout? Have a nice meal about 1-1.5 hours before workout, maybe an eca if your cutting or a coffee and that should get you nice and alert and full of energy for a workout.

Also, position your heaviest and most diffucult lifts at the beginning of your workout while you still have a surplus of energy and arent feeling drained.

Hopefully my advice helps if you arent already doing this.

 

[musketeer]

Did you eat enough before your workout? Have a nice meal about 1-1.5 hours before workout, maybe an eca if your cutting or a coffee and that should get you nice and alert and full of energy for a workout.

Also, position your heaviest and most diffucult lifts at the beginning of your workout while you still have a surplus of energy and arent feeling drained.

Hopefully my advice helps if you arent already doing this.

Thanks ceasar - I did have the basics covered, though!

It was the OVER-breathing that caused the problem. I try to nearly hyperventilate before a high-rep set - so that I am not into oxygen debt until maybe 10 seconds into the set. This time I overdid the deep breathing and as a result nearly ended up dropping a loaded bar from lockout above my head.

 

[BOOEY]

"I have no fear of fainting in a gym, cus I know it can happen. I've thrown up many times while I worked out, but it doesn't matter, cus it's all worth it."
~arn

 

[MountainDew67]

You are right, your breathing played a huge role in what happened. Like mentioned,the excersize you were doing takes alot out of me,along with db or bb shoulder presses, I leave the gym WEAK....so with the breathing thing and doing that exercise,you were asking for trouble. I would stick with 5 in & outs personally, but to each there own. If you feel like fainting, lay on a bench asap raise your arms and legs in the air, let the blood go back to your heart/trunk of your body, it worked for me!!!