Well I just thew up in the gym today...

[Kwello]

In the change room after my work out that is... still, what a ****ing awful experience.

Hadn't really eaten anything for breakfast, haven't slept in a couple days now (university crunch time) and was breaking out some power lifts, squats, deadlifts, chinups and pullups.

I'm back at home now still feeling queasy, dizzy and just all around horrible.

But it's not just today though, lately at the gym I've been having problems with reflux and I'm not sure how to really cure it. Just as some background on myself; I'm no stranger to the gym and fitness. I was a competitive gymnast up until around age 18-19 when I got too tall to really hang with the 'big dogs'. I'm 6' and 160lb with roughly 1-2% BMI. It's not as if I'm pushing too hard or anything, I know my body very very well at this point.

Usually it's the rows that get me. I forget the exact name, but you kneel one leg on a bench with your back parallel to the floor and lift the weight vertically upward with one arm.

My sleep schedule is completely ****ed lately, could that be one of the main problems? Some days I'll get 3 hours from like 10am - 1pm... some days I'll get a few hours from ~6am onwards, some days I'll grab some Zs around 11pm. My university program is REALLY rough and demands 16+ hours a day from me... I'm pretty much losing control of my schedule as I just try to work every waking hour as long as I'm not falling asleep on my desk. Basically I sleep once all the coffee and Red Bull can't even keep me up anymore - I crash at home and leave my space heater on so that eventually I wake up from the heat. Then I go back to the labs and work.

Wow, I sadly just came to the realization that my life completely blows at this point in time.

Anyway, I'm about to collapse into bed here. Any advice is greatly appreciated.

 

[Monster]

You really gotta do something about that schedule. But assuming you can't;
don't over exert yourself when you train. You should leave the gym feeling good, not dead.

 

[Warboss Alex]

Quite simply - this is not the time to be attempting workouts. Keep it restricted to cardio, summer is round the corner and you can work out all you want then. Trying to work out with 3hrs sleep a night when stimulants have to keep you awake isn't foolish, it's just not healthy.

 

[edmond]

Listen to your body and do not over train.

 

[mrRuckus]

Hadn't really eaten anything for breakfast, haven't slept in a couple days now (university crunch time) and was breaking out some power lifts, squats, deadlifts, chinups and pullups.

I know my body very very well at this point.

You go do all those things in the gym without eating anything beforehand yet you know your body so well?

 

[6-heads lewis]

if you puke try and shovel it back in, dont waste the protein.

 

[Kwello]

You go do all those things in the gym without eating anything beforehand yet you know your body so well?

I had a chicken wrap at around 6am, a bagel with cream cheese at around 8am and I went to the gym at 9:30 or so. It normally would have been ok... must be stress from school acting on me as well or something.

 

[samueladams]

what the hell school are you at where you're doing 16 hour days? Besides its only April finals aren't for another month usually...maybe 3 weeks. I'm in med school and my days are far from that long...even the residents don't do those kinds of hours and they're knows to be overworked like crazy. Try to make your schedule more efficient...and cut out the gym for now if you're really that busy...could understand if you've got a job tied in there I guess...but just from school is hard to believe.

 

[DJDamage]

Your body needs proper rest between, if you didn't get a good night sleep and you are tired I wouldn't bother showing up in the gym and instead I would get more sleep. Getting proper sleep will help genereate muscle, keep you fresh and stronger and build up your immune system.

 

[Kwello]

what the hell school are you at where you're doing 16 hour days? Besides its only April finals aren't for another month usually...maybe 3 weeks. I'm in med school and my days are far from that long...even the residents don't do those kinds of hours and they're knows to be overworked like crazy. Try to make your schedule more efficient...and cut out the gym for now if you're really that busy...could understand if you've got a job tied in there I guess...but just from school is hard to believe.

I'm in Digital Animation and the film I'm trying to create is really more the type of thing done by a studio rather than one man. Most of the people in my program are in the labs working for around 10+ hours a day though. It's a very demanding field and doing anything, especially doing it well, takes a huge amount of time and effort.

 

[stinkyape]

Proper sleep dude. Training hard is pointless (or could even be quite bad for you) if you're not getting your sleep. Hell, everything is pointless without getting enough sleep.

 

[Kwello]

I think my main problem is that with my bizzare schedule, lots of times (like today) I'm RARING to go at like 4:30am. You know... when you sit there in your chair feeling like a lion and want to just pounce on something. Unfortunately for me, the gym at school opens only at 9. So what'll happen is that I still try to make myself want to go at 9 even though I'm feeling a bit tired by that point and less 'lion like'.

Anyway, I'm trying to shift my schedule slowly so that I'll get my lion feeling in the afternoon and then go bust some sets out.

 

[Warboss Alex]

honestly man.. school will be over for the summer soon. if you burn yourself out now you'll waste part of your vacation just getting back into it and recovering. don't take on more than you can handle (not an insult, I only worked out 1-2 times a week during finals)

 

[Kwello]

That's good advice and is really what I should be doing, but the thing is that while working on my final projects, I'm leading a very sedentary lifestyle. I'm in particularly good physical shape right now and my muscles will literally just crave some action if I don't hit the gym.

I've tried going for walks and jogging and stuff, but it's really only some nice lifting that keeps me satisfied for a while. I think I'm maybe becoming addicted to the chemicals released during strength training... is that possible?

 

[Warboss Alex]

yes, exercise can be addictive because of the 'feelgood' endorphins released. but as with any addiction, it's not particularly healthy. it's healthy on the body but not the mind - in this case you're wanting to work out when the time you spend at the gym could be spent on your project for a few more marks leading to a better degree or whatever. it's great to be able to want to work out so much but it mustn't be the only thing in your life, right now the priority is your work schedule - if you need to be at it 16 hours a day then it's a fulltime occupation, and you should sleep as much as possible when you're not working. I promise you, keep a high protein/fat diet with carbs as necessary and you won't lose muscle, and if you do it'll be back within a couple of weeks. but trying to work out on top of no sleep is positively catabolic.