Workouts Should Not Make you Puke
Puking is not a badge of honour.
When you are training, you should not need to puke.
I’m not talking about that puking feeling you get when you ate 10-day old leftovers for lunch.
I’m talking about that puking feeling you get after going too hard in a workout.
You are TRAINING. You don’t need to puke.
There are a variety of responses your body could have in response to too much intensity. These include but are not limited to: pain, anxiety, disordered breathing, nausea, dizziness, and vomiting.
All of these responses can be adjusted. By appropriate volume and intensity, nutrition, and recover
If you are competing I would understand it slightly more. Only slightly. There is something you are trying to win.
How do you win training? I would say you win training by recovering and improving.
How can you recover and improve if you are puking during training?
From a recovery standpoint, it just doesn’t make sense. It rids your body of the fuel it would use to recover. If you can’t recover your progress will be so much less.
So how can you improve this?
1. Pre-workout nutrition can play a role. You can play around with meal timing and quantities.
2. Manage your pacing. If you start feeling unwell in a workout, listen to that signal your body is giving you and back off the intensity.
3. Evaluate your workouts. Are they all high-intensity sprints? If so this is likely not sustainable. Give your body a break and try some lower intensity workouts.
Are You Getting Too Much Intensity?
Do you need to train harder?
Intensity is not only about how hard you exercise.
Fitness has no claim over intensity.
Intensity can be anywhere.
It can be in your work, your relationships, your responsibilities.
Intensity can be important to see some progress. But it’s even more important to make sure we aren’t getting too much and that we are managing the intensity that we have.
So do you need a ton of intensity in every workout you do? Do you need to fall on the flow after every workout? No.
Let’s say you have a very stressful job. You feel needed to be available at all times. You have stressful things going on in your life.
You already have a good amount of intensity! So it’s unlikely that you need a lot of intensity in your training.
Yes you can use training to improve your ability to respond to the stresses you face in life. But training is also a stressor. It’s important that we don’t push too hard and take huge steps back.
Monitor your training intensity based on how you are feeling that day. Adjust weights, reps, volume when needed.
You may see others go crazy in a workout. That’s ok. You don’t need to be like that. Do what’s best for you, your health, and your goals.