Dizziness and Weakness Under Load During Squats

[Kbronn]

Hi, I’m a 30-year-old male. About three years ago, I followed the Starting Strength program for around six months and had amazing results given my previous activity and fitness levels. I have Scheuermann’s disease, along with mild scoliosis, but kinda significant kyphosis and lordosis. Despite these, I was able to perform the movements with good enough form, and my posture and physique improved drastically.

I had a pre-existing lumbar hernia, and eventually, it resurfaced while warming up for deadlifts. Afterward, I stopped training for three years. Last year, I decided to get back into it, but on my second day of squats, I experienced severe dizziness and numbness in my left-hand fingers, forcing me to stop. Thinking it might be related to bar position, I switched to belt squats, but the same thing happened during the second set. I then tried a pull-up/push-up routine but experienced dizziness again just six minutes in.

For a while, it happened during almost every physical activity, even in cold weather. My doctor suspected blood pressure issues, so I wore a 24-hour blood pressure monitor(do jot remember the devices name), but nothing significant came up. They also check my heart with something like "an ultrasound device" showed no problems either. I stopped working out for a while, but after a year, I tried again. Start working out with resistance bands at home did it without any problems. but then when i start ss again the first session went fine, but during the second session, I felt dizzy again during the second squat set. This time, I thought it might be related to binge drinking the night before, but I’m unsure. Recently, I went back to the gym and tried belt squats again. I stopped drinking alcohol three days before the session and ate a protein bar before my workout. However, near the end of the first set of belt squats, I experienced the same feelings of dizziness and disorientation. I was doing 10 reps of 60(kg)

Doctors have considered reactive hypoglycemia, blood pressure issues, or panic attacks. The symptoms first appeared during a difficult emotional period when I was drinking, smoking, and consuming caffeine heavily. Now, I’ve reduced caffeine and alcohol, but the symptoms still appear when I push myself hard. Interestingly, I haven’t experienced these issues during deadlifts, overhead presses, or bench presses, but they always happen when there’s a heavy load in a vertical position. I also wonder if I’m overextending my spine too much to maintain posture or holding my breath too intensely during the Valsalva maneuver.

Any ideas or suggestions on what might be causing this?

[Mark Rippetoe]

I don't know what this is, and neither does "your doctor." Move up the chain and get another opinion.

[Maybach]

I will say, as someone with type 1 diabetes who has experienced his share of hypoglycemic episodes, they do not come on rapidly (even the most rapid drops I ever experienced take place over the course of minutes, not seconds, and remedy themselves similarly). Rule that out.

[Jason Donaldson]

...or holding my breath too intensely during the Valsalva maneuver.

If I were in the same gym with you, I'd want to watch how you're doing your Valsalva. Are you able to keep your mouth open during it? Holding your breath against closed lips is not the Valsalva, and can cause weird symptoms. You must hold it against a stopped glottis. Being able to do it with lips apart will ensure that, but to be very sure, I'd say try it with your mouth open. You'll look weird, but if looking weird were dangerous, I wouldn't be around today...

That said, still listen to Rip - you haven't exhausted the medical route, and this may be something serious. The asymmetrical presentation seems odd to me.

[BorisKaravasilev]

Hey man,
Do you get dizzy during all exercises or is it just squats/pullups, pushups?

I had a lot ot trouble with my deadlift for months. Every rep close to working set weight made me dizzy, lightheaded, whole body tingling ,etc. right after I finish the eccentric portion of the lift. My working set sometimes took minutes to finish because I had to hold tight to something for support or squat down after each rep, otherwise I ran the risk of losing consciousness and possibly a nasty fall. At first, I thought it was my bracing maneuver. After consultation with a SS coach my deadlift form improved significantly. My start position was wrong, my shoulders were level or below my hips. My start position was tweaked to where my hips stand below my shoulders. Also, I was sitting to forward on my toes. Do that and the bar will want to swing away from your body even more when you pull, thus my lats had to do more work than optimal to keep the bar in contact with the shins. It felt like all that tension in my shoulders was transferring to my neck as well and my blood pressure was going nuts up and down during the execution of set. Once these were fixed the headache/dizziness went away immediately.
I had that problem with my deadlift only, squats were unaffected. This is an example of how incorrect technique can stress certain bodyparts with inappropriate loads and thus lead to dizziness. So again, is it on all movements or just specific ones? Maybe post a video of the lifts.