Protracted irresponsiveness of overworked muscle

[EverythingInModeration]

For years, I've had a routine of supersetting pushups and pullups. I'd do the following in quick succession:

* Knuckle pushups with fists close together (less than a foot)
* Palm pushs, hands close together

* Knuckle pushups, fists wide apart
* Palm pushups, hands far apart

* Knuckle pushups, fists shoulder width apart
* Palm pushups, hands should width apart

* Pullups
* Pullups with alternate grip

For each one of these subsets, I'd go until failure (which doesn't take too long at my age). For the pullups, I try to adjust my body position so that I'm hitting the back rather than the lats.

I'd do this superset several times a day. Sometimes half a dozen, sometimes twice, depending on stress level. Sometimes throughout the day, sometimes within an hour. It's basically a stress relief valve, as well as a way to maintain caloric balance. I realize that going to exhaustion too frequently does not cause muscle to get bigger, but I was fine with the idea of small, taught muscles.

Less than a month ago, I weakened drastically over the space of a week, to the point where I could not do one pushup, nor one pullup. I found it odd that my strength on both exercises failed at the same time. It wasn't Delayed Onset Muscle Soreness. I don't get those much, probably because I stretch out every day. Because of the drasticness of this weakness, and the fact that it persisted for more than a few days, I started googling. The only candidate cause I've found is "exertional rhabdomyolysis" (ER). But I don't have the signs, such as dark urine, or soreness. More accurately, I feel taught on the chest and the back, but when I poke and knead the front, I do feel a twinge that might loosely be described as pain (but only loosely). It's like the practice of using a lacrosse ball to massage one's butt cheek. Kind of like pain, but not really.

Another symptom of ER is irregular heart rhythm. I often felt some odd quivering in the vicinity of the heart, but I was never sure whether it was really the heart or perhaps it was just the chest muscle twitching on its own. I thought it was just lack of sleep and/or streess. Since I stopped pushups and pullups, it has receded.

Anyway, it's been about 1.5 weeks since I did any real pushups or pullups. Any "test" that I do reveals that I haven't recovered much, if at all. I can still do my core (bridges for front, back, and sides). The minor use of arms to stabilize during the core training is enough to make my chest and back muscles feel like they've been through a workout. I am guessing that such minor stress might help them recover.

Without taking time off work for medical examination, is there any way to get some kind of corroboration of the possibility of ER (or just as useful, some anti-corroboration)?

[Adam Franklin]

**I am not a doctor, and this should not be construed as medical advice.**

Rhabdo is too serious to mess around with. If you suspect you have it, you need to see a doctor ASAP, IMO. Also, dark urine is not required to be diagnosed with rhabdo. In fact, one of my Marines was diagnosed with rhabdo a month ago without the "classic" coke-a-cola urine symptom. (This is why I know more about this than I care too!). Also, like a heat injury, once you had rhabdo once, your are more susceptible to coming down with it again.

The interesting thing about your story is that usually rhabdo is associated with new unaccustomed/unconditioned workload. In my Marine's case, he did a AMRAP-style WOD, followed by a 20k hike in the heat (don't ask me why!) If you've been doing this routine for years, I wounder what changed in the last month to trigger overexertion?

[EverythingInModeration]

Point taken. I have to find a way to schedule an appointment (probably better with the sports medicine doctor than a family doctor). I'm not adverse to seeing doctors, it's just that, yes the employer would want a healthy employee, but the deadlines...the all the dynamics that create the threats to the deadlines...they don't change just because one is permitted to take time off. In fact, the latter is never the issue. I guess it's kind of getting clear why I enjoyed using pushups/pulldowns as a stress relief valve whenever needed, and didn't care about bulging muscles. Be that as it may, appointment to be arranged.

Funny thing is, I feel perfectly fine otherwise. Better than in years, likely because I'm getting sufficient sleep since I stopped, partially because of the time liberated, but also because of other measures taken to address some disruptive factors (just before the problem occurred, I had a particularly bad bout of sleep deprivation because of noise). I had also been in the practice of eating less because of the caloric imbalance (a surplus) that was accumulating over the years, which I'm still doing -- that change has contributed so much to alertness and wakefulness. I doubt that the diet change might have contributed because it's feels so healthy. The sleep deprivation beforehand might have contributed, but that was temporary.

[I_iz_a_fatass]

Point taken. I have to find a way to schedule an appointment (probably better with the sports medicine doctor than a family doctor). I'm not adverse to seeing doctors, it's just that, yes the employer would want a healthy employee, but the deadlines...the all the dynamics that create the threats to the deadlines...they don't change just because one is permitted to take time off. In fact, the latter is never the issue.

Do not EVER put your health on hold for an employer. Fuck their deadlines, and fuck them. Your health is sacrosanct. They are not.

[EverythingInModeration]

Well, it's not quite as simple as that. They also get to evaluate you, it's in your interest to do what it takes to move the yard sticks. Otherwise, things get pretty unhealthy, which eventually impacts your physical health. But I get the fact that a balance must be struck, and I've never really had the back bone to do that well. I've made the apointment, however. Thanks.

[EverythingInModeration]

It has taken a month, but I'm slowly getting some muscular responsiveness back. Doing two sets to failure (that's just a handful of reps!) every other day. Not supersetted like before, so dialed back quite a bit.

Neither the sports med doctor nor the family doctor thought that exertion rhabdo was the primary suspect, but leaves me completely flummoxed as to what could cause such a breakdown in muscular response. In any case, I'm going to moderate (relatively that is). I suspect that I was borderline exertion rhabdo for a long time, because I've been repeatedly supersetting to failure for years, but never venturing far into exertion rhabdo territory simply because pushups is not heavy lifting (though pullups are, so the facts are inconsistent).

Having to exercise self restraint is a real bummer. I reach for pushups and pullups not for muscle development (as should be obvious from my habit), but for stress relief. It is the *most* convenient exercise. Now I have to find other less optimal ways.

[EverythingInModeration]

What a world of different it makes to load up on meat, fat, carbs, and vitamin C (oranges) after a workout. It's as if I hadn't done an intense workout at all.

[MBasic]

Do not EVER put your health on hold for an employer. Fuck their deadlines, and fuck them. Your health is sacrosanct. They are not.

But what if you are your own boss?

[I_iz_a_fatass]

But what if you are your own boss?

You can voluntarily take off a short time to get health issues sorted, or have no choice but to take a long time. It's risk management.

[crc]

Having to exercise self restraint is a real bummer. I reach for pushups and pullups not for muscle development (as should be obvious from my habit), but for stress relief. It is the *most* convenient exercise. Now I have to find other less optimal ways.

I was tempted to just comment on the irony of your username, but appreciate exercise as stress relief and am trying to be more helpful, so:

1. Explore other means of stress relief - doesn't necessarily have to be something that isn't physical, but it has to be something that doesn't break your body. Ashtanga yoga has done wonders for my stress levels and recovery from workouts and I haven't lost any strength from picking up the practice.
2. Find a way to remove the source of the stress, or lessen your reaction to it.

You have to do one or both. How old are you and what's causing the stress in your life?