Scared of Rhabdo

[LadyBug1988]

I’ve been doing CrossFit for about 6 months now. I had never been active before in my life, not even in HS or college. At 29 years old I joined a local CrossFit gym because it was close to my house, and the folks there were very nice.

 

During the first three months, the floor was my best friend. It also didn’t help that we were in the literal dog days of summer (90 degrees), and the little garage gym had zero air conditioning. Due to weakness and stiffness in my quads and hip flexors, my patellas were tracking improperly leading to inflammation in the cartilage underneath, and SEVERE knee pain.

 

After a few months of physical therapy, and special knee braces to keep my patellas on track, I have made incredible progress. I no longer need the braces, my knees don’t hurt anymore, I have significant physical results, and I haven’t laid in the floor in months. I’m now at a point where I finish every workout and I can keep up with the class.

 

This Sunday we had a really tough workout that kinda murdered me:

 

200 meter run

30, 27, 24, 21, 18, 15, 12

Bench press @ 65lbs for women

Cals on rower

Devil press

 

This was a partner WOD so the reps were split, but by the time I got to 15, I could only do 3 reps on the bench without dropping the bar on my chest. Because I couldn’t really bench, my partner gave me more devil press to do which didn’t hurt as bad but was still hard.

 

After the workout, my chest, arms and the front of my shoulders were crazy sore. Sore like my first day at CrossFit this past spring when I thought I was going to die. I drank tons of water and ate and drank protein and didn’t work out yesterday.

 

Today I wanted to go back, but of course we’re benching again, doing skull crushers and battle ropes. I’m far less sore than Sunday or Monday, but I’m still pretty sore particularly on the fronts of my shoulders.

 

I don’t know if this is normal and an opportunity to reach the next level. Like this is the way you get stronger and I just need to get used to this. I also have been watching YouTube videos of people getting Rhabdo, and it always starts with some insane upper body workout followed by binge drinking and an equally intense workout the very next day.

 

I took a complete rest day yesterday and I feel a little better, but I don’t know if I should wait until the sharp soreness goes completely away because I am usually not this sore.

[Wiseman2]

A simple blood test can determine this better than youtube videos. You need a workup/check anyway because you are training too hard or improperly and damaging rather than improving your body. If you are working out to the point of muscle injury, joint injury, etc to this extent you would be wise to consult a well educated personal trainer.

 

Also untreated rhabdomyolysis can lead to serious complications including kidney impairment. You need to see a physician, not watch youtube.

After the workout, my chest, arms and the front of my shoulders were crazy sore. Sore like my first day at CrossFit this past spring when I thought I was going to die. I also have been watching YouTube videos of people getting Rhabdo, and it always starts with some insane upper body workout followed by binge drinking and an equally intense workout the very next day.

[DanZee]

I think you're doing way too much. You're not a teenager anymore, and your bones and joints may not have the strength you would have had if you had started this earlier. Also I found out that drinking too much water can wash a lot of salt out of your body, so you only want to drink as much water as your body needs. You can actually dehydrate yourself by drinking too much.

 

What you might need to do is let your body recover by switching over to yoga for a few weeks (or even maybe a few months). You can continue to build strength but it lets your joints heal. You don't want to this to happen to you: My wife got into running and in 6 years, she completely wore down the cartilage in her knees and now she can never run again.

 

Also trainers are not physicians, and you might want to check with a sports doctor or a sports clinic just to make sure you're not doing yourself irreparable harm.

[maew]

I have been doing CrossFit for 5 years... never had rhabdo or known anyone that has had it. It's not as common as many are lead to believe in the CrossFit world, as long as the gym has responsible programming and scaling available for all athletes.

 

Looking at the above workout, no wonder you are sore... the devil presses look brutal! Yes being sore is somewhat common when building muscle and technique, however as my coach says... if I have to take Tylenol to do a workout I probably shouldn't be working out, or I need to scale back on the weight / reps during the workout.

 

You are responsible for listening to your body, scaling the weight and reps appropriately which involves doing the workouts in a reasonable time frame, with good form and technique, while still pushing yourself as hard as you can. If you aren't sure how to scale, ask your coach. And if your coach doesn't encourage scaling... find another gym, because that is a sign of an irresponsible coaching culture.

 

And... last and most important.. leave your ego at the door because the ones that don't are the ones that injure themselves, sometimes permanently.