Why a nosebleed when deadlifting?

[Whaler]

What causes nosebleeds when you lift heavy? I have seen a couple videos where people are deadlifting and got a nosebleed but until yesterday it had never happened to me. I went for a new max on my deadlift and got the lift (550 lbs) with no problem but then decided to follow up with 475lbs for reps. When I do heavy reps I do what I call stop reps, where I do a rep, then release the bar, stand up, then reach down and do another rep and repeat until I can not do anymore. I did three of these and when reached down for my fourth rep I noticed blood on my arm, then on the floor. I have to tell you it scared me. I did not know where it was coming from at first but then tasted the blood in my mouth and found that it was coming from my nose. Again, I realize this is probably not all that uncommon but it was a little unnerving. Other than just the common answer of stress put on the body, exactly what causes your nose to bleed when you pull heavy? A week earlier I had popped a small vessel in my doing the same thing but it went away in a couple days.

[CRUNCH]

Probably cranking up your blood pressure by holding your breath as you do the reps. The increased BP is blowing some capilaries in your nose.

[klugman]

were you using any stimulants?

I have a friend who used too much caffeine at a meet and he got a bloody nose on his last pull.

He told me that he had used more caffeine than ever before when he was warming up for the deadlift.

[Whaler]

No stimulants at all that day not even coffee. Some days if I am dragging I will take either caffeine or a Stimulant X pill from AX but on Sunday I had not taken any stimulants. The only supplement I took that morning was my creatine ethyl ester pills, along with my normal vitamins. It is not that I am worried about a little blood, my shins maintain a constant state of either bleeding or scabs from deadlifts, I just want to make sure that a nosebleed while heavy lifting was as common as I thought and nothing I should be concerned about. I am sure during heavy deads or squats my blood pressure does get pushed way past normal. The previous week I popped a small vessel in my eye, which cleared up in a couple days. I guess maybe I am overlooking the obvious and this is my body’s way of telling me I am too old to push this hard but I could not imagine doing deads or squats and not giving it all I have. I am not the biggest or strongest guy in the gym by a long shot but I think I am able to get myself in a mental state before big lifts that enable me to do more weight than most my size, maybe more than I should be doing. I did ask a few guys in the gym what they thought and the common answer was “maybe you should do less weight”. Now that just takes all the fun out of it.

Thanks for your comments guys.

[cavefish]

I was going nuts trying to lock out a DL at a meet once when my nose started bleeding. Surprised the hell out of me at the time.

I also popped a bunch of thermos before that but who knows.

[jjohn]

I guess it happened to a lot of us. It happened to me when I was doing leg curls. Man that was annoying. Then it's hard to finish your workout, cause you're scared it will come again!

[klugman]

Whaler,

How many work sets do you do? Do you see stars after any sets? How much rest between sets?

I'm impressed that you don't use any caffeine. I don't drink coffee but I like to always take a little bit of caffeine before I lift. At the very least it helps me to focus.

[Whaler]

Klugman,

My work sets and rest depends on what kind of deadlift routine I am doing. On lighter, bodybuilding type routines, I will warm up with 135 for 10 reps, then 225 for 10, then 315 for 5-8. For my working sets I will usually do 405 for 5, then 455 for 4 or 5, then 475 for a couple, then back to 455 for 4 or 5 and 405 for 5-8. Afterwards I will go to a normal back workout with pull-ups, rows, shrugs, etc.

On a heavy, max lift day I will warm up like on my lighter days, then go to 405 for a couple, then to 495 for one, then a max lift or near max lift of 525+. Then back to either 475 or 495 for as many reps as I can get, usually 4 or so at the lighter weight or 3 at the heavier weight.

As for rest, I give myself a at least a couple minutes on the lighter days and probably 4 or 5 minutes for max lifts. I do not know for sure because I do not watch the clock as much as I go by the way my body feels.

Stars after sets….oh yeah. On heavy sets when really pushing it I will see stars sometimes after I set the weight down. It is strange that it never happens while I am lifting but is common after I put the weight down. It does not last long and seems to be pretty common with some of the other guys that do heavy deads/squats.

I also use stimulants at times but try to limit their use only when I am dragging, and never on a heavy lift day. I sometimes need a stimulant to motivate me when working arms, chest, shoulders, etc, but never need it on a heavy dead/squat day. I hate doing things like curls or tricep extensions but on a heavy dead/squat day I wake up in the morning excited about pushing some weight around and have no problem getting amped and ready to lift. I guess it is the endorphins but it feels almost like a high when you do the big, heavy compound movements.

[klugman]

I don't think you have to cut back on the weight.

I think you need to call it quits after doing a max.

After all, max means MAXIMUM effort for 1 rep.
Once you hit that max you are DONE. Keep in mind that the deadlift really taxes your CNS as well as your muscles. After a max squat or dead I would stretch and then leave the gym.

YOu sound very focused and driven. These are excellent traits to have...but you can push yourself too hard and too far.

Good luck!

[Chad]

its called being a freaking BEAST!!! and if i could i`d bleed on every workout!!! makes you look crazy and ****!! and DONT wipe it off! just smile and keep pumping away.

[CRUNCH]

I totally agree with Klugman about deads taxing the CNS. I only do deads once every two weeks. Any more often and my body starts to crash everywhere.

[GettingSwole]

I'm waiting for the day I get my first nosebleed!

[Ribo68]

What causes nosebleeds when you lift heavy? I have seen a couple videos where people are deadlifting and got a nosebleed but until yesterday it had never happened to me. I went for a new max on my deadlift and got the lift (550 lbs) with no problem but then decided to follow up with 475lbs for reps. When I do heavy reps I do what I call stop reps, where I do a rep, then release the bar, stand up, then reach down and do another rep and repeat until I can not do anymore. I did three of these and when reached down for my fourth rep I noticed blood on my arm, then on the floor. I have to tell you it scared me. I did not know where it was coming from at first but then tasted the blood in my mouth and found that it was coming from my nose. Again, I realize this is probably not all that uncommon but it was a little unnerving. Other than just the common answer of stress put on the body, exactly what causes your nose to bleed when you pull heavy? A week earlier I had popped a small vessel in my doing the same thing but it went away in a couple days.

That is your body's way of protecting itself and telling you
that your BP is hitting redline. The nosebleed is the body's release valve trying to prevent you from having a stroke.

[Whaler]

I am sure it is true with all heavy lifting and especially deadlifts, it is all about knowing just how hard to push it. Push too hard and bad things can happen. Do not push hard enough and you will not see the desired results of increased muscle mass and strength. So far I have torn my pectoral muscle (only slightly), popped a vessel in my eye and got a nosebleed, all from doing deadlifts. All healed quickly with no lasting results.

With most normal exercises the most benefit comes from stressing the muscle or muscles you are working. While deadlifts work to stress the muscles, in fact a lot of muscles, I believe the main benefit from heavy deads is more than that. I think deads do so much for your overall body in increasing test and growth hormone levels. I believe your body will adapt and change based on the challenges you present it with and deads have to be near the top of the list when it comes to telling your body it is not big enough or strong enough.

Yes they are extremely taxing on your CNS and therefore should not be done too often but for the same reasons they should also not be overlooked as a core exercise to gain strength in size. The key is knowing just how hard to push your body.

Thank you all for your comments.

[John Smeton]

I don't think you have to cut back on the weight.

I think you need to call it quits after doing a max.

After all, max means MAXIMUM effort for 1 rep.
Once you hit that max you are DONE. Keep in mind that the deadlift really taxes your CNS as well as your muscles. After a max squat or dead I would stretch and then leave the gym.

YOu sound very focused and driven. These are excellent traits to have...but you can push yourself too hard and too far.

Good luck!

Are you saying to only do your one rep Max then quit and no more work , warmup do one rep max then leave the gym?

I can understand this because it taxes your cns so much with all out effort. When I work my back my current routine is Deads-2-3 sets, pullups-3 sets, Barbell Rows 2-3 sets Done. I do about 4-6 reps for deads on average. so on an all max day warmup do your max and leave. Never heard this before but i can dig it. Are you a heavy lifter yourself? Got any creditals?

I like Do my one rep max at the beginning of my training cycle,six to eight weeks, or at the end, before taking a week break.

Also since both squat and Deadlift Tax the CNS system I like to either do Deadlifts in an six-eight week routine and exclude squats, then do squats and exclude deads in a six-eight week routine, or a varation and do squats or deads every other week, alternating between the two.Personally i enjoy the Deadlift more than the squat but I have to suck it up the squat is one of the three big lifts and should always be included.

[klugman]

I only do my one rep max at a meet.
After a meet I'm too exhausted to do another set.

If I was going to max out in the gym I still would not go past a max lift.
So, If I was going to pull say 500 for my max my workout at the gym would look like this:

135x12
225x10
315x1
405x1
470x1
485x1
500x1

done...

I believe in the hardgainer style of training so I most likely would not attempt another pull unless 500 was easy. Even then I would only increase the weight by 5-10lbs.

I love to deadlift but at 34 I don't recover as fast as I did at 24. Plus, I now handle more weight so recovery is taxed even more.

The powerlifters I have trained with have always stated that with the deadlift you don't want to train to all out exhaustion. I try to follow this maxim as closely as possible.

My best pull is 540 @ 196lbs. in a raw, drug tested meet.

[John Smeton]

The powerlifters I have trained with have always stated that with the deadlift you don't want to train to all out exhaustion. I try to follow this maxim as closely as possible.

My best pull is 540 @ 196lbs. in a raw, drug tested meet.

Yeah That makes sense. You only want to do it once in a blue moon, including your max-out. Mad props to you thats some heavy weight. My best is 315 eight times the first for up and down then the last four up back down, standing up then repeat. Next time I max I think Ill do 365, which i think will be easy but Im going to play it safe getting started in heavy lifting.

[John Smeton]

Did 350 today one rep, easily. When you guys do you one rep max do you go to the point where it Gutr-wrenching drains you?

Last time I did Deads In my training Log I did 325 eight times...I thought it was 315 anyways it drained me and I had to lay down afterwards. Today I did 350 one time but I didnt feel like going any more, I could have. Is doing a Max warmup different than the warmup I normally do(ASt-ss style) I wasn't maxing today but wanted to do heavy weight. This is what my warmup looked like
135 12x
135 10x
135 8x
185 6x
225 3x
275 1x
First Set 350 1x could have done more , didnt want to take too much energy away
second set 315 3 x (going up then returning then standing up then repeating) could have done more

Then finished my back Training with 3 sets up pullups(added weight), Barbell rows 3 sets.

[Customizer]

I dunno. Coan usually ends up spitting blood up after his heavy sets though. Some poor dude has to mop that **** up at Quads all the time

[Variocam]

I got a real nasty nosebleed doing bench reps while I was on superdrol.

Got really lightheaded too. My training partner went nuts.