Feeling sick(-ish) after leg days

Training Q&A [Moderated]
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1

Hi docs! First of all, thank you for everything that you put out, I started my gym journey about 5-6 years ago in huge regard because of you!

I’ve been having a strange problem in the recent months after I switched my leg days to be more quad-specific that I started feeling sick afterwards, general malaise, feeling like I have a fever but not actually, and tingling/dryness in the nasopharynx. About a month ago after a leg day my temperature went up at night a bit, but I felt ok next day so I brushed it off, and a week after that, when it was leg day again, I again felt like shit and actually got sick that day. I paused gym for about a week (+ went on vacation) and after a pause I gradually ramped up again with the same program for about 3 weeks, starting from 60% intensity and 80% of volume to 100% both.
And for the last 2 weeks I started to feel sick-ish again, like that time about a month ago, so I’m quite worried that something is not right with my program or my health?
I’m doing leg days once a week, and follow a two week program so they are a bit different (I like a bit of variety between weeks to keep me engaged).
The goal of my training is general health + hypertrophy. Leg days are as follows, all exercises are done with 1-2 warm-up sets, 3 working sets of 10-12 reps, RPE 8-9, last set RPE 10:

  • Seated Leg Curls - both weeks
  • Quad-specific Hack Squat / Quad-specific Leg Press
  • Back extensions / Hip Adductor machine
  • Leg extensions - both weeks
  • Seated / Standing Calf Raise (RPE 9 for sets before last, last set RPE 10)

I’ve been running a very similar program before, except for the quad-specific stuff, it was:

  • Hack Squat (8-10 reps) / Front Squat (6-8 reps) - RPE 7-8 for sets before last, last set RPE 8-9

I’m also trying to incorporate more cardio into my program, which is running / cycling mostly (to get those ~150 mins per week!)

So the change doesn’t seem too drastic to me, a bit more volume and intensity plus a different focus on the muscles, however my body response is super weird and something I didn’t quite experience before. The quad exercises feel very hard in general, it feels like the quads can just go forever at times given 2-3 seconds rest pause when its the last reps of sets, so it turns into a grind everytime to achieve target RPE.

What am I doing wrong? Is it the exercise selection / intensity / frequency, or just something else?

2

Am I correct in understanding that you get these symptoms every single leg workout, but no other workout? What do you typically eat before a workout? Do you go to a different gym for your leg workouts?

The program you describe is a bit different than what I would program, but I don’t see that as being responsible for your experience.

3

Hi Jordan!

Yes, I experience that after every leg workout after the switch, and sometimes after a workout the next day. I train Saturday/Sunday/Tuesday/Wednesday and leg workouts are on Saturday. The sick feeling is less intense after Sundays workouts. I don’t experience it on Tuesday/Wednesday.

I train in the morning on weekends, so I just eat breakfast before gym, which is 50g oats prepared with water, 10g chia seeds, 100g of different berries (mix of blueberries, blackberries, raspberries), 400g high protein skyr yogurt and a cup of black tea.

On the week days I go after work and typically eat just a protein bar + fruit (banana/apple/kiwi).

No pre-workouts or anything (also not a coffee drinker).

And I always go to the same gym and use the same equipment.

Hope it’s useful :folded_hands:

4

Thanks for the feedback. I think it might be reasonable to reduce the yogurt to 300g, and increase the oats to 100g. I’d try skipping the chia seeds and fruit for a workout to see how that works. I don’t think the caffeine content is the black tea is contributory, unless you’re very sensitive to caffeine.

I also know I said that I didn’t think your program was the likely culprit, which I still believe. However, this type of workout is not really something I’d program either. I wonder if the high RPE sets are a bit too much for you right now, but that’s kind of a stretch.

Ultimately, I don’t have an easy answer here and we would need to do a consultation to work on this further together. Barring that, I’d try some of the suggestions listed here.

5

Thank you for the advice! I’ll definitely try the things mentioned and reach out if the issues persist :folded_hands: