Sumo Syncope

Hey BBM!

I’m in week 11 or PowerLifting 2 and have been having some issues with near-passing out after my heavy sumo deadlift singles. I’ve been doing what I call Covid-deadlifts, I’m in Ontario Canada and our gyms are still locked down so I’m in a 8’ by 10’ room trying to set my lifts down quietly and not disturb others in the house (or the ceiling below), not sure if this would make things worse or not.

I don’t fully pass out but have my vision/hearing mostly fade and am forced to take a knee until the lights come back on. My resting heart rate is around 56-60bpm, BP typically ranges around 118-122/66-70, I had an echo-cardiogram around 8 years ago with no noted issues. I’m male, 29 years old, 184cm in height, 205lb bw. Currently no health issues to speak of. I usually eat plenty of salt and am currently eating maintenance. The issue is popping up in the 93-96% load range 510-550lbs.

I’m really looking forward to setting some new PRs on week 13 but this issue has me hesitant to really send-it on my deads. Is there any near-term advise to help mitigate this leading up to the end of the program and/or anything I can do long term?

Thank you!

Assuming your hydration/nutrition and environment is reasonable (for example, I sometimes experience this when I’m lifting heavy in sweltering heat and humidity), you may need to experiment with different bracing strategies to mitigate this. For example, if you’re bracing while standing up before bending over to pick up the bar, trying a brace while bent over setting up; if you’re holding your breath throughout the whole ascent and slow eccentric descent, trying to release some air at the top before the lowering phase, etc.