The Unexpected Side Effect Of Intense Workouts Nobody Knows About

I went back to my kickboxing gym after three months of taking a break to save money. On my second day back I attended a strength class. I didn't know what muscle group we'd be working, but I had been to strength classes before so I didn't give it a second thought.

The hourlong biceps class was a mix of TRX bands, kettlebells, power cleans, and dumbbells. There were 15 stations with a short break in the middle before repeating all the stations.

I remember after just a few stations of bicep work, I wasn't able to lift myself off the ground using TRX bands (second red flag). When I made it to the "power clean" station I began taking the weights off the ends until the trainer came up to me and said, "Well, you have to put some weight on the bar." So I put 5-pound weights on either side of the bar and had a difficult time pushing the 55-pound bar over my head. It wasn't long before I couldn't even pick up a 10-pound weight, let alone swing a kettlebell over my head.

I found the trainer's "come on guys, don't be so pathetic" attitude intimidating, and while he clearly saw me struggling, he never told me to take it easy, take a break, or even to stop. I never considered stopping myself because I didn't think you could injure yourself in class unless you felt a sharp pain, and I never considered myself incapable of completing a class.

On Sunday morning the swelling was worse and only got worse as the day went on. Realizing this wasn't normal, my boyfriend decided we had better go to the ER.

I had an IV giving me fluids after they finally told me that I had a bad case of rhabdomyolysis. My creatine kinase (CK) levels were at 8,000, and hospitals will overnight patients at 5,000 CKs. Creatine kinase is a product of muscle breakdown that is released from damaged muscles.

Rhabdo is when your muscle fibers die and release their contents into the bloodstream. In extreme cases, this leads to complications like kidney failure and in rare cases even death. Prompt treatment is crucial in the healing process.

I got rhabdo in both of my biceps, so I couldn't move either of my arms for several days. When the results came back on day two, my CKs had increased to 10,000. Another night in the hospital.

Day three came and my CK levels had plateaued. The doctors wanted to make sure I had fluids continually until they saw proof that my CKs were headed down. Finally on Thursday I got the thumbs-up to head home, and I've never cried tears of joy like those. I spent two weeks resting with no alcohol, caffeine, or exercise.