Rhabdo Reflections

Almost exactly 1 year ago, my perspective on health completely changed. 

Every year our gym does a workout called Murph in honor of  Navy Seal Lt. Michael P. Murphy, who was killed in action in Afghanistan in 2005. The workout consists of 1 mile run, 100 pull ups, 200 push-ups, 300 squats, followed by another 1 mile run. It is to be completed with a 14lb weight vest. Sounds like a walk in the park, right?

May of 2020 was the first year that I completed Murph with the 14lb weight vest. Just to give you some context, gyms had been closed down the previous 3 months because of mandatory quarantine for COVID, so to say I was unconditioned for the workout is an understatement. 

In my mind, modifying a workout was out of the question. I thrive on a good challenge. Competitive runs deep in the Benight household. Actually, when my husband or I are complaining about something we jokingly tell one another to stop being a “little sissy bitch.” 🤪 We are gonna have to figure out another saying when we have kids!

Well...2 miles, 100 pull ups, 200 push ups, 300 squats later, I felt like I had been run over by a train. 

About 2 days after completing the workout severe muscle pain and stiffness started setting in. At first I just thought it was because the workout was so challenging. I had been doing at home workouts for the past 2 months, so it made sense that my arms were sore. But, by day 3, I couldn’t straighten my arms past 90 degrees. It was literally like they were locked in place. The pain was so bad that it was waking me up in the middle of the night. My urine was the color of tea, in spite of drinking a ton of water. I knew that something wasn’t quite right. So, I called my sister who is a nurse. She told me that just to be safe I should call my doctor. 

This is a picture of how far I could lift my arm 3 days post Murph. Truly, could not lift them an inch higher. 

After having my urine and blood analyzed, my doctor called me telling me that I needed to go to the emergency room because I had developed a life-threatening condition called rhabdomyolysis.

Rhabdomyo-what? Yeah, it's a strange word. It’s often shortened to “rhabdo.” Without getting super scientific, it is basically a condition where your skeletal muscles breakdown and leak toxic byproducts into your bloodstream. These toxins can damage your liver and kidneys if not immediately treated. 

Upon admission to the hospital my creatine kinase levels, which should be less than 225 U/L were at 84,144 U/L, nearly 373% higher than normal. My liver enzymes, which should be less than about 40 U/L were at 1,533 U/L. The hospitalist said that my liver enzymes were as high as someone in liver failure. Fortunately, my kidneys were spared, so I did not require dialysis. 

For 3 days, I was pumped full of fluids. The picture on the right is after 3 days of fluids. I literally look like I just gave birth!

It has been almost exactly a year since I had rhabdo, and while I wouldn’t want it to happen again, I am thankful for the experience. You know you might have a problem with exercise obsession when you have to be hospitalized because you pushed past your body’s limits. I know that there are some people out there that would wear rhabdo as a badge of honor, knowing they pushed their body to the limit. But to be honest, it’s kind of embarrassing that I, having a masters in nutrition and my personal training certification, didn’t listen to my body. That I cared more about finishing a workout than I did about taking care of my body. 

Don’t get me wrong, I still love a good challenging workout, but not at my body’s expense.

Pre-rhabdo, I was doing high intensity style workouts 5-6 days per week. I would still workout even if I had nagging pain, I would workout even if my body was exhausted. Not to mention I was not eating enough to support the level of activity I was doing! 

Nowadays, my workouts look quite a bit different. 

✅ I focus on strength training 3 days per week.

✅ I incorporate 2 days of high intensity style workouts with weights.

✅ I prioritize getting 8-10k steps per day. 

✅ I eat a LOT more food to support building muscle and recovering. 

✅ I take 2 full rest days. 

While you might not ever experience this extreme of overtraining like I did, a lot of women actually struggle to reach their body composition (i.e. fat loss or muscle building) goals because they are overtraining OR not eating enough to support their training.

This can be a difficult concept to accept. And please don't get me wrong, activity is a KEY ingredient to reaching your body composition goals!

But, if you are overtraining or not fueling your body with enough to support your level of training, you might struggle to get the results you are after, especially building muscle! And did you know that having more muscle actually increases your metabolism? This means that as you build muscle, you are turning your body into a fat-burning machine!

Take it from someone who once was an exercise-a-holic, I have experienced first hand how overtraining can stunt your progress!

Here are some consequences of over-exercising:

⛔️ overexercising can slow down the production of active thyroid hormone which controls your metabolism.

⛔️ overexercising can cause the adrenal glands to pump out excessive amounts of the stress hormone cortisol, which is no good if you are trying to lose weight.

⛔️ overexercising slows down recovery, which makes building muscle nearly impossible!

The truth is, in order to achieve a lean and strong body, you have to give your body ample time and fuel for recovery or else your body will break down that hard earned muscle for energy!

It is absolutely possible to reach your body goals without exercising 6-7 days per week or spending hours each week doing cardio.

Wouldn't you like to feel confident that you are training effectively for your specific body composition goals?

If your answer is "yes," then keep reading!

1. Incorporate strength training 3-5 days per week

As I mentioned earlier, lifting weights is a game changer for losing body fat and of course building muscle. As long as you are eating enough to support your training, lifting weights up to 5 times per week can be absolutely fine! When coupled with proper nutrition, you can also see great results from strength training as little as 3 times per week.

2. Ensure that you are fueling your body with enough macronutrients to support your level of exercise.

Are you eating enough protein, fat, and/or carbohydrates? Are you drinking enough water? You might be surprised to find out that under eating is keeping you from creating the lean and strong body you desire!

A great way to find out if you are eating enough is by calculating your macronutrient needs using my Free Lean and Strong Guidebook. After calculating your calorie, protein, fat, and carbohydrate needs, you can track your food for a week using the app Cronometer to see how your current habits stack up to what your body actually needs! 

3. Rest is just as important as training.

I personally recommend that all of my clients take 2 full rest days from exercise. This allows the body to recover, repairing and building muscle tissue, which, as I stated earlier increases, your metabolism! On your rest days, you can still stay active through walking or stretching, but reserve your strength training for 4-5 days per week for best results! :)