Excessive heartbeats / Leg Workout

[jsxa1]

During any workout dealing with my arms or upper body I never notice any effects of a cardio workout.

On that note, for as long as I an remember when ever I do a leg workout my heart seems to go crazy. It quickly get to the point where I can clearly feel it beating through my chest and can seemingly feel my pulse w/o checking it. I get lightheaded, not to the point of passing out but definently noticable, and I often feel that my heart is working harder than when I actually run or do a strict cardio day.

I guess my question is that i'm wondering if this is a bad thing/ possible reasons for this?

 

[Rabbi]

It's hard to say what it could be without any information on what exercises you're doing, reps, recovery time or anything else.

My best guess would be that you're not used to heavy lifting, and leg workouts are simply more intense than upper body or arms just because of the amount of work being done. Good sets of deadlifts and squats should leave your heart pounding and endorphins rushing.

 

[PinkStrawberries]

I second Rabbi.

As you begin to exercise, heart rate increases in order to increase the delivery of oxygen to working muscles. Bigger muscles groups, such as legs, require more oxygen due to the amount of energy used.

 

[KStoner6tb]

Good sets of deadlifts and squats should leave your heart pounding and endorphins rushing.

Right on. When you say legs OP, were you referring to squats? Haha cuz they get everyone's heart going! That's when I first decided to step up the cardio is when I got serious about doing squats, deads, and cleans. It's a different feeling than not being able to bench press a certain amount of weight(taking the pecs to failure)

Not being able to finish a lift just because of sheer exhaustion sucks. I'd suggest you work on your cardio endurance if you want to be sucking less wind while doing those legs.

 

[Binge Artist]

Ever heard of breathing squats?

Take a weight you normally rep 10 times, and instead go for 15 to 20 by pausing and breathing. By the end of the set, your heart will literally be pounding out of your chest. If you're doing it right, anyone within 10 feet of you should be able to gauge your pulse just by looking at your shirt.

This is also a very good way to get your wind up for regular leg exercise.

 

[RedLeader]

Honestly, each and every leg day is a crazy experience. I get nervous hours before, my heart races, I get lightheaded, I often vomit and/or feel nausous for a while afterword, etc.. Granted I do go really hard on squats, hack squats and leg presses, but it's still an overall awkward thing.

Are you drinking enough water? Are you taking pre-workout supplements and/or caffeine that may account for the heartrate increase? I find that keeping very hydrated, avoiding caffeine, not drinking the previous night, and taking plenty of time between sets can minimise these negatives. Again, though, if you are the type who is pushing yourself really hard, there will always be a tradeoff.

 

[RigaCrypto]

In my experience that's due to insufficient cardiorespiratory fitness and / or hypotension. I usually get shit like that, heart beating wildly, dizziness almost to the point of fainting, nausea, when I exert myself intensely after a long period of not exercising (eg. a few months) and being out of shape.

I recently started exercising again after taking a break for most of the winter and in the first few days I would get dizzy and out of breath after performing the most intense exercises (push-up burpees, squat jumps etc.). And lower body exercises can be much more intense than jogging, on par with sprinting. But after taking up running again in a few days I would get much less tired after these exercises and could do them with shorter breaks in between.

The best way I can think of to train yourself for intense anaerobic effort is sprinting. You can work it into your cardio routine and interspersing it with lower intensity cardio has been shown to greatly improve results.