Heartburn from lifting
 

I've been lifting seriously for about five months now. I've seen some real improvement in both my strength and physique and I am really starting to enjoy it. My only problem is that for about the last 6 weeks or so, whenever I lift I start to get wicked heartburn. It's not bad on days when I work my arms, but when I do chest workouts (mostly dumbell press, and incline dumbell press) my esophagus starts to BURN. At first I thought it had something to do with what I had for lunch, but I've tried everything from burgers, to salad, to not eating at all and I still get wicked heartburn. Anybody else had this problem or know of some way to deal with it (preferrably without pills..)?

Hmm....try taking some TUMS before you work out. That will reduce the acidity of your stomach and potentially relieve your heartburn woes. If that doesn't work, I would talk to your primary care doctor or a sports medicine physician.

Lay off the trans/momsaturate/polysaturated fats. Usually acid problems durring exercise is tied to diet. Don't just laytoff burgers for a few weeks, lay off them for a few months. Try a gardenburger. My heartburn problems went away when I switched to organic fruits and veggies and amped up my workout (freeweights, tons of cardio, and yoga).

Try the TUMS suggestion.

In some people, sudden heavy exertion (or constant jarring, as from joggin) can cause the little sphincter that keeps stomach contents from coming back up to loosen; and from this, you can get heartburn, aka acid reflux.

The TUMS may do the job for you. If not, you may need to see a doctor to solve the problem.

Well, first off, you listed two good fats and one bad fat, but also left off the worst one, saturated fats. That is not the cause of the problem, I believe. First off, monounsaturated and polyunsaturated fats are good for you (the natural fat found in peanut butter, etc.). The saturated fats are the bad ones and clog up arteries and blood vessels.

Ah, thank you...typo! Lay off the trans/saturated fats. Poly and mono are fine. Don't worry about peanutbutter, olive oil, canola oil, peanut oil, cashews, almonds, peanuts, most other nuts, avocados, corn, soybean, safflower, cottonseed oils, and fish. The liquid fats (mono and poly) are usually the better ones, as they can lower LDL and raise HDL cholesterol. Sorry about the confusion.