Doctors have warned against a popular CrossFit challenge after a former World's Strongest Man competitor claimed his arm muscles 'blew up' from attempting it.
Michael Congdon, 32, had just started the intense Murph Challenge last May, which involves completing two one-mile runs and hundreds of push-ups, pull-ups, and squats.
Having been a top finisher in the 2018 World's Strongest Man competition, the Minnesota bodybuilder assumed it would be 'less extreme' than powerlifting.
However, the hulking 250-pound Mr Congdon was soon 'in tears and straight agony,' with his arm muscles feeling 'inflated by a pump.'
Two days after finishing the challenge, Mr Congdon's muscles 'looked like a balloon animal.'
His muscles had begun to break down and die from rhabdomyolysis, which causes muscle tissue to break down and release large amounts of toxic chemicals into his blood.
Blood tests revealed dangerously high levels of creatine kinase, an enzyme in the skeletal and heart muscles, as well as the brain, that helps give the muscles energy. If levels get too high, the enzyme can destroy muscles and build up in the kidneys, causing organ failure.
Last year, 25-year-old Jessica Johnson suffered the same injury after completing 50 pull-ups in preparation for the challenge. Her arm muscles began to die and potassium flooded her bloodstream and attack her liver and kidneys.
Michael Congdon, a 32-year-old former World's Strongest Man competitor, started the Murph challenge last May and was soon 'in tears and straight agony'
Jessica Johnson, 25, had done 50 pull-ups as part of the intense Murph Challenge when her arm muscles started to die
Doctors feared they would have to cut her arms open to release the tension.
Though the condition seems extreme, rhabdomyolysis is fairly common, affecting about 26,000 Americans a year and killing roughly one in 20 of those.
In most cases, it is caused by traumatic injury, high-intensity exercise, severe dehydration, long periods of inactivity, and substance use disorder.
Those with more severe damage may need dialysis to filter out toxins as the kidneys normally would.
Following Mr Congdon and Ms Johnson's cases, sports medicine experts warned against the 'very intense' Murph challenge, which involves two one-mile runs, 100 pull-ups, 200 push-ups, 300 air squats.
Dr Raeeda Gheewala, a sports nephrologist in Texas, told DailyMail.com: 'The Murph challenge is a high intensity workout that requires aggressive preparation and guidance through a qualified healthcare professional.
'As a sports kidney doctor, I see rhabdomyolysis, the breakdown of muscle after intense exercise that often results in kidney failure in my athlete clients.'
Mr Congdon admitted he 'came in unprepared' for the challenge, having only completed other CrossFit workouts four times before.
Halfway through, he was 'puking and delirious' with tears streaming down his face. His arms soon refused to bend due to severe inflammation.
He said: 'I felt unsafe in my own body, like something was seriously wrong, but I thought "I've never done this before, I'll be fine."'
Mr Congdon's fiance rushed him to the hospital, where doctors diagnosed him with rhabdomyolysis. Doctors found his levels of creatine were 'unreadable,' reaching nearly 50 times the normal limit.
He said: 'I was really scared for my life. That moment alone terrified me so much that I rescinded any need to find any of my physical limits ever again.
'I'd never experienced that sort of pain in my life. It was uncontrollable shaking and crying because my body hurt so bad.
'I should have died.'
Ms Johnson's arms swelled so badly that she struggled to brush her teeth or take a shower. She spent four days in the hospital receiving IV fluids and electrolytes. She is pictured at left working out and at right in the hospital
Mr Congdon (pictured here in the hospital) was diagnosed him with rhabdomyolysis. Doctors found his levels of creatine were 'unreadable,' reaching nearly 50 times the normal limit.
The morning after Ms Johnson started training for the Murph challenge, she noticed her arms were so swollen that she struggled to brush her teeth or take a shower.
She said: 'There was visible swelling. I looked like the Hulk. Everyone said "We just thought you were super jacked or something."'
Despite the fact that she stayed hydrated throughout the day, she noticed she wasn't urinating as much as normal, and her urine was much darker than normal.
Four days after working out, Ms Johnson rushed to her local urgent care, who immediately sent her to the emergency room and confirmed rhabdomyolysis.
She said: 'The doctors were very certain that it was the pull-ups that caused it. They almost had to cut my arms open to release tension out of my arms.'
Ms Johnson suffered damage to her kidneys and liver, though she fully recovered and was released from the hospital four days after being admitted.
Mr Congdon admitted that the experienced pushed him to step away from extreme workouts.
He said: 'Pushing myself to the max and almost dying was the final straw. I only do enough to feel good now.
'I don't train nearly as much, if at all. That was a truly life-changing, mind-changing moment.'
Mr Congdon admitted that the experienced pushed him to step away from extreme workouts. He said: 'Pushing myself to the max and almost dying was the final straw. I only do enough to feel good now.' He is now more focused on fishing (pictured here)
Dr Gheewala warned that rhabdomyolysis is a 'medical emergency,' and at the first sign of pain and tenderness in the muscles alongside blood in the urine, 'go to the emergency room immediately.'
'The best outcome occurs when the kidneys are flushed out with intravenous fluids as quick as possible,' she added.
'For those athletes who are new to intense exercise, have a history of dehydration, or any healthcare concern, the Murph challenge may not be the best workout to be involved in.'
Dr Milica McDowell, an exercise physiologist at Gait Happens and CrossFit trainer, told DailyMail.com that 'the Murph challenge is a very intense ask.
'Any good workout coach knows how to modify this workout to keep people safe. You could perform a modified Murph in a variety of ways to meet the challenge where your fitness level is to keep yourself safe.'
She also suggested walking a mile, doing pushups on your knees, or doing half of the challenge.
Dr McDowell said: 'There of course are risks, such as sprains, strains, overuse or bony stress injuries if you were completely reconditioned and tried to do an entire Murph, but if you have common sense and qualified coaches, you can do a version of it that meets you where you are at.'
via. dailymail
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