Doctors have issued a warning to fitness enthusiasts after an American woman has seen her muscles 'explode' after performing too many pull ups at the gym.
While many believe there is no such thing as pushing too far at the gym, Jessica Johnson from South Carolina found out that's not the case the hard way after suffering a bizarre injury.
Johnson was completing her first week of Crossfit's intense regime, known as the Murph Challenge. The grueling workout includes runs, pull-ups, push-ups squats, and attempted 50 pull-ups.
The 25-year-old didn't notice the extent of the damage at the time even after waking up with 'super sore' and 'swollen' arms which Johnson assumed was just a result of not training her upper body for a while.
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Johnson's arms continued to swell in the days following and left her feeling like ‘hulk’.
Eventually, after she started to lose feelings in her hands and was rushed to the hospital on Saturday 24 August, three days after the gym session.
Upon her hospital visit, doctors diagnosed the gym enthusiast with rhabdomyolysis (rhabdo), a serious condition where muscles break down and release harmful substances into the blood.
This disease is often caused by high-intensity exercise done over a short period and can cause organ failure or even worse, be fatal.
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After being discharged following four days in hospital the fitness fanatic took to TikTok to post a video of her in hospital which has now been viewed by over 360,000 people.
Sharing how she felt about the whole incident, Jessica said: "I was very shocked. It felt embarrassing. I was admitted into the hospital for four days.
"I thought 'I'm here because I did too hard of a workout and I'm literally one of the fittest people I know'. I was definitely shocked and didn't know that this could happen.”
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Another clip shows Jessica explaining her diagnosis and warning others to 'take it easy. You don't need to go that hard. You're fine', following advice from a doctor.
Tom Jenkins