Vestibular effects and adaptation in training

These notes combine advice from 17 reviewed passages across 14 workouts.

Overview

Coach’s claim

Some inverted movements can cause dizziness and visual blurring even when they do not feel heavy. Dizziness in this kind of work is somewhat normal. [2] [17]

The body adapts with repeated exposure. People respond differently to the same movements, so the reaction you get is not the same for everyone. Inverted positions can feel confusing at first, but the body becomes familiar with them as practice continues. [10] [16]

Why dizziness happens

Coach’s claim

The reactions are tied to G-force, described as pressure the brain applies to the skull. The brain experiences this force in these movements, and doing a movement very fast generates it. [4] [11]

Coach’s claim

A normal person may faint at about 4 G, and a backflip is around that level. A double backflip reaches around 6 to 7 G, which is why most people black out. Twisting gymnastics movements can bring a person close to fainting, which is why very few people reach that level. Astronauts, who endure the highest loads, withstand around 8 to 9 G with special training. [4] [6]

Coach’s claim

Sudden movements can cause dizziness, and older people who do a movement suddenly experience it. A person unaccustomed to such movements can get dizzy or fall when doing them fast, and people over 40 or 50 who are not used to them can have the same reaction, even to bending down. Feeling the head go and come back after a fast movement is normal. [4] [6] [11]

Coach’s claim

In handstand, dizziness mostly comes from holding the breath. [8]

Coach’s claim

Spinning on the head sends blood to the head. [9]

Coach’s claim

Turning in place can cause a head-related problem in some people. A full, dense training session can leave the head spinning, and vision blurring during this work is a normal reaction that shows the body is responding. [1] [5] [7]

How the body adapts

Coach’s claim

Repeated spinning practice can cause severe nausea at first. One person reported vomiting for the first six months of spinning practice before the body adapted, and continuous spinning is associated with frequent vomiting during the first three to four months. Spinning sessions that last for hours can lead to vomiting. Once the body gets used to rotation, the nausea no longer occurs. [3] [14] [15]

Coach’s claim

Vision darkening during inverted training decreases with practice and eventually stops. The adaptation is gradual: darkening moves later into the session and then disappears. [11]

The body gets used to these forces by doing the movements. Moving between surfaces, such as from the floor to a bar or to sand, can disorient the body until it adapts to the new surface. [4] [12]

Get the body used to these forces with regular practice. [11]

Managing dizziness in training

Coach’s claim

Dizziness can make a movement troublesome to perform. [13]

Coach’s claim

When dizziness makes a movement troublesome, do not force it; move to another exercise and repeat. If the head is still spinning, do not do the movement and keep both feet on the ground. [7] [13]

Coach’s claim

Show turning movements slowly, and use a half circle rather than a full large circle when demonstrating them. [1]

When dizziness appears in handstand, check whether you held your breath. [8]

The mind should be clear when training. [13]

Coach’s claim

Handstand is the best and safest way to get the body used to these forces, because it is not speed-based. [11]

Coach’s experience

In his own training, the coach feels stronger on days when he trains spinning on his head. [9]

In his own training, doing the movement on sand completely confused his head. [12]

In his own experience, he had nausea for about two weeks while his head was spinning. [15]

Dizziness in turning movements was his biggest problem, and his turning capacity grew from about five repetitions to thirty or forty with repeated practice. [16]

Related pages

• Nausea and vomiting during training: Related to

Sources

1. 2024-01-16, 2622.1-2648.5s

Workout: workout:2024-01-16

Passage: passage:2024-01-16:001003-001013

2. 2024-02-19, 66.3-76.9s

Workout: workout:2024-02-19

Passage: passage:2024-02-19:000016-000018

3. 2024-02-19, 104.1-136.5s

Workout: workout:2024-02-19

Passage: passage:2024-02-19:000030-000041

4. 2024-02-19, 4351.6-4397.6s

Workout: workout:2024-02-19

Passage: passage:2024-02-19:001587-001608

5. 2024-03-12, 2407.5-2415.3s

Workout: workout:2024-03-12

Passage: passage:2024-03-12:000868-000872

6. 2024-04-05, 3349.0-3416.3s

Workout: workout:2024-04-05

Passage: passage:2024-04-05:001081-001105

7. 2024-04-19, 2859.6-2873.4s

Workout: workout:2024-04-19

Passage: passage:2024-04-19:000895-000900

8. 2024-05-07, 4571.4-4587.7s

Workout: workout:2024-05-07

Passage: passage:2024-05-07:001484-001488

9. 2024-06-27, 1435.6-1447.3s

Workout: workout:2024-06-27

Passage: passage:2024-06-27:000403-000407

10. 2024-07-11, 1865.4-1871.3s

Workout: workout:2024-07-11

Passage: passage:2024-07-11:000630-000630

11. 2024-09-05, 2164.2-2228.6s

Workout: workout:2024-09-05

Passage: passage:2024-09-05:000780-000791

12. 2024-10-22, 4049.4-4061.4s

Workout: workout:2024-10-22

Passage: passage:2024-10-22:001524-001529

13. 2024-11-26, 3776.7-3791.2s

Workout: workout:2024-11-26

Passage: passage:2024-11-26:000981-000988

14. 2024-12-27, 5275.4-5281.9s

Workout: workout:2024-12-27

Passage: passage:2024-12-27:001784-001787

15. 2024-12-27, 5333.3-5342.7s

Workout: workout:2024-12-27

Passage: passage:2024-12-27:001803-001805

16. 2025-05-15, 3091.0-3117.5s

Workout: workout:2025-05-15

Passage: passage:2025-05-15:001131-001138

17. 2026-05-10, 2287.2-2292.8s

Workout: workout:2026-05-10

Passage: passage:2026-05-10:000715-000716