Two cases of exertional rhabdomyolysis precipitated by personal trainers.

Introduction: Numerous cases of exertional rhabdomyolysis have been reported in the literature, and these cases mostly involve individuals who were inexperienced exercisers, uneducated in fitness and health principles, dehydrated or heat stressed, taking drugs, or military recruits in basic training.

Purpose: The purpose of this article is to review two cases of exertional rhabdomyolysis in healthy, experienced exercisers.

Methods/results: The cases reviewed are for a 22-yr-old female college student and a 37-yr-old male physician who presented with rhabdomyolysis secondary to exercise in a local health club that was part of a national chain.

Discussion: In these two cases individuals, both well educated and experienced in fitness, were encouraged by fitness instructors in a local health club to overexertion during their exercise routine leading to rhabdomyolysis.