Exclusive | I was hospitalized from the same exercise condition that killed the 24-year-old NYC marathon runner my arms swelled by 12 pounds

Madina Alam knew she should have stopped.But like many fit and healthy people during a workout, she figured she could push through the intensity of the pull-ups she was struggling to complete.Moments later, her body made the decision for her, as both of her arms began swelling to cartoonish, Popeye-like proportions.“It was a very intense workout, but I did sports growing up.

I did bodybuilding competitions, so I was used to pushing myself,” the 34-year-old told the Post.“But I didn’t realize what was going on.”What Alam dismissed as typical post-workout soreness would land her in the emergency room four days later — with the same condition that killed 24-year-old marathoner Rachel Apa just hours after she ran the 2026 NYC Marathon on Sunday.In 2012, Alam was taking weekly workout sessions with a personal trainer in Charlotte, North Carolina.

A personal trainer herself and a licensed mental health therapist, she wasn’t preparing for a competition.“I just like to work out,” she explained.The trouble started after she completed a set of eccentric pull-ups, also known as negative pull-ups.

Despite being fit and in shape, she hadn’t yet mastered the exercise.“I obviously did way too many,” she recalled.“My arms were swollen immediately after.” She remembers telling her trainer she couldn’t fully straighten her arms, but says “he didn’t really think much about it.”The pain and swelling only got worse throughout the day.

Unable to move much, Alam stayed home for several days, not even changing her shirt so she wouldn’t have to raise her arms.Still, she hadn’t taken any over-the-counter painkillers.“Looking back at it, I’m like, ‘Madina, why did you not go [get medical help]?'” she said.

“I thought it was gonna go away.” On FaceTime, even her trainer agreed.But a friend raised another possibility: “Oh, you might have rhabdo,” he told her, referring to rhabdomyolysis, a rare, life-threatening medical condition that...