One of the primary objectives of 180DegreeHealth is to provide information, not on the dangers of sitting arou
nd on the couch pounding big bags of Doritos and 3 Liter bottles of Mountain Dew, but on the dangers of the modern exercise and dieting fads that have arisen in response to the unhealthy modern diet and lifestyle.
A few weeks ago I wrote a post that included some thoughts about the dangers of bodybuilding. ?In the comments, Eric Lepine, who has an encyclopedic knowledge of exercise physiology, bodybuilding, and other forms of intense physical training, mentioned that his research has led him to the conclusion that some of the dangers of intense training stem from Central Nervous System (CNS) Fatigue. I invited him to write an article for the site about CNS Fatigue – sharing some of his thoughts.
In short, when you train hard it’s not just the muscles that need to repair and recover. Hard training taxes the CNS, and this can take far longer to recover from. Not that you should be afraid to exercise, but awareness about the involvement of the CNS in physical exercise can help you customize your own exercise practices to find just the right dose of intensity, workout frequency, and volume – if vigorous?exercise and fitness?is something you are interested in pursuing.?As Eric points out in?his article below, what YOUR central nervous system is capable of withstanding and how long it takes to recover is completely individual.
Thus, like everything that I advocate in terms of metabolism, understanding how your body works, and focusing inward on determining the diet and lifestyle that is appropriate for YOU, the same can be said of the CNS. You have to assess your recovery and adjust it in a way that allows you to find your sweet spot – making progress without encountering the ravages of overtraining that surface?most commonly as’sleep loss, a loss in strength, a drop in metabolism/body temperature,?fatigue,?declining libido,?and other health problems both minor and major.?Below are the’thoughts that Eric wanted to share.
As a reminder, you can sign up to catch my talk for the Small Changes Big Results Health Summit’tomorrow HERE.
Also, just a few days left to purchase the 35 audio recordings, mine included, before the price doubles at the Healthy Living Summit?HERE
Central Nervous System FATIGUE: Can it be measured and, should we care?
By Eric Lepine
Hans Selye long ago insisted that the objective should never be to avoid stress entirely, stress being an inevitable element of life and a natural by-product of our daily activities. And, especially insofar as the world of training and exercise is concerned, once we recognize that to reach our full potential, we must first determine our optimal level of stress, we can then set out to call upon our adaptive energy at a rate and in a direction adjusted to the innate structure of our physiology and psychology. This, of course, is no easy task, and one that requires much practice and a level of almost constant self-analysis.??
Working with a physiological diagnostic software called Omegawave Sport, a tool originally developed by the Russians for use in their space program to measure central nervous system (CNS) functions (and one highly regarded by the likes of Mel Siff) we can, in fact, very specifically measure CNS function and thus, fatigue and overload which, in that respect, become very real with very measurable physiological effects.?
According to Charlie Francis, one of the greatest sprint coaches to ever live, ?all CNS work should be very high quality work in terms of effort and technique. More broadly speaking, Francis defined CNS fatigue as a ?comprehensive concept, which links a number of bodily systems and functions together, for example endocrine, muscular, neuroendocrine, neuromuscular, etc. Given this premise, it follows that the kind of stimulus required, based on the goals we have set and the current state of the individual, will be the prime determinants of the the type of training we should submit ourselves (or our athletes/clients) to.
On paper, this certainly sounds like the right idea.
In other words, we are talking about those factors that take time, beyond that which can be explained purely by muscular recovery, to generate an equivalent or higher performance than was seen in the training session or, if you will, the time it takes for the CNS to recover to the point of readiness for additional high intensity work and which differs significantly in time frame from muscular recovery.
Inevitably, when CNS fatigue or overload is observed?depending on what we want to call it?we also notice marked changes in various performance measures such as increased ground contact in any plyometric activity, decreased power output, slower reaction times, etc.; these all constitute very clear, real and measureable signs of CNS fatigue.
Of course, the type of athlete, the goals of said athlete, the type of training and given training phase, etc. will all serve to dictate how important it is to actually account for these observations and what, if any, will be the impact on the overall training and trainee. Athletes and trainees dealing with movements requiring high levels of proficiency and skill would generally do best to avoid training of said skills in a state of fatigue, which could otherwise compromise both performance and safety. Where this is less of a preoccupation, there will be a bit more leeway although where general health is concerned, extra care and precaution are always warranted.
What appears quite clear is that the length of recovery time needed to bring the CNS back to normal function depends greatly on the degree to which it was depleted, the recovery ability of the individual, as well as the various recovery methods used (interestingly, ?recovery methods? can also cause ?habituation? as well as ?over-stimulation? hence, care must be used here as well). The rate at which the CNS recovers is a very individual characteristic, with some trainees having tremendous capacity, and others having very limited capacity. Activities requiring high rates of force development (RFD) and maximum voluntary contraction (MVC) usually will place the greatest demands on the CNS, thus depleting it more rapidly.
Aside from general CNS overload, fatigue can also be of sympathetic or parasympathetic nature, each with its own set of symptoms as well as preferred recovery methods.
I mentioned briefly at the beginning of the article one method used for tracking CNS parameters. If one wishes, there are also more simple methods of tracking one’s level of training ?readiness,? which are not unlike Matt’s past simple recommendation of using a refractometer (Eat for Heat) for gathering more empirical knowledge relative to overall hydration levels and metabolic state. One of the simpler methods is the finger tap test, a very basic albeit less accurate method. Basically, you tap your index finger as quickly as possible within a given timeframe (usually 10 seconds) and keep track of your numbers. A drop in performance could mean a drop in CNS output capacity.
A more accurate approach favored, among others, by national judo and wrestling national teams, is the handgrip dynamometer (a squeezing device commonly used in the rehab setting, which is held in the hand and allows the measuring of grip strength). Again, keeping track of numbers over time (usually in the morning but, also at three different times daily), any significant drop or constant decrease over time could indicate that the trainee is not fully recovered or not recovering as quickly as anticipated.
Another simple method, used by track cyclists and speedskaters, is the vertical jump, again with the same idea: a drop in performance is usually a sign to back off. In all of these examples, an inferior result doesn’t always suggest that you should completely avoid training that day but, at the very least, volume (and in rarer cases, both volume and intensity) should be modified.
Other useful sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous system markers one could keep track of are basal temperature, resting heart rate, blood pressure and Achilles tendon reflex. Any noticeable sleeplessness, lack of concentration, and even trembling post-workout could also be indications of CNS fatigue.
One element we have yet to broach here pertains to the development of resistance to fatigue under any given situation, the latter implying that an appropriate level of stimulation be imparted on the CNS in order for this adaptation to occur. Matt Perryman not long ago wrote there could be many reasons for us to believe that training to cause ??adaptation of the systems that cause adaptation?? could be a worthwhile endeavor. But, problems arise in that, in spite of the numerous opinions on the topic, we aren’t really sure of how to gauge or interpret CNS fatigue. Being that fatigue, level of motivation and readiness always are, at least in part, of a subjective nature, we are often left with more questions than answers.
However, by virtue of what we call fuzzy logic–a concept perfectly adaptable to the world of exercise physiology?or by the very notion that none of this is in any way, shape or form a linear process, we can simply remind ourselves that much here is really just a matter of degree and, given this, CNS fatigue need not concern the everyday trainee to too great an extent. At least not with the tediousness typically required for elite athletes, and as long as some level of caution and awareness is implied.
In that respect, once we understand that several types of equilibrium exist (stable, unstable, metastable and multistable), we can more readily consider the possibility that there may be more than one type and more than one degree of fatigue occurring during and after a given causal/training session. This presupposes that we should always consider the possibility of sudden and unexpected changes, whether these manifest through inexplicable sudden loss of form or exceptional improvement in performance.
Ilya Prigogine showed that this perpetual state of non-equilibrium or dynamic homeostasis may in fact be a source of impending order. Being that all systems comprise subsystems in a continual state of fluctuation, in which one or more fluctuations can totally disrupt the existing organization and produce unpredictable leaps to ‘chaos’ or to a higher level of organization, increasing levels of order can occur spontaneously or by chance through a process of self-organization and, this applies to any and all physiological process, including fatigue and CNS fatigue and its ensuing consequences.
The above points, in effect, are what constitute the ?art? portion of the art/science of training conundrum?
first
I was a 250 pound, 46 year old, weakling a couple years ago, now I weigh 170 and can do 30 pullups, unlimited pushups, and heavy weighted squats. I got to where I am through questionable dieting and exercise methods.
Matt is teaching me how to eat for heat, what would you say is a good body-weight only maintenance regime?
I’ve been doing 3x weekly body weight days, not to-failure, just like 10-15 pullups and maybe a couple sets of 25 pushups throughout the day and some not-so-heavy squats.
Re-gaining weight is a huge horror to the formerly obese, so is going down on max reps, but there has to be a good middle-ground in exercising just like in eating.
There’s definitely a middle-ground and I think it’s a journey for each individual to find what that is.
I hope to do a post soon entitled something like “The Case for Low-Intensity exercise.”
Not training to failure or going to extremes of exertion certainly has some advantages, most notably being able to do it more often and also enjoying it a heck of a lot more – and these things foster getting in great shape and also doing it for the many months and years required to actually get to a place like the one you’ve arrived at Jack.
I def. struggle with “going too hard” when I workout. I used to get away with it and feel great but now (the past year or so) I just feel wretched for a few days after my workouts. Which really bums me out!! I’m thinking if I lighten up the load and just move to move instead of trying to attain some pysique I will feel better (and prolly achieve a better result?) I just have it in my head that I am “suppose” to lift heavy and anything else is a waste of time :-/ Gosh i’m messed up!! lol
Curious: I am 45yo male, 13 weeks into weightlifting, BMI 32, unknown bodyfat, but definite changes (good). My biggest hurdle is currently CNS fatigue, especially after deadlifts and squats. How did you deal with/overcome this? Thanks
Second?
During high school I played sports and practicing a couple of hours every day really took a toll on me. I would have been better off taking enough time to recover but you can’t exactly stay on the team if you are not willing to put in the hours every day. Certainly trying to eat healthy and having a lot of anxiety didn’t help my ability to cope with the training. I can’t really blame the school program though. It is difficult to balance team practice and individual needs of the players. Maybe I was just not cut out for such competitive school sports. Feeling tired all the time certainly affected my performance.
Eric, I looked into heart rate variability a few years back when I was running as a measure of training overload.
As a result of my reading, I started developing an app for android that uses a bluetooth zephyr heart rate monitor (from what I understand they’re known for being quite accurate) to track the time between heart beats and come up with a reading that indicates if you’re well rested, overtraining etc.
I lost interest when I stopped running and stopped the development, but my understanding is it would have been a simple and reliable way to measure if you were overtraining.
Is heart rate variability something that you’ve used to measure CNS Fatigue? Or is it a different concept?
Sinful… HRV can be useful for keeping track of cumulative fatigue (at least in very broad terms) and approximating if full recovery has occurred. As a stand-alone marker however, it offers only a very limited view of what is going on at the CNS level…
Thanks Eric.
Are vagal tone and HRV the same thing?
All of these at home measurements involve measuring a change in state. Can CNS function be degraded already? I’m particularly thinking of the long term stress on the CNS through things like emotional trauma. How can one see what one’s baseline CNS function is?
Evin… Ultimately, keeping track of things over a given period of time can give you your answer, along with taking note of more subjectives things such as quality of sleep, appetite, motivation for training, etc.
“You never know what is enough unless you know what is more than enough.” –William Blake
I certainly have tested many boundaries over the years! Great quote Derek.
Props to Yoga of Eating for pointing me to the quote. It’s been almost 10 years since I’ve read it, and I still remember most of the quotes at the beginning of the chapters.
I used to think that way myself and pushed my limits far too often. However the problem lies in when you find that “more than enough” stage, it’s too late and you need to take 3 weeks, or longer to recover from illness or injury. It kinda sucks. Am I understanding that quote properly? I think it’d be great to know ahead of time, using a few of these tools, before I hit the more than enough stage…I used to think I could just listen to my body but these might help me a little bit.
great intro article, of course because it’s me, i think it’d be helpful to go even further into the subject. unfortunately the athletic trainers don’t talk to the somatics people who don’t talk to the old school qi-gong martial artists who don’t talk to the neuro-developmental people.
this is like the difference between people who think autism is a singular “disease” and people who understand it to be a spectrum and constellation of symptoms on which the entire human race exists in relative context.
This is OT but I just read this and wanted to get some opinions – http://robrhinehart.com/?p=298
Basically, this guy has stopped eating food (He is like the anti-mat “Don’t eat the food” :P), so just reading that he passes no waste (seems like his intestines would atrophy after a while), and he mentioned after week 4 that he was feeling cold (low metabolism wouldn’t be surprising considering he is only consuming tiny amounts of calories).
Thanks for sharing, this is really pretty interesting…!
I would like to try that! Somehow it reminds me of RBTI…
It is interesting, it looks like there was a 2 month update on there as well which I missed. Im actually looking forward to seeing how it ends up going over the next few months – though he seems to occasionally eat food sometimes as well.
He mentioned his endurance went up a lot and he was able to run for much longer. It increased at such a rapid rate that I find it clear that has metabolism has lowered– he is able to burn calories at a lower rate than he was before.
Also, his skin clearing up and his senses being sharper are classic signs of fasting.. But I will give it to him that he realized his calories were too low and increased them dramatically. Maybe it is healthy, maybe it isn’t. I wouldn’t do it.
I wouldn’t say that.
He said that due to lower energy cost for digestion he has more energy to use.
So no metabolism lowering occured you can see that in particualr in his chart of weightloss that he used his fat reserves how much he lost per week.
If he had low metabolism problems he would keep his weight or lose just a little.
He doesn’t fast, he eats up to 3 “meals” – drinks, that’s no fasting in my eyes.
Added to this his drink needs far fewer calories to break down by his system than let’s say a burger what his diet was mainly consisting of junk food.
The sharpness, clear skin could be anything, like the body gets everything from his drink that it needs. We don’t know for sure.
Later he stated to up his calories to maintain his weight because – read yourself:
“My original mixture gave me 1550 kcal/day. I hypothesized that “caloric restriction” had health benefits and that the human body could survive on fewer “higher quality” calories. I now consider that a failed hypothesis. After 30 days I exhausted my reserves of fat and started to feel hungry, lose weight and muscle mass, and my gym performance regressed. I ran some numbers and decided to increase my intake to 2629 kcal/day. I quickly put the weight back on, my chest and arms filled out, and I felt much healthier.”
But still I am very interested how he is going to do in a few months :)
Good post. It also reminds me that I took a week off last week, so I’ll need an extra week to conclude the bench press experiment. Hope that doesn’t cause a problem, but it was a needed rest.
Also, you would probably really like the “Gym Movement Protocol” as taught by Adam T. Glass. It’s a method to assess on any given day what movements your body wants to do, how much load to use, when to rest, and when to move on to something else or stop for the day.
Thanks for this– great article. I’m becoming really fascinated by this idea of CNS overload and overtraining. It actually helps me understand why I never saw the results expected when I embarked on my crossfit inspired exercise routine (for the sole purpose of retrieving my hot body — not for health whatever i might have told myself) What’s funny is how cavalier amateur exercisers are versus athletes in training. Most amateurs, like myself, seem to give very little heed to the idea of overdoing it (aside from actual injury) and, from what I’ve read, most professionals are very attune to the need for rest and backing off. At the risk of sounding like a troll (because I’ve talked about this in 3 comments), I’ve embarked on Maffetone method training for the last 6 weeks (I could have sworn it was longer, but I just checked my journal and my first MAF test was Feb 2nd.). I’d sworn off most of the Grok stuff, but I still believed cardio was for idiots (and maybe the way most people do it is idiotic), but 3 three years of weights and HIIT inspired workouts have gotten me nowhere. And while I was lamenting the foolishness of all my friends who were doing their 10k, 1/2 marathons, marathons, I was definitely one-mile challenged. Anyway, I’ve read a lot and I’ve seen some pretty great things since I began low heart rate training (it’s rather humiliating how slow I have to go to stay in zone about 3.1 on the treadmill at first– though now I’m up to 3.3). I’ve been eagerly walking for an hour 5-6 times a week. I’ve lost 2 inches off my hips and one off my thigh AND my body temperature has seen average morning temps of 98.0 (before I was happy if it broke 98 in the afternoon) and it shoots to 99 after I eat. I don’t know if this entirely due to aerobic training, but I can say that I feel really good– calm, steady energy. Oh, and I’m actually sweating when I exercise. I used to run for intervals of one minute at 5.5mph on a 5-7% incline and my face would look like a tomato, but I would barely break a sweat.
Anyway, the thoughts behind maffetone are that most people live very anaerobic lives and if you top this off with anaerobic workouts (especially prolonged high heart rate cardio) you are risking, ill health and injury for ‘fitness’. Still, I actually am feeling this real need to start lifting heavy things– but I will try to keep it moderate with a lot of recovery when I do.
Some articles that may interest others:
http://sock-doc.com/sock-doc-training-aerobic-foundation/
(based on maffetone method)
http://anthonymychal.com/mythofhiit/
(you can find the ebook– but he introduced me to the concept of vagal tone and why boxers do roadwork– very interesting read, IMO)
Ugh and oops, I accidentally linked to an ad. Sorry– or at least I hope that’s why my comment was sent to moderation and not that I’ve been designated a troll.
What I meant to link to was:
http://anthonymychal.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/05/TheMythofHIIT.pdf
Don’t know the guy and I don’t plan on getting into Tricking anytime soon– though my husband and sons’ minds would be blown if I broke into a standing back flip– just thought the ‘ebook’ was really interesting. As I’ve come to reassess the value of aerobic work and back-off of the anaerobic ‘cardio’ and weights for the time being.
Anyway– my point is thanks for this information on CNS overload; while I don’t think I was working anywhere near as hard as a real weight lifter– pretty much all of my workouts were anaerobic (either a 20 minute HIIT type session) and or weights and I was really going backward in terms of my ability and my physique. Thanks to Matt, I stopped dieting in August and just recently I’ve started Maffetone method aerobic training. In less than 2 months in, I’ve seen really good results– an overall 1 degree rise in temps (sometimes hitting 99 after a meal– totally unheard of for me), I sweat going 3.1 on the treadmill– before I barely broke a sweat doing hard (for moi) intervals or weights.
Can’t wait to start some lifting (but according to the program, I need to wait until aerobic base is a little better developed)– and I’ll be sure to keep this info in mind. It’s funny that serious athletes are very aware of the dangers of overtraining, but amateurs always think more is better.
Here’s another series of articles on low heart rate training:
http://sock-doc.com/sock-doc-training-aerobic-foundation/
Sorry for the double posting– I thought the first one was g-o-n-e.
Susan, it’s very interesting what you wrote and posted, so please don’t be so apologetic. I am looking forward to reading what is in the above.
I have restricted my weightlifting to two times per week, down from three or four. At one time I was doing the Bulgarian method weightlifting, which was lifting weights 6 times a week. Got injured.
I will be interested to see what they say about aerobic stuff. I have been following a similar idea as you…that is even running has to be done more anaerobically, so I was doing sprints.
Good! I’m glad my evangelism has piqued your interest. I’ll be interested in your thoughts– check out Maffetone, too. Kind of a character and for some reason, he reminds me of Peat.
I’m another testimonial to the value of Maffetone style training. I read the Maffetone method and while I don’t agree with some of his ideas – i did think that he had a very nuanced and sophisticated grasp of practical issues associated with training, stress in particular, and he tried to communicate this in his writing. It makes sense that he would as I understand he has a lot of experience training people. I also agree that he’s a bit of a character – his youtube videos are fun :).
Anyways – I have a desk job and spend 7-8 hours a day on my butt. Like Susan I bought the paleoesque notion that aerobic exercise is useless and did HIT when I exercised. I never enjoyed it, never could stick to it, and seemed to very easily over train. I think that the sitting all day without much movement makes HIT ineffective – or it may be that some people need a lot more aerobic activity than others that are sedentary in order to tolerate HIT. I don’t know, i am going by results at this point which have been amazing. The best benefit has been increased energy levels but my skin has improved, my sleep has improved, I feel more comfortable sitting all day. I have been losing weight (however I think there are other reasons mainly that I am losing, but I don’t thing the lower intensity stuff has hurt). I get on the tread mill or an elliptical and listen to podcasts for 30 minutes or so, then do yoga poses and some calisthenics. Hiking and other activities on the weekends. I enjoy it,
Its almost like sitting too much creates an imbalance that lower intensity cardio corrects. One thing to note is that I don’t notice the benefits from just doing house work or standing in the evening. In my experience it seems like the heart rate needs to get up (but not too high) for these benefits. Also occasionally I do something high intensity if I feel like it – but not often.
I also should mention that I don’t do the low intensity stuff every day (maybe 2 or 3 times a week and sometimes on the weekend) even, nor does it seem I need to. It seems like the benefits from a cardio session or a 2 hour hike or something like that lasts a couple of days.
Thanks, In– I’m glad to hear some sympatico thoughts on this. It’s really hard to find Maffetone method perspectives outside of the elite runners/ iron men circles. I’m exercising about 5 times a week and it’s just a pleasure– a real stress reliever. Looking, back, I think I’ve been operating with a deficient aerobic sytem, and an overstimulated anaerobic system, for maybe a decade. I feel like this is correcting that imbalance.
Very interesting post, although lots of do-not-know-exactly-how… But that’s the idea, exploring new stuff.
Put simply, I’d find it very interesting to learn more about overtraining. I think it’s extremely underestimated. And I really think it’s just as important as diet. ( For those who are concerned )
Matt, keep ’em comin…
( excuse my bad english, i’m from norway )
Last year, I make a brief attemt to start a HIIT workout. But during the “drills” portion, I would end up panicky and crying, which I thought was weird. (Luckily I was alone.)
The only thing that made sense to me was that, during the many months leading up to this time, my youngest child who is medically complex had been so sick and unstable, that I’d rescuscitated him many times. And of course the constant vigilance, and depth of attention to his care – I was a nervous wreck for those months. (He’s a happy, healthy, stable 3 year old now : )
My conclusion was that when I stimulated my nervous system with the HIIT drills, that I associated it will grave danger. And/or that it was confirmation that I was in a state of adrenal fatigue such that my body couldn’t make the hormones necessary to tollerate this stress. At any rate, I took it as a sign that I was not yet healed enough from the toll of those months to undergo arduous exercise.
Happily, 10 months later, I think I’m ready. Anyway, thanks for the article, very interesting.
Er, I should say, I’m ready to exercise — not HIIT, not even high intensity weight training. I’ve had enough stress, thanks : )
I have studied Traditional Chinese Medicine quite a bit in the last couple of years. It is holistic and includes diet, exercise and medicinal herbs as well as recognition of and efforts to modify emotions and the effects of weather conditions on the body. The Chinese view western style exercise as depleting and damaging. I don’t know too much about their excercise methods except that they are very big on qigong and tiachi. I have a few DVD qigong workouts. They can be much more challenging than they appear at first glance. The movements are slow with relaxing deep breathing, but there are body weight strength training moves in some of the harder workouts that are challenging. I really enjoy the qigong workouts. I feel stronger, more energetic, and healthier. They seem to have a good effect on my metabolism, where my hands and feet stay warmer and I sleep better. They reduce stress so that is probably why. Whereas if I try to do quick paced high intensity workouts I very easily get the opposite effects, lowered metabolism symptoms.
I agree! I thought I could handle 20 min of HIIT a few times a week but even that was too exhausting…I had to take one hour of nap for every 10 minutes I ‘worked out’. Naps no longer needed and I’m walking with yoga. Yoga. Is. HARD and I am quite sore the next day…Not everything needs to be a ‘workout’ but a work ‘in’ is good too. I’m ready to say any and all weight gain is simply attributed to stress, period, a la Gabriel Method.
My metabolism dropped during my first pregnancy, twelve years ago. I’ve yoyo dieted and exercised on and off since then. Most recently I was doing Crossfit four days a week, and doing the Paleo\Zone diet, which was taking the weight off. About eight months ago, I got a viral infection which collapsed my left lung, resulting in ongoing asthmatic problems. No surprise, but I’ve gained a ton of weight. Where is the best place to start? Eat for Heat? I’ve read most of the ebooks, and quite a bit of the blog, and I’ve found so much seemingly contradictory information that I’m lost. Thanks in advance.
I would recommend applying the info in Eat for Heat and Diet Recovery 2, which focuses on improving your metabolic and overall health, not reducing weight no matter the cost. There is list in one or both of the books of symptoms of low metabolism. Some that I remember are cold hands and feet, and low body temp, digestive and sleep problems, waking up between 2 and 4 am. It sounds like what you’re really concerned about is your weight but that will get you into trouble and is putting the cart before the horse. It seems weird that you could eat quite a bit more and not gain or only gain a little, but that happens for many because eating speeds up their metabolism so much. I don’t weigh on a scale but do take measurements and mine have only increased by maybe a quarter inch in 4 months rrarfing. Read the post or posts that talk about the starvation studies and how the men who had been dieted gained 40 pounds post starvation but then eventually lost it. You might lose weight eventually by focusing on improving your metabolism and overall health. But even if you don’t dieting and the resulting long term damage to your health is not worth it.
Actually, I’ve experienced eating more than my fill and losing weight. After a few months of Crossfit, my coach looked over my food journal and told me I needed to be eating almost twice as much as I was. When I finally heeded his advice, my clothes starting getting looser ( I don’t do scales, either. They’re almost as depressing as the BMI). Sure, I want to lose some weight, but I do understand the need for health first. I’m just pretty confused as to where to start with the 180 stuff. I will take your advice and pare down the information overload to Eat for Heat, and Diet Recovery 2 (the latter I have yet to read). Thanks for taking the time to reply!
Hi guys,
The decrease of basal temperature that some people experiment when they jump in a intense exercise program, could be caused by the CNS fatigue and body inflammation?
Acaru. R…
CNS fatigue, generally speaking, is hard to gauge with basal temperature. It can be an indicator of whether one is heading in the right direction or not, in broader terms but, not very specific to CNS fatigue per say.
That being said, it’s not so easy to separate the two (CNS fatigue and more “general” fatigue), mostly because of the CNS’s tendency to influence everything, and the latter, in turn, being influenced by everything. CNS fatigue can, through various feedback loops and mechanism, impact on the rest of the body’s systems so, it’s not always very clear-cut.
A famous body builder from the Terminator era once described the art of working out as determining the optimal amount of recovery for an optimal amount of stress (exercise).
All of us diet/health nerds here at 180 know how to exercise, across the intensity spectrum.
But do we know how to recover?
BTW, I’m not being philosophical here. I’m being practical, it kind of hit me between the eyes while reading Eric’s article.
What I mean is we all know about EXERCISE (perhaps not with the understanding of a guru).
How many books/videos/machines on EXERCISE have you seen?
How many books/videos/machines on RECOVERY have you seen?
Questions on recovery comparable to exercise questions:
(1) Is recovery sped up by increasing rest volume/frequency?
(2) Is recovery sped up by increasing sleep volume/frequency?
(3) Is recovery sped up by increasing eating volume/frequency?
(5) Is recovery sped up by increasing respiration volume/intensity/frequency?
(6) Is recovery sped up by increasing sun exposure intensity/frequency?
(7) Is recovery sped up by …
Went to the doctor this morning for panic attacks/anxiety I’ve been having, and my temp was 96.5, definitely lowest its ever been. Just wondering if raising temps has been effective in eliminating panic attacks in your experience.
Almost always.
I took some adderall I was prescribed a while back to survive a day of no sleep, and I think that was the straw that broke the camels back. I was already under a lot of stess. Thanks so much for responding. Panic attacks are by far the worst thing I’ve ever experienced.
Anything that suppresses metabolism is likely to raise the peak production of adrenaline – and it’s those surges of adrenaline that bring about qualities like anxiety, acute aggression, and panic attacks. Likewise, anything that raises metabolism will lower adrenaline peaks, helping with sleep, anxiety, etc.
http://www.ilovepanicattacks.com Watch this guys videos. I bought the cds, and it worked. Panic attacks are awful, but can be overcome with no medication.
Thanks for the link Troy, I’ll definitely check it out. And yea Matt, you’re definitely right about the adrenaline peaks. I remember one week where I ate about half my usual calories, and I started waking up at 3 am like clockwork, scared shitless for no reason.
Salt is really helpful. Also, try reading “Hope and Help For Your Nerves” by Claire Weeks. It is life-changing. You most definitely do not need drugs for panic attacks, and they will actually just end up making matters worse.
Adderall can absolutely cause this sort of thing, too, not to mention other issues. It’s an amphetamine. It also depresses your appetite which also has metabolic consequences. Lay off the drugs and take care of your body, rest, eat, etc.
I have been vigorously exercising without many breaks for a few months. My personal life has been quite stressful, with pretty much everything turning out the opposite of what I was trying for. Exercising hard for so long did not result in any weight loss (actually, I gained about 5 lbs). Worrying about finances has resulted in no new job for myself and no job for my husband. Fretting constantly about money has gotten us nowhere. I am now sitting at home on a sick day from work with a terrible sinus infection and pneumonia. I haven’t been this sick in years.
This article has come along at just the right time for me, methinks.
My japanese friend told me about the years in highschool when he did baseball. They had to run very long distances under the burning sun, without complaining (considered shameful in Japan), even if hungry or thirsty to death. On several occasions he had been slapped hard on the face by the coach. He told me that, often, after such a training, he was so exhausted could nearly collapse on the ground.
Teens going through this harsh abusive treatment….
His grades started to plunge around this age. He lost interest in studies, and can’t stand the pressure of hierarchy. Ever since he finished school, he’s been going from one small job to another. He has a very low energy level.
I believe this highschool baseball years and unnutritious diet played a very negative role in his life.
Sorry to hear about this. Don’t care about being politically correct, so here goes. I don’t mean to make light of this, but most Asian cultures are neurotic as hell. It’s funny to see Euros fall all over themselves to praise the “spirituality” of these cultures. The Chinese are even worse. Huge amount of depression in these communities. And, believe it or not, it is more shameful (believe it or not) in these communities to have “mental health” problems than other communities.
A couple of my children are half-Chinese, so I’ve had to fight against the type of stress put upon these kids. It’s sick.
I live in Europe and indeed, these cultures are quite mystified. Yet they have huge social problems.
It’s not just the kids, either. There’s a culture of literally working yourself to death.
Sorry to see so few comments on this extremely important topic. So is revving up the metabolism and resting enough to get the CNS back into shape? How about for people who have undergone severe stress and trauma? What about people who have taken Benzos (a rather large portion of the U.S. population)?
There is the phenomenon called, “Tired but Wired”. Meaning that some people are so stressed-out that they can’t rest.
I don’t know enough about this topic, so I would like to hear from others.
The phenomenon of being tired but wired ties in nicely with what Matt mentioned above meaning, adrenaline (and cortisol) dominance. Which can happen for various reasons. This is a state where a revved up the metabolism or general alertness are observed but, usally to the detriment of overall health (especially in the long term). This is beyond the scope of the article but, it raises an important point that, again, many things need to be considered in the overall design of an exercise program. NOT just the program itself.
Sorry Thomas I don’t know enough or pretty much am very ignorant to this subject but it sounds like something underground going on that needs alot more awareness, but in certain cultures the fear factor and social fear of intervention and going against the rules in such uncompromising dictatorial societies is probably so large and present that alot of individually held beliefs are out by the wayside to not rock the boat without fear of getting into serious hot water. As always in life it takes one very well informed brave individual with a lack of regard for persnak safety because they feel so strongly about said subject to risk their personal safety for the cause and speak up etc. certain cultures have certain regimes that seen morally wrong and totally backward in comparison to certain human rights in western worlds. Childhood and teenage years are always a life changing and personality shaping period and for that to be manipulated at the expense of old fashioned stuck in the past control freaks is a very scary thought indeed. Certain tribes kill the disabled and deformed babies by snatching then from mother and leaving them in the woods to die or be mauled- I forget which tribe this is but it is one of the very last remaining tribe untouched by modern man think in Amazonian forest, self sufficient etc- perhaps google! Anyway, does it take someone from within the culture to change it or someone from outside? Who knows.. Also have a completely non related study my trainer showed me about Victorian life and shows what the previous articles have been about – ie the housework one etc and every day physical labour n higher calories
The link will be in next comment
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2672390/
I’m convinced that the ‘manic,’ ‘hypomanic,’ and ‘mixed states’ in bipolar disorder have a lot to do with adaptive stress hormones. To me that fits right into the “Tired and wired” theory. This belief is based on my own experience, having been under various forms of psychiatric ‘care,’ including forced stays at mental hospitals, over the past 11 years, and living with suicidal depression and severe mood swings for the majority of my life.
I don’t think the adaptive stress hormone theory can cover everything. For example, I tested positive for the C677T and A1298C mutations of the MTHFR gene a number of months ago, and I’ve found that I’ve been feeling much, much better since I started taking L-methylfolate and a small amount of P-5-P. It definitely wasn’t a cure-all, but it really helped a lot to control my mood and depression.
Though you could argue that that *is* part of the adaptive stress hormone theory, and people that’re born with certain genetic mutations innately experience more stress than people without it, because their body needs something it has problems producing, e.g. l-methylfolate from folic acid.
Anyway, I’ve gone through severe stress and trauma in my life, and I think that the more prolonged and severe the stress, the more prolonged and severe the recovery phase needs to be. Sometimes I think the damage is permanent, but I always try to be optimistic, and I think that where there’s a will there’s a way.
One of my favorite dogs (friend’s dog) was abused years and years and years ago, but even though he’s been living in a loving home for such a long time now, he still pulls his head back and tries to hide and starts violently shaking if he sees your hand moving in to pet him. You have to pet him from behind his head so he can’t see it, and you have to start out very slowly so you don’t shock him.
But after visiting him so much and being careful while petting him he has gotten a lot better. It’s still bad, but he NEVER would’ve walked up to me before. He also takes treats from people’s hands now, where if you tried to give him a treat before and held it in your hand, he’d start shaking and run away.
I think that rest and proper nutrition can go a long way with recovery for people who’ve undergone severe trauma, but I think working on the psychological aspect is just as important. I believe there’s a very significant role for therapy to play, whether that’s with a good therapist or doing research on your own and spending the time to think things over and work hard on them.
I do think that the reality is that people dealing with trauma are going to have a generally much more difficult time recovering, but I also think it’s possible. Looking beyond the scope of nutrition is very important: what does the person love to do, what are they passionate about, what kind of people do they feel most alive around and how to they spend more time with them, etc.
I’m very into nutrition but a lot of people aren’t, and are usually a lot more receptive to approaches that involve validating them and their experiences and allowing them to express themselves and find meaning in their lives. Especially for people whose main stress comes from emotional damage/low self-esteem, I think this kind of approach could be most important. I know for me that diet has helped immensely, but it’s gone completely hand-in-hand with trying to learn how to respect myself and set boundaries and get a sense of identity, and even when my diet was horrible (low carbs, mostly living on nuts and seeds), I still found a lot of peace of mind by doing that.
But it all comes back to stress and recovering from it by removing the causes of it as accurately as you can.
For those of you unfamiliar with the concept of “surfing the force-velocity curve” read this for starters: http://www.ptonthenet.com/articleprint.aspx?ArticleID=2337&m=101405&e=1
Note: Surfing the curve requires changes in exercise type(s), referred to as exercise modality.
I think surfing the force-velocity curve is not only key to properly periodized progressive programing, but central to avoiding CNS fatigue.
Part of what causes CNS fatigue is residual and cumulative fatigue from training the same way all the time which leads to neurological overload in the various strength pathways in the nervous system; surfing the force-velocity curve avoids this by addressing the various types of strength and metabolic training, thereby reducing the aformentioned neurological overload.
Caution, however, must be practiced in surfing this curve, however. Why?
Because the change in exercise modalities required to do this does indeed in and of itself incur stress on the CNS. The article I gave the url for above calls this the “alarm stage.” Without proper progressive programming, an athlete or trainee will jump from alarm stage to alarm stage without ever properly adopting to an exercise modality: This will put as much -or more- stress on the CNS as stupidly doing the same type of exercise (training) for weeks on endless weeks.
Hence, in order to surf the curve properly, an exercise program designer must be cognizant of how one training session influences the next. They must keep in mind the immediate, transient, and cumulative effects on a trainee’s performance and workload capacity. They must, in short, be aware of how one training session prepares or doesn’t prepare someone for a change in exercise modality. Once these issues are addressed, one is indeed surfing the curve with proper progressive periodized programming and reducing CNS fatigue.
Ok, I kind of rushed through my last paragraph and it doesn’t tie in as solidly with the previous paragraph as it should; therefore, I am going to elaborate a little. I mentioned “alarm stage” in the preceding paragraph. How my last paragraph ties in with this is simple: proper progressive periodized programming with reduce the impact of the alarm stage and increase the ability of the altlete/trainee to adopt as he surfs along the curve.
I just thought I would make that point explicit instead of implicit….
People sometimes mention Crossfit in the comments.
Part of the stupidity of fitness programs like Crossfit is their lack of progressive periodized programming and their resulting stress on the CNS.
One of the few people I consider to be a true master in fitness, Scott Abel, wrote on article on Stupidfit, er..Cultfit…er, I mean Crossfit…
Here it is: http://scottabel.blogspot.com/2012/02/the-nonsense-that-is-crossfit.html
DML… You raise some important concerns. And, generally speaking, let it be known that I tend to agree with much of what Coach Abel has had to propose over the years (both in terms of exercise/programming, as well as dietary approach).
The issue of periodization is a complex one however. With the understanding that it is probably impossible to know exactly how one will react to a given causal session over the following days, let alone weeks or months however, it is probably best to see this through the lens of auto-regulation or cybernetic periodization principals (sometimes called ?intuitive training?).
These concepts imply that one will have the experience (or be under the guidance of an experience coach/trainer) and knowledge to understand what to do next, based on what was derived from a given training session and how the latter ?felt? (or ?looked? to the coach’s eye or sounded to the ear, which is especially important in highly technical sports). This doesn’t preclude that one do without any type of “plan” or general idea–at least at the macrocycle level–but, it does imply that one refrain from using set percentages, loads, volumes, exercises, etc. weeks or months in advance.
[Also, it’s important to mention that the idea that everyone needs to follow the same paths along the force-velocity curve, or use all of the various elements of the latter (or even that all of them are required or as distinct as implied in the link you posted) is steeped in much controversy and misunderstanding of general exercise physiology.]
In that sense, using RPE (rate of perceived exertion) can be a valuable tool, and allow one to base their training on a load/effort feels at any point in time rather than mechanically, according to some numerical computation.
“Any noticeable sleeplessness, lack of concentration, and even trembling post-workout could also be indications of CNS fatigue.”
Did you mean to say “sleepiness” rather than “sleeplessness”?
Can CNS fatigue cause or lead up to more serious consequences such as a brain lesion or permanent nerve damage? What about symptoms such as nausea, sleepiness and lightheadedness… can they be symptoms of CNS fatigue as well?
Not to sound like a broken record on the thread but…
How does one _RECOVER_ from CNS fatigue?
How does one speed up _RECOVERY_ from CNS fatigue?
Is it as simple as resting from exercise or is resting the only thing in our recovery toolbox?
Tony… Rest is the easiest thing to implement. But, there are many “tools” in one’s arsenal for improving recovery or manipulating training variables so as to prevent excess fatigue.
Any pointers/links to ‘tools for improving recovery’ would be much appreciated.
Thanks for your article, it kind of hit me right between the eyes about the importance of recovery (as my comments show).
I’ve never thought of recovery as something that should be _planned out_ in good detail, just like we do with exercise.
Which then led to the realization that ‘rest’ really is the only obvious tool I have to recover. Common sense says there has to more we can ‘do’. I would really like to start trying some of them.
No… Sleeplessness, as in insomnia.
Ooops, meant to reply here :)
“No? Sleeplessness, as in insomnia.”
I definitely experienced sleeplessness after heavy workouts several times a week. I would lie in bed, feeling sore and tired not able to go to sleep. I wished I had been sleepy, but I was not.
Ah, surprise recovery technique #1:
http://forum.bodybuilding.com/showthread.php't=119731301&page=1
“3. BALNEO-THERAPY means are applied with a prophilactic scope. Hydrotherapy (shower, bath) has a reflex effect on the nervous and endocrine systems (Zalessky, 1977 [4]) as well as a local effect on organs and tissues. Hot shower (38-42 Celcius) for 8-10 minutes, hot bath (36-40 C) for 10-20 minutes, where medical plants may be introduced, relaxes the muscles and improve blood circulation, thus speeding up recovery. In addition , because of their relaxitory effects, hot baths, sauna and showers reduce the likelihood of neurotic reactions, improve sleep, and normalize the metabolic processes, thus promoting faster removal of wastes (Serban, 1979 [5]). Thermotherapy (sauna, hot bath and shower) of higher temperature (40-80 C) ought to be used once a week for 10-15 minutes. Thermotherapy allows for vasodilatation and perspiration which facilitates recovery by eliminating toxins from the muscle cell. If the toxins are not eliminated fatigue lingers o nand affects CNS stimulation (Dragan, 1978 [6]). As Wickstrom and Polk (1961) [7] claim such thermotherapy produces physiological effect which would ordinarily require two hours of rest to achieve.”
Yes, warm showers always make me feel better!!
Will more than 1 a day speed recovery??
Tony…
There are many things to consider. Including, as I alluded to in my article, the oft forgotten notion that even so-called restorative methods can cause “habituation” or actually hinder recuperative capacities if used improperly. Which makes sense if you look at all these things from a systemic, organic, whole and all-encompassing approach.
Russian and Eastern European exercise physiology literature from the 60s on is full of observations on the topic. Zalessky, among others, further distinguished between ?on-going recovery? (which takes place during the activity/training), ?rapid recovery? (which occurs immediately following the activity/training) and ?delayed recovery? (which, if all things were done accordingly, will allow one to surpass the initial level of ?preparedness/fitness? assuming training loads were not excessive).
Restorative methods were further classified as ?pedagogical? (coaching) or, if you will, the proper cycling of training stresses, ?medico-biological? (covering the whole spectrum of therapeutic means for improving recuperation, including hydrotherapy, massage, acupuncture, etc.) and ?psychological? (anything involving the management of the mental state, including hypnosis, autogenics, visualisation, relaxation, guided imagery, music therapy, etc.).
Each of these, like any training modality, will be specific to the a sport/activity, athlete, phase of training, etc.
And then of course there are all the less formal means of ensuring recovery, such as sleep/naps/rest, living conditions, lifestyle, nutrition (pre, peri, post-workout etc.), work conditions, spiritual needs, coaching/team interaction.
Of course, with regards to the aforementioned formal means of restoration, we need to understand indications, contraindications, effects, side-effects, dosage, directions of use, special precautions, symptoms of misuse, treatment of misuse, dependence on therapy, and so on and so forth.
Then, with the understanding that restorative requirements can also vary in terms of actual needs i.e., immediate recovery for pending competition vs everyday recovery from training, and the idea I alluded to above that, as with all things training, we should not proceed in a haphazard ?crossfit-periodization-type? approach, it becomes quite clear that restorative means are by no means a simple topic.
Given this, surely you’ll understand why I can’t offer a simple answer to your questions pertaining to “optimal number of hot showeers per day” :)
Eric, thanks for making me realize how I was so over-simplifying. (hitting palm to forehead)
I not a pro-athlete, so I’m not looking to achieve maximum performance. On the other hand, I am simply trying to exercise ‘smarter’ which as I’ve realized leads to the equally important question of how to recover ‘smarter’.
Example: last week I did a high-intensity swim workout. The high intensity portion took about 15-20minutes of the 30 minute total session. For the next 2-days I felt like I couldn’t get enough sleep. But I had to work, so I kept on keeping on, with as little physical activity as possible.
Now the practical questions start. By today my muscles feel recovered and I feel energetic again. But has my CNS recovered too? I don’t know. I now know I could have been doing additional things to speed recovery, i.e. warm showers, during those 3 days.
My point I guess is how/where do non-athletes learn how to best apply these ‘smarter recovery’ prinicples? Trial and error seems like a blackhole given all the possibilities.
In cases such as yours, the best gauges will be the more ubjective ones–you’ll have to learn this and, likely will make many mistakes along the way. The surest way to learning this “art” as quickly as possible is always to err on the side of caution.
So, how do you feel following your workouts, how well do you sleep that night and the few nights following your trainin session, how’s your appetite, how are your basal measurements (assuming you care to use them: HR, body temps, maybe even the few simple CNS tests proposed here), how motivated are you come the time of your next planned session, etc.
Keep in mind that, unless you are going all out (high-intensity sprints, other highly ballistic/plyometric activities, or activites requiring high peak forces/accelerations or high RFD), your CNS will likely take less of a beating and actually recover much faster (if actually even stressed much to begin with) than the rest of your body (compared to the sprinter, Olympic lifter, triple jumper, etc.).
So, in a sense, the kind of training most everyday gym goer will be undertaking will lend itself much better to simple restorative methods and, be easier to gauge, since high-performance, high-skill activities are usually the ones requiring high levels of tediousness anyways… The type of fatigue will usually be less CNS intensive and so, your body’s signs will also be easier to read and consider…
Well as the whole idea of HIT exercise appeals to me, mostly because of it’s promise to minimize the actual amount of exercise necessary, I think I need to learn to monitor my CNS fatigue/recovery.
Of the methods you reviewed in the article, I’ll go with the handgrip dynamometer. It’s cheap, easy and accurate.
Thanks for the replies!
If “HIT” type work is appealing to you, I suggest you learn from one of the few true knowledgeable people in the field. http://baye.com/
And a very timely piece here as well:
5 stars:
“…As long as you train consistently and with a high level of effort very little exercise is required for good results. Minimally, you need to perform one set each of enough exercises to work all the major muscle groups …”
“….and work out just frequently enough that you do not allow any improvements produced in response to the workout to be lost due to detraining…”
“…for the majority of people just one, brief full-body workout a week is effective as long as they are training hard enough….”
“…Your results have far more to do with the effort you put into your training than the volume and frequency of your workouts and you can not make up for a lack of effort by doing more work……”
Now, where’s my handgrip dynamometer?
There are other–just as interesting–theories as well. Keeping in mind that this (http://www.jtsstrength.com/articles/2012/12/20/you-are-not-overtrained/) is within the context of achieving optimal performance (as a powerlifter in this case) which, although it might track along nicely for a while with health markers, eventually leads to a point where any further increases in performance ? let’s call it ‘sporting proficiency? at this level ? does nothing to make an individual any healthier. But, still, Mike makes some interesting points here.
Where I disagree with HIT tenets (and even my good friend Drew) is in how they fail to recognize that adaptations to “volume of work” and adaptations to “intensity of work” are quite different. Improved work capacity, which is the foundation for everything, cannot be improved, past a certain point, without increasing volume (and possibly frequency) of work. Now, whether this is desirable or even possible without ruining a given individual’s health, that is another issue altogether :)
Hmmm….a potential conondrum:
My goal is maximizing _health_, not performance. I exercise because I think it promotes better health, though I don’t like it.Therefore, I’ve looked for a type of exercise that can be done as little as possible…thus, HIT. But HIT could lead to a slow decline in health, which violates my goal.
Do you mind clarifying terms? I’m pretty sure I get ‘intensity’ and ‘frequency’. But what is ‘volume’ in the context of swimming?
Here’s what I think:
intensity = how ‘full out’ I swim (going as hard/fast as possible)
frequency = how often I swim (x times/ week)
volume = how long I swim at high intensity in a given session?
INTENSITY is harder to define. The means for measuring INTENSITY of can be Magnitude of resistance or load (% of 1RM), Number of repetitions, Percentage of repetitions with maximum resistance and Workout density (number of sets per one-hour workout). INTENSITY can also be defined further as load and subsequent force applied, while VOLUME applies to mechanical work/reps (FREQUENCY is fairly simple and, as you alluded to, can be defined as the number of session in a given cycle (usually micro).
Training LOAD is generally defined as the product of VOLUME and INTENSITY.
Thus, “intensity” can have many “definitions” depending on who is making which assertions…
What is clear, however, is that adaptations to different intensities, frequencies, volumes and densities will spur on different results.
Someone who has become a good friend over time also wrote this (http://fissionfusiontraining.wordpress.com/2013/03/25/185/) just today, which I thought was quite relevent to the discussion; these are all topics I wish I could have gotten into but, as you can see for yourself, this is a immensely vast area of study and one has to synthesize at some point. The best one can do is keep learning/listening and, if possible/desired, acquire the help of a trustworthy and knowledgeable trainer/coach.
Interesting quote: “? meaning your thinking and feeling system is trying to understand your thoughts and feelings. The ease with which this can lead to a misinterpretation is astounding…”
Example confirming this that I recently learned about:
The body, at least in mammals, apparently generates a ‘sweet tooth’ appetite longing after a prolonged period of protein deficiency. You would think it would generate a ‘protein tooth’ but no, that’s not the case.
So, here is one clear case where ‘listening to what your body tells you’ is entirely misleading. I’m sure there are more.
Very nice article matt! you’ll notice a weakening hand grip the longer you spend time on the computer as well.
Wow, Matt some amazing stories on here. I’ve also had similar situations during training. Thanks everyone for sharing the info on here. I’ve learned a lot just reading through the comments!
As a nervous personality type I am using a lot of nervous energy when doing High Interval Training or above lactate threshold sessions in Cycling training, so that it takes a lot of time to recover the nervous energy used.
Should in the aforementioned case alternate short (under one and a half hours) High Intensity Training sessions (above lactate) with long recovery sessions (over two hours) in order to accumulate volume at the same time that I am recovering the nervous energy used? or should I include the High Intensity Training within a long session and then do also long Recovery sessions at low intensity?. What is your recommendation?. Thank you in advance for your reply.
I’m thinking of writing a report on CNS fatigue for a university assignment. It’s a shame there isn’t more literature around it, found this to be a great read though!
In fact if you could recommend any references on the topic (measurement of central fatigue, physiological mechanisms etc) would be much appreciated.