# CNS recovery



## retro-mental (Dec 2, 2010)

I have stuck this here as i havent used steroids ( yet ) so i am looking for other scumbags like me to post there opinions and also dirty roid heads opinions

am currently trying to increase to a 4 day split which is a leg day, back / bi day, shoulders / traps day, and a chest / tri day but i am finding it tough on my central nervous system. The day after a workout i still feel jittery, slightly run down and anxious. almost like a bad hangover with hardly any sleep !!!!

My eating is good and my protein intact is good. I am thinking of spreading my split over 2 how ever long it takes so workout mon, wed, fri and carry over to next week, chuck in a complete core day too so 5 workouts to complete the whole body over a 9 day period.

am also interested in cns recovery like i have read that relaxants / sedatives help the recovery for example valerian, magnesium, calcium


----------



## Ginger Ben (Oct 5, 2010)

I know how you feel mate, I get like that too and wondered if it was cns struggling. I train chest and tris on Monday, Back and Bi's on Wednesday and Legs with shoulders on Friday. The split is good in terms of getting everything done but I feel [email protected] by Friday afternoon (now in fact!).

Diet is good around 3700 cals on a training day and around 3300 on a rest day but I still feel constantly knackered. If I up cals I get fat so what to do?!

Do you use a pre workout supplement at all? I always do and am thinking of trying a non-stimulant based one (like Ultima) as I know too much use of these can knacker your adrenal glands over time which can cause fatigue and poorer recovery.

Rest and good sleep is the key as is having the odd deload week I reckon. I'm going to cycle my deads and squats now so rather thna going balls out each week on both I'm going to do heavy for one lift one week and more volume on the other and swap it each week. This gives the CNS a chance to recover while remaining active.


----------



## Jeckyll (Sep 19, 2011)

Bump.....I recently read an article that said the cns needed 24 hrs to recover before your muscles would start to grow, I'd be interested to know what is best for MAXIMUM growth...day on day off (or is this just over cautious?). My current routine is chest/tri,back/bi,legs/shoulders, day off (altho sometimes i do have a day off after back if I feel my body is telling me I should). Would I be better to switch to day on/ day off for maximum growth?


----------



## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

food and rest is key retro you could train in the morning after breakfast then eat after training and have a sleep after .

for me i train hard 4 x week mon tue thurs friday wes and sun are off days i sometimes do a sat as well but i make sure sunday i do nothing .

eating is very important never train a muscle less than 72 hours unless bringing up lagging body parts quickly squat heavy 4 x week no more than 20 min sessions and thats it .

knowing how you recover is important but until you find the split that works you wont know how far to push it .


----------



## retro-mental (Dec 2, 2010)

Ginger Ben said:


> I know how you feel mate, I get like that too and wondered if it was cns struggling. I train chest and tris on Monday, Back and Bi's on Wednesday and Legs with shoulders on Friday. The split is good in terms of getting everything done but I feel [email protected] by Friday afternoon (now in fact!).
> 
> Diet is good around 3700 cals on a training day and around 3300 on a rest day but I still feel constantly knackered. If I up cals I get fat so what to do?!
> 
> ...


Not sure on pre workout stuff, I aint one for supps as i am tight as feck. in someways i can see it going against as it will make you train harder therefore putting your cns under more stress maybe ? This is why i am going to change my split i think



Jeckyll said:


> Bump.....I recently read an article that said the cns needed 24 hrs to recover before your muscles would start to grow, I'd be interested to know what is best for MAXIMUM growth...day on day off (or is this just over cautious?). My current routine is chest/tri,back/bi,legs/shoulders, day off (altho sometimes i do have a day off after back if I feel my body is telling me I should). Would I be better to switch to day on/ day off for maximum growth?


i think its individual to each person. some people train all week and cope and others dont. Sometimes less is more. i would experiment difernt splits to see what works best for recovery and growth. Muscle dont grow in the gym



ewen said:


> food and rest is key retro you could train in the morning after breakfast then eat after training and have a sleep after .
> 
> for me i train hard 4 x week mon tue thurs friday wes and sun are off days i sometimes do a sat as well but i make sure sunday i do nothing .
> 
> ...


Yet again a tip top answer from you ewen. i am sure my food intake if clean and a good amount. you know i aint one for counting cals but i may have to just to check i got things right but i am putting on a bit of fat so i would say i am just over my macros for bulking, that is only a guess though.

sleep is th one thing i am not getting enough of. I go to bed at 11.30ish and get up 7.30ish which is enough hours but i wake 3-4 times a night and have very distubed sleep. I get proper hot at night even though we still got the summer quilt on. the neck burns up and i been getting a bit of heart burn due to eating loads before bed.

I have only ever really done 3 day split and it always worked ok for me. I have added alot more intesity to my workouts now so this could be part of the problem but its still ongoing from when i was getting light headed

was supposed to do back today but my core took a bashing the other day so i was going to leave out rack pulls then decided its better to knock it on to monday.

I do think i am the sort of person that builds better on a less is more kind of attituded. I can only give it a ago and see.

Maybe back/ bi , core, chest/tri week one and legs, core, shoulder/traps week two or something just not sure on strength gains from that period


----------



## Readyandwaiting (Mar 20, 2011)

After about 3 months of hard training I used to have 9-10 days off to recover the system.


----------



## retro-mental (Dec 2, 2010)

yeah every 2-3 months i would take a week off too


----------



## OJay (Mar 7, 2008)

have you ever been to see a chiropractor to get regular adjustments? i find this helps my CNS no end its crazy


----------



## retro-mental (Dec 2, 2010)

OJay said:


> have you ever been to see a chiropractor to get regular adjustments? i find this helps my CNS no end its crazy


**** a chiropractor for me is me and the misses helping each other out the bath !!!!

The price they charge i cant afford it. done my back and was hoping for nhs chiro but they dont do it in my area !!!!

Explain more though please


----------



## Jeckyll (Sep 19, 2011)

chiropractors sound just to scary too me! all that clicking of bones and joints.....makes me scared that they will get loose and make the problem worse...i know i know, if i carry on down that road i'll end up having to turn around twice if i see a cat, and tie my left shoe lace before my right or something stupid, but chiro's are too scary imo


----------



## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

m8 you do some silly routines like GVT < this is a brilliant routine but for off season powerlifters because it hammers the cns .

ok train 4x week

m - chest - tri

t - back -bi

th - shoulders - tri

f - legs calf

pick 3 exercises of each type due to your back stuff some lifts are out at least heavy ones so isolate first to fatigue or pre exhaust example of what i would do ...

flat bench 5x5 (or3x3) incline press 4x8 cable cross overs 4x8 - 4x8 of pressdowns< thats what i would normally do .

you could do flys first 4x8 incline db 4x8 then flat bench 5x5 to finish hit triceps with 4x8 of pressdowns . thats what might work better for you .

lets do back and bi`s

chin ups or pull up 5 x failure - rows whatever kind of row they all the same 4x8 deadlifts but light weights 5x10 4x8 of whatever curls

now food is next

you wake up with heart burn do you eat pastry before bed ?

when you wake up eat something to feed your body .

so your gaining weight but putting fat on .... to many carbs late night cut them back and up protein and fats .


----------



## maxie (Jan 31, 2011)

Too much volume kills me.Too much intensity as well,i always had to go to failure,forced reps and all that.

I like to keep my sets fairly low,if id seen someone training like i do when i was younger id have thought they were lazy.

Think about what else affects your cns.For me i work shifts which does not help,im also 47,not good for recovery either.Ive had to lower things down to where i can recover.


----------



## Sureno (Feb 8, 2011)

vit c and zinc when your feeling sh!tty helps no end, i trained legs today and feel feverish and im about to pop a vit c and zinc drink and take 2 ibuprofens


----------



## retro-mental (Dec 2, 2010)

ewen said:


> m8 you do some silly routines like GVT < this is a brilliant routine but for off season powerlifters because it hammers the cns .
> 
> ok train 4x week
> 
> ...


Yeah i know GVT aint the best but it was something i had to get out my system !!!!

No pastrys before bed. i have about 3 weetabix with 2 scoops of whey, whole milk and rice bran oil. i think the oil is doing it due to the fats but was hoping this would not only add to the cals but also slow down the digestion of my protein. Have already thought about cutting the carbs at night a bit and adding a few spoons of peanut butter instead , Anygood ?

my chest is flat bench 5x5 dips 5x5 flyes 5x5 and tricep extentions 5x5 which seems nice and short but i think if i was doing say legs or back next day i would be jepordising that routine due to a bit fatigued. I manage to do the workout fine but its the resting up after

I am liking the idea of deads last on back day. was thinking about this with squats too. I will send you an outline of what i was thinking and you can send me a revised what you think might work better if you got the time


----------



## retro-mental (Dec 2, 2010)

maxie said:


> Too much volume kills me.Too much intensity as well,i always had to go to failure,forced reps and all that.
> 
> I like to keep my sets fairly low,if id seen someone training like i do when i was younger id have thought they were lazy.
> 
> Think about what else affects your cns.For me i work shifts which does not help,im also 47,not good for recovery either.Ive had to lower things down to where i can recover.


I can do volume but intesity is the one that gets me. sayi was doing a superset only routine which cained me. Other than that i work from home and have it quite relaxed. i think its the resting that is getting me at the mo



Sureno said:


> vit c and zinc when your feeling sh!tty helps no end, i trained legs today and feel feverish and im about to pop a vit c and zinc drink and take 2 ibuprofens


Taken onboard and gonna get me some. i need toup my zinc most def


----------



## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

retro-mental said:


> Yeah i know GVT aint the best but it was something i had to get out my system !!!!
> 
> No pastrys before bed. i have about 3 weetabix with 2 scoops of whey, whole milk and rice bran oil. i think the oil is doing it due to the fats but was hoping this would not only add to the cals but also slow down the digestion of my protein. Have already thought about cutting the carbs at night a bit and adding a few spoons of peanut butter instead , Anygood ?
> 
> ...


fire away m8 id be glad to help if i can .

i know what your saying about being tired training 2 days in a row BUT its not the same groups , maybe you didnt have it outlined properly before or maybe you need something like this while you train ......






full blast of course while you shout scream and tear those weights up


----------



## OJay (Mar 7, 2008)

retro-mental said:


> **** a chiropractor for me is me and the misses helping each other out the bath !!!!
> 
> The price they charge i cant afford it. done my back and was hoping for nhs chiro but they dont do it in my area !!!!
> 
> Explain more though please


The price they charge is nothing compared to the benefits of having a fully functional CNS mate

How much do you spend on supps?

How much on drink?

Junk?

How can your body utilise the supps fully when it's not even firing up nervous system correctly.

Chiros seem to work wonders with me.... Bloated 'oh so and so lumber vertebrae is out' pop! No more bloat 

I feel sick and run down...pop... No more run down


----------



## Jeckyll (Sep 19, 2011)

OJay said:


> The price they charge is nothing compared to the benefits of having a fully functional CNS mate
> 
> How much do you spend on supps?
> 
> ...


All sounds good...but all this running down and popping your vertabrae back in, is it the same ones? Do they pop out regularly now?

That's the bit I don't like the sound of.


----------



## Mingster (Mar 25, 2011)

LOL I've tried a chiro a couple of times and it's all good until they grab your head and twist your neck - the cracking sound is horrendous. It's all very well as they take you by surprise the first time but after that you're tense just waiting for the dodgy [email protected] to try it again lol....

And they cost way more than I spend on supps or drink, especially drink as I spend nothing on that.


----------



## OJay (Mar 7, 2008)

It's different vertebrae usually but he know which ones when I say what I'm feeling like

I get mine cheaper as I go so often of not wouldn't afford it


----------



## expletive (Sep 12, 2011)

Sound advice from Ewen on this subject!

I do a 4 day split as well. It works for me.

I am doing Deads, BP and Mil press. Just not squats due to my bum knee.

I train one day one, one day off mostly, occasionally I train 2 days on the trot but listen to my body and only feel if Im up to it.

I make sure Im eating a good diet and getting plenty of Sleep.

So far no CNS problems :thumb:

However i am a dirty roider :lol:


----------



## MRSTRONG (Apr 18, 2009)

im a lucky SOB as my sports massage bird charges me £12.50p for 40-60mins (friend of my wife and shes fit) .

as far as chiros go yes they are worth it when helping to diagnose a problem but they cant feel the pain .

when i ask people if they do core work most people say no or say of course they do they squat and deadlift < these are good for keeping the core strong but its the smaller muscles that we dont know what they are called that cause the problems like putting our backs out grabbing a pen off the floor .

a strong core good CV system will help the CNS do a better job all round .


----------



## richgearguy (Jun 23, 2011)

maxie said:


> Too much volume kills me.Too much intensity as well,i always had to go to failure,forced reps and all that.
> 
> I like to keep my sets fairly low,if id seen someone training like i do when i was younger id have thought they were lazy.
> 
> Think about what else affects your cns.For me i work shifts which does not help,im also 47,not good for recovery either.Ive had to lower things down to where i can recover.


I'm in the same situation as you - 47 also. I'm finding that too much volume is a killer and takes me too long to recover. Now I workout every other day, keep the sets fairly low (about a dozen, not including warm-ups), but all sets are to failure, as intense as I can go. It seems to be working as I've been making good gains. To the OP I would say you have to find what works best for you re: volume, intensity and frequency. I think my days of high volume workouts are over.


----------



## Jeckyll (Sep 19, 2011)

ewen said:


> when i ask people if they do core work most people say no or say of course they do they squat and deadlift < these are good for keeping the core strong but its the smaller muscles that we dont know what they are called that cause the problems like putting our backs out grabbing a pen off the floor .
> 
> a strong core good CV system will help the CNS do a better job all round .


That sounds much better than going to a chiro to me


----------



## joyboy (Oct 23, 2011)

Ive made the following observations:-

After about 6 weeks

* I feel battered

* I stop gaining in strength and muscle

* In the past, by this time, i've even gone backwards on my gains.

Therefore, and i know Some of you will disagree, but i take a week off every 6 weeks.

* The week off allows me to assess where I'm at and plan ahead (ie: doubling up on 'lagging' bodyparts)

* Coming back refreshed aloows the gains start rolling again.

* it's more interesting trying different things and almost always guarantees sone gains.

* I have learnt to implement ' light weight, high repetitions weeks' to ensure you hit all of the muscle fibres thoroughly.

A new routine always gets off to good start, however you need to listen to your body to know where it stops gaining, then step back for a few days and be the boss if what happens next.


----------



## maxie (Jan 31, 2011)

I have a week off every five or six weeks myself.

But i always do my heaviest set per bodypart when i start back as i like to keep the strength creeping up,i change the odd thing round but thats the one thing i dont change.


----------

