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Other/Mixed Studies on strength/hypertrophy training effects on the nervous system

Other strength modalities (e.g., Clubs), mixed strength modalities (e.g., combined kettlebell and barbell), other goals (flexibility)
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I like to do different flows and crawling and such. I used to run quite a bit, but once my goals shifted to strength, that took a big back seat. What kinds of things did you have in mind?

@Don Fairbanks thanks for the suggestion. I am very slowly getting though a book on polyvagal theory. It's tough to do much extra reading with my school load though.
LED running (maybe even niko niko style) or even walking have shown to be good recovery from heavy strength sessions for some people.
 
another thing worth considering is supping some creatine.

Creatine has an important role in the function of the cns. It is most often supped for the benefits of atp within muscle tissue but also has a significant role providing atp at synaptic junctions.

Some people don't respond and or don't notice any effect.

It helps my recovery from sprinting.

Worth exploring. Cheap, safe and well researched. No need to do the maximum loading if you are concerned by that, cramping is an issue apparently.

Without hard exercise we use 3g of creatine a day for normal function.
So for those that exercise at the intensity end of things, stands to reason it will be more. Not that I do it daily - not sprinting just now anyway - but when I do, pop in a 5g serving into a glass of milk. Covers the baseline.

Of course we make the stuff ourselves. But we make it out of the raw amino acid ingredients. Again, the rigours of training will place greater demands on all your systems - a reason for increased protein of course. You may or may not get enough protein so you may aswell boost yourself with some creatine.

A component of creatine is glycine, an important amino acid itself. So you may well have a good diet providing you the necessary. If you don't then glycine and other aminos may well be put to other uses - extraordinary complicated that metabolism is, who knows. And so, recovery is compromised potentially, longer recovery time based on what you are feeding it. So pop some creatine.

On that note: eat. Get some energy.
 
Creatine is good stuff in many somewhat subtle but important ways.

I also highly recommend Ashwagandha herbal supplementation. It is proven to lower resting cortisol among strong evidence of a few other beneficial effects.
 
another thing worth considering is supping some creatine.

Creatine has an important role in the function of the cns. It is most often supped for the benefits of atp within muscle tissue but also has a significant role providing atp at synaptic junctions.

Some people don't respond and or don't notice any effect.

It helps my recovery from sprinting.

Worth exploring. Cheap, safe and well researched. No need to do the maximum loading if you are concerned by that, cramping is an issue apparently.

Without hard exercise we use 3g of creatine a day for normal function.
So for those that exercise at the intensity end of things, stands to reason it will be more. Not that I do it daily - not sprinting just now anyway - but when I do, pop in a 5g serving into a glass of milk. Covers the baseline.

Of course we make the stuff ourselves. But we make it out of the raw amino acid ingredients. Again, the rigours of training will place greater demands on all your systems - a reason for increased protein of course. You may or may not get enough protein so you may aswell boost yourself with some creatine.

A component of creatine is glycine, an important amino acid itself. So you may well have a good diet providing you the necessary. If you don't then glycine and other aminos may well be put to other uses - extraordinary complicated that metabolism is, who knows. And so, recovery is compromised potentially, longer recovery time based on what you are feeding it. So pop some creatine.

On that note: eat. Get some energy.
I am using a Whoop band for the time being to manage my recovery. You can track a few things with the journaling function of the app.

Anyway, so far there are very few factors that seem to influence my recovery systematically, other than the ovious one (sleep). One being more than 2 portions of alcohol (negative impact) and the other being "meat-based diet" (positive impact). Maybe this has to do with creatine. Or with omega-3, as fish seems to have the most positive impact (however, I can' only track "meat-based" or "plant-based" this in the app, which bothers me, so I don't have data, distinguishing between different types of animal protein).
 
meat-based diet
I did that for a good 2-1/2 years, plus or minus some other things. I’ve been back to a little more omnivorous diet, but it is still heavily meat/animal based. Unless there’s something odd going on, I doubt I don’t get enough creatine in my diet.


: eat. Get some energy
Overall calories are probably ok, give or take here or there. I’d have to add things up to see my current average
 
Creatine is good stuff in many somewhat subtle but important ways.

I also highly recommend Ashwagandha herbal supplementation. It is proven to lower resting cortisol among strong evidence of a few other beneficial effects.

Worth mentioning that Ashwagandha ain't for everyone, so well worth getting a small pack at first as a sample. Also all types are not made equally re safety and purity. I think KSM-66 is good stuff but I'm not an expert. What is KSM-66 – KSM-66
 
LED running (maybe even niko niko style) or even walking have shown to be good recovery from heavy strength sessions for some people.

Also worth considering the theory that to take a 'health first' approach to training and not be overly beat up / burnt out by anaerobic training, we need to build an aerobic base with low intensity activity. Phil Maffetone's work covers this extensively. Not sure if his science, or everything he says, is 100% on point, but the general thrust seems to be backed by considerable collective experience.
 
Also worth considering the theory that to take a 'health first' approach to training and not be overly beat up / burnt out by anaerobic training, we need to build an aerobic base with low intensity activity. Phil Maffetone's work covers this extensively. Not sure if his science, or everything he says, is 100% on point, but the general thrust seems to be backed by considerable collective experience.
Aerobic low intensity training is also the cornerstone of those interested in high performance endurance activities. Including those of us that don’t take a health first approach...
 
Worth mentioning that Ashwagandha ain't for everyone, so well worth getting a small pack at first as a sample. Also all types are not made equally re safety and purity. I think KSM-66 is good stuff but I'm not an expert. What is KSM-66 – KSM-66

I buy "Oregon's Wild Harvest". Have tried a number of brands and they seem to make a product that has the best effect on me. Everything they use is grown on site along with their other products. I'll bookmark the KSM product for when I run out of my current stash.
 
I really wish that things like herbal supplements made an impact on me, but very few have. California poppy definitely chilled me out, but more just made me want to take a nap. Ashwaganda never really made a difference, but it’s possible that I just couldn’t notice it because there were bigger issues my system was dealing with.

The biggest thing that has calmed my overall state was reducing caffeine to a bare minimum (maybe 30-60mg at most per day).

I have made the observation that a delicates balance between intensity and volume feels good for me. More along the lines of medium rep/medium intensity calisthenics (pairing shrimp squats with a push-up variation, or like Hindu squats and push-ups, for instance).
 
Worth mentioning that Ashwagandha ain't for everyone, so well worth getting a small pack at first as a sample. Also all types are not made equally re safety and purity. I think KSM-66 is good stuff but I'm not an expert. What is KSM-66 – KSM-66

I buy "Oregon's Wild Harvest". Have tried a number of brands and they seem to make a product that has the best effect on me. Everything they use is grown on site along with their other products. I'll bookmark the KSM product for when I run out of my current stash.

just found this noted on my computer... Safety Guide to Ashwagandha and its Benefits - Mind Nutrition - Mind Nutrition UK
 
I commonly see online that strength training can "drain the CNS," but I have also seen this debunked:


My question is less about "the CNS" and more about the effects on sympathetic/parasympathetic balance. I plan on looking into this as I can, and will definitely post any useful info I find. I do have focal dystonia in the right hand (which has been getting better through an unbelievable amount of work and patience) and have posted about it before; long story short my sympathetic nervous system is on a hair trigger and likes to get stuck "on."

I find that if I train intensely, even if just for one or two sessions, my nervous system feels "frazzled" for days following. The coordination in my hand is worse, my mood is worse, energy suffers a lot....etc. This is a bit frustrating because I would (ideally) like to do some actual hypertrophy training ("getting a pump with a heavy weight") but whenever I do it I suffer said consequences. I have gotten around this pretty well by doing something sort of close to "easy strength" (high frequency and low-moderate intensity), but even this, if not closely monitored, will backfire on me.

So I am asking for any info anyone might have about the effects of training on sympathetic/parasympathetic, or even just CNS function. Thanks all!
Very good question, it can concern everyone but someone more. I share my own observations and what I learned.
The sympathetic / parasympathetic system is associated with circadian rhythms day / night. We need to be active during the day (dominated by sympathetic ns) and rest at night (parasympathetic ns). Food helps regulate the brain's connection to circadian rhythms. Large foods with protein and fat activate parasympathetic ns, small portions of fatty foods with small amounts of fructose trigger sympathetic ns. Most modern diseases are caused by not following circadian rhythms. People who start intermittent fasting, keto diet immediately feel better. That's why the concept of the Warrior Diet works: small snacks during the day, big meals at night.
Muscle building in terms of fitness and bodybuilding is not a natural process. It is difficult to maintain and it accelerates aging.
Strongfirst offers a different approach to building muscle, it is rather a recomposition of the body. Large volume without excessive accumulation of lactate, or a combination of fast lifts with slow ones.
Classic bodybuilding is closely related to lactate !!! For some reason, some people find it difficult to cope with large amounts of lactate. Who is interested can explore the topic of the effects of lactate on certain conditions of the body: autism, etc.
Pavel has a lot of material on lactate. Programs such as Q&D, S&S, A + A have a different effect, they are not intended for bodybuilding, but with some changes you can build certain muscles. The main thing in building muscle is not the amount of protein as is commonly believed but sleep!
If in general, then everything we eat and do at a certain time of day will have a different effect on us depending on the state of our body and the more of these inconsistencies the worse it is for us. This is a very complex topic, the key here is: circadian rhythms, lactate, sympathetic and parasympathetic nervous systems.
 
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