Your CNS Doesn’t Care How Motivated You Are
A couple weeks ago I pulled 405x10 on the trap bar. Lifetime PR at 208 lbs.
260 lb chubby powerlifter me would probably not believe it if you told him I was doing that at 30 years old.
The crazy part is, for 4 weeks before that the heaviest weight I touched was 345 for 5 reps.
Now I wish I could tell you some crazy secret for improving your deadlift.
But that’s the best part.. learn this one concept and you can use it for any lift or any goal.
That’s auto regulation at its best and your nervous system has been trying to teach you this for years.
Why you shouldn’t carry the boats.
Most people think fatigue is just a mental game.
Depending on your habits that maybe true. But for today’s purpose’s I’m gonna assume you have your basics covered generally with sleep, eating and movement. Not perfected but you actively work on them in a weekly/daily basis in some capacity.
Anyways back to fatigue.
Push through it. Earn it. Carry the boats right?
But your central nervous system doesn’t run on motivation. It runs on capacity and when that capacity is tapped, it doesn’t matter how bad you want it. CNS is, and always will be, king.
This gets more true the stronger and more advanced you become.(trust me you’ll see, keep reading)
A beginner can grind through almost anything and still adapt. Their nervous system isn’t being taxed that hard yet.
The more you’ve built over time, the more your CNS is on the line every session. The ceiling gets higher and so does the cost of ignoring the signals.
When Your Bucket Is Full, It’s Full
Poor sleep. Work stress. Life noise.
Most people also drastically underestimate how much output varies day to day. You could be operating at a fraction of your real capacity without even knowing it.
I go into this concept alot more in depth here if you’re interested:
Deadlifts tell not tales
Proof is in the pudding right ? ^
During most of this my sleep was off, deadlines for projects were stressful, my bucket was full.
What My 5 Weeks Actually Looked Like
4 workouts a week. 30-40 minutes max. 2 upper, 2 lower. Averaging 9-10k steps a day. Consistent but not heroic.
I never did more than 3 working sets of deadlift per week. Here’s my top weight/set each week
Week 1 — 315x5. Sleep was rough, sat in front of the computer way to much. Showed up, moved the weight, went home.
Week 2 — 325x5. Still not feeling 100%. Same deal. Check the box, protect the bucket.
Week 3 — Skipped deadlifts entirely. Swapped them out for a substitute. Bucket was too full to risk it.
Week 4 — 345x5. Felt better. Nothing crazy. Just solid.
Week 5 — 405x10. Lifetime PR.
Same program. Same guy. Just a good week.
That’s the whole point.
My theoretical 1RM off 405x10 puts me somewhere in the 550s.
Let’s be conservative and use a confirmed trap bar max of 500 from awhile ago. I’m sure I’m stronger, idk about 550 strong, but it sure does sound nice.
So that means for that entire month I never once touched more than 70% of my max. (If we use 550 it’s closer to 60%)
That PR didn’t come from grinding harder in the bad weeks.
It came from protecting capacity so I could actually use it when it mattered.
*a reminder again. Technique, strength and experience of lifter play a huge role here. But regardless the principles can apply to many!
If this helped, share it with one person who needs to hear it.
Be a friend tell a friend.
+1
This is such a great article. I remember the exact moment in 2024 I realized my CNS was fried lol. I was doing my Bulgarians with 120 lbs (quite heavy for me) and just in the middle of my set started panicking and crying. Although that is somewhat of a valid response to Bulgarians, I think that made me realize just how important the CNS is 😂
At first I read this as CNS (certified nutrition specialist) doesn’t care…and I was like-wait, I care so much, haha. But you are spot on…our nervous system is precious and we have to take care of it. Good piece.