Central Nervous System Burn
As a coach, especially for peri/meno clients.. this is soooo important. Our workouts should NOT cause CNS burn. But.. my Millennials and Zs need this. ALL clients.. The youngers can have more intensity.. but NOT AT THE EXPENSE of their Nervous system. We see this in competition! What is CNS BURN/ CNS burn = Central Nervous System burnout It’s not sore muscles. It’s when the brain + nervous system are overstimulated and can’t recover fast enough. Think of it as neural exhaustion, not physical fatigue. What CNS Burn Looks Like (Real-World Signs) Someone can look “fit” but be fried: Constant fatigue even after rest Poor sleep or wired-but-tired feeling Irritability, anxiety, mood swings Loss of motivation to train Strength suddenly dropping Feeling overwhelmed by normal tasks Increased injury risk Cravings or appetite dysregulation People with HIGH stress, bipolar, ADHD, no sleep, depression, trauma, or mom-life chaos → this can hit fast and hard. What Causes CNS Burn in Training Common triggers: Training to failure too often Heavy compound lifts too frequently High volume + high intensity at the same time Too much HIIT or conditioning Low calories + hard training Poor sleep + emotional stress + training pressure Basically: Too much “GO” with not enough recovery Typically we need a deload here.. recovery but we want to avoid this for all of us. Cortisol spikes are the last thing we need.