15
Is it possible to increase one's systemic fatigue reservoir for the gym, so I can do twice as much weekly volume with no drawbacks? Or is "lowering the systemic cost per set" the only viable solution? (lemmy.world)
submitted 1 day ago by to c/fitness@lemmy.world
9 comments fedilink hide all child comments
 

Male, 40, 250 pounds (120kg) lifting seriously for 10 months. 💪

According to Jeff Nippard, 10 or more sets per week per muscle group is optimal for hypertrophy. Problem is, however, fatigue is multidimensional—local/peripheral (muscle metabolites, calcium handling, connective tissue), central/systemic (CNS, immune, endocrine), axial (spine/hips), and psychological. To add insult to injury, a certain type of prescription medication I take masks fatigue and boosts mesolimbic neurotransmitters (dopamine, norepinephrine) further exacerbating the problem.

As a result, I struggle to do more than 10 working sets per day, even when I split my daily volume into a morning session and afternoon session with 3-5 minute rests between sets. If I do more than this, I begin to fall behind in my personal life. (apparently "executive function" is one of the first victims of collateral damage for training too hard)

I take ice baths regularly in 6C water. I pride myself on mental toughness so it's not simply a matter of being lazy or cowardice. I'm also totally fine with doing 10 working sets per day because I've made more progress than I ever thought possible and if 10 working sets per day is my limit, I'm fine with that. I'm not complaining, just asking out of curiosity in case others here have gone through this and figured out a solution to this mildly annoying problem.

TL;DR: Is "lowering the systemic cost per set" the only viable solution for a lackluster systemic fatigue ceiling? (i.e. incorporating more "greasing the groove" style training that utilizes a high percentage of 1RM coupled with low RPE and high RIR)

you are viewing a single comment's thread
view the rest of the comments
[–] 2 points 14 hours ago* (last edited 13 hours ago) (2 children)

"I pride myself on mental toughness so it’s not simply a matter of being lazy or cowardice." What? What does what you take pride in have to do with your performance? You could just be wrong. Your post gives the very strong impression of someone who's dramatically over thinking their training. If you're 40 and have been lifting for 10 months you probably literally don't know how hard you can push yourself, you haven't trained long enough or hard enough to have that experience.

Why worry about minutiae like optimal weekly set range for hypertrophy or your mesolimbic neurotransmitters when you're a novice lifter? You aren't eating in a calorie range for optimal hypertrophy no matter what set range you are at. By your own report what you're doing is working so just keep it simple. Don't go looking for problems you don't have.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • hideshow 2 child comments
    •
  • [–] [S] 1 point 2 hours ago* (last edited 2 hours ago) (1 child)

    If you’re 40 and have been lifting for 10 months you probably literally don’t know how hard you can push yourself

    I've done a 10-day water fast and the ice baths I do are far more difficult. You come across as someone who has never done an ice bath in your life because you chose to ignore that detail and instead focus only on an irrelevant detail (that I've been lifting for 10 months).

    My mental toughness claim rests on my ice bath statement. I also video-record them and take pics of submerged thermometers and use timers so I don't cheat the duration or intensity data on my ice bath logbook. I never said that lifting for 10 months is the justification for my mental toughness.

    Why worry about minutiae like optimal weekly set range for hypertrophy or your mesolimbic neurotransmitters when you’re a novice lifter? You aren’t eating in a calorie range for optimal hypertrophy no matter what set range you are at. By your own report what you’re doing is working so just keep it simple. Don’t go looking for problems you don’t have.

    I agree with this part of your statement, though.

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent
  • hideshow 1 child comment
    •
  • [–] 1 point 1 hour ago*

    You are entirely correct that I've never done an ice bath or a water fast and see no reason or benefit to doing either one. Why should we assume either activity translates to strength training in any meaningful sense? Lets assume that your activities represent mental toughness. Does that translate to knowing how hard you can push yourself during a set? Why would it?

  • permalink
  • fedilink
  • source
  • parent