Working out hard is a good thing. However when we do things like use caffeine and other supplements to boost our workout we must be aware of something. As you hopefully know you shouldn't be lifting weights everyday. The muscles need time to recover and that is why a lot of people lift every other day or even just twice a week. When I am deadlifting I lift twice a week, when doing other less intense lifts I go three times a week with a day off in between every session.
Why do I lift less when I am deadlifting? The answer is because the central nervous system (cns) needs to rest after lifting and heavy compound lifts like squats and deadlifts (the ones I promote the most) take a heavy toll on the cns. It takes longer for the cns to recover then it does for the muscles to recover.
When we use anything to give us extra energy or strength, this depletes the cns more and takes longer for us to recover. Drug users may be able to stay awake for long periods of time while on a high and receive super strength, but eventually they come down and crash. You can do something like take a lot of caffeine while studying and keep going for a while but eventually things will kind of even out as you will need extra sleep to recover from this extra energized caffeine session.
When we take caffeine to lift, it might help kickstart our morning or help keep us up after a long day and get us in the gym. But it is going to take an extra high toll on us and we will pay later. If we are able to lift extra heavy, thats great but we will need longer to recover. Even if we don't hit the weights extra hard we are taxing the cns more just from the caffeine use and once again we will need an extra long recovery time.
I use caffeine as an example because that is the most common stimulant, but if you are using anything legal or illegal that gives you a boost of energy then you are probably going to be tiring your cns a little more then normal. Even if you aren't taking anything just getting really pumped up can do the same thing. Have you ever worked out while really mad about something? Did you find that you had extra strength and energy at first but eventually you just wore yourself out?
For every action their is a reaction and so after you get a energized "high" there is going to be a crash of an equivalent level. Not saying you can't have an extra energized workout ever. In fact it can work great doing it once in a while just to help boost you over some plateau or sticking point, such as when you are stuck at the same weight and just can't seem to move up. But I don't feel that it should be done all the time.
If you do choose to do this then I recommend getting some extra rest afterwards. This can be both time wise as in waiting 2 days before lifting again instead of just 1 day off. But also in what you do on your off days. Having a lot of sleep and general laid back rest is boring but beneficial to someone lifting weights. You need to be extra restful when you are working out real intense under the aid of stimulants or psyching yourself up or whatever.
Hitting the gym heavy, then working hard all day then staying up all night partying, harmful to anyone lifting. But especially bad for someone that is using stimulants.
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