Bodybuilding.net - Bodybuilding Forum

ok so some of u guys might know from my previous posts that i got into a brain injury last year n luckily i survived... but that is not the end of the story... im suffering from the side effects right now n mainly its Ataxia[mainly my right arm is shaking like a bitch] that is bothering me... although doctors sed there is no cure to this ive been going to acupuncture and its getting slightly better

so today i was talking to the therapist 'bout how i weight train and he then sed i shud excercise to keep my muscle in shape but dont overload it because its gunna slow down my recovery since after overloading it even normal ppl shakes a bit n its completely from what the treatment is doing [stoping my arm from shaking] so what i was thinking was reducing the weight that ive been using by half but my question is ... is it easy to get bak to where i was once im allowed to overload my muscle again?

so for example

dumb bell curl from 30--->20lb
concentrated curl from 25----->15lb

[i know thats not half]

tricep push down from 60----->30lb
fricep kickbak from 25----->15lb

lat pulldown from 90 ------>50lb
row pull bak from 80------>40lb

peg fly from 130--------->70lb
dual axis chest press from 100------->50
--------------------------------12 reps / 3 sets----------------------------------

n keep my leg raises at 30reps

"Maintenance" workouts to not meet the requirements of overload.

"Overload" is working the muscle beyond the fatigue it is used to, if you continue to workout with the same volume and intensity, you fail to overload the muscle - many people say it "adapts" which is why "change things up" is often a popular response.

That's where progressive overload comes in, if you fail to increase the tension / stress placed upon muscle fibers, then you will not have anything new to grow from.

If you perform "maintenance" workouts, meaning do the same thing each week, you won't meet the requirements of progressive overload and you won't overload the muscle, eventually the workout will become less hard on your body.

In other words "overload" is making each workout better than the previous - increase in reps, sets, tempo, decrease in rest between sets, etc. If you fail to meet these requirements, you will maintain strength without overloading the muscle.

Remember that "overload" is fatigue or usage of a muscle that makes it work harder than it's accustomed to working.