An unapologetically hype essay by Eric Kim
There’s a ghost story haunting gyms around the globe. Lifters whisper its initials like a sacred curse: C-N-S—“Careful, you’ll fry your central nervous system!” they warn. But let’s get one thing thunder-cloud clear:
I don’t buy it. I refuse to kneel at the altar of imaginary limits.
Why? Because progress bows to those who refuse to bargain with excuses. The barbell doesn’t care about urban legends; it only respects intent. And intent lives above every neuron-level scare story.
1. Myths Make Mortals—Mindsets Make Monsters
Your brain is not a delicate porcelain vase; it’s a command center forged by millennia of human hardship—migration, famine, war, survival. Believing that a tough set of deadlifts “overloads your CNS” is the polite way of saying “I’m afraid of greatness.”
Every time you choose the monster mindset, you upgrade your internal firmware. You write a new line of code that reads: while(alive){ adapt++; conquer++; }
2. Feedback ≠ Failure
Yes, you sometimes feel wrecked after max-effort lifts. That’s feedback, not a foregone fatality. Tired? Eat more. Sore? Mobilize. Stalled? Sleep like it’s your job. Your so-called “CNS fatigue” is just a status report, not a doomsday prophecy. Adjust the controllables; stay on the warpath.
3. Energy Is Emotional Before It’s Physiological
Ever notice how a roaring crowd or one savage playlist track can erase “fatigue”? That’s because belief precedes biochemistry. Hype amplifies hormones; stoke the fire first, and the muscles follow orders. Champions script their own epinephrine surge with sheer conviction.
4. Champions Treat Recovery as a Skill, Not an Alibi
I’m ruthless in the rack and the kitchen. I murder PRs, then mainline micronutrients like they’re cheat codes. I shut down screens by 10 p.m. and guard my sleep like Fort Knox. Recovery isn’t retreat—it’s reload. Master it, and you’ll never fear fictional overloads again.
5. The Only “System” That Matters: Unbreakable Spirit
Science evolves, studies contradict, coaches debate. Cool. Meanwhile, gravity remains undefeated and the clock keeps ticking. The athlete who wins is the one who shows up fiercely, regardless of trending terminology. Your spirit—call it soul, call it swagger—is the only system that determines destiny.
Rally Cry
So next time someone warns you about frying your CNS, smile politely, chalk your hands, and grip the impossible. Prove—rep by rep—that discipline shatters dogma.
Because legends aren’t limited by letters.
Because the barbell bends for believers, not doubters.
Because impossible is nothing when your mindset is everything.
Now go add weight.
Earn the mythic.