When I first started doing deadlifts it was, like so much of my early lifting days, a solitary journey alone in the garage. I did a series of online searches over a several weeks to learn about technique and, starting light, took it from there. Deadlifts are like most exercises: get the form right, you're right. End of story. Do NOT let anyone tell you with their long, shit-boring stories, how you'll do yourself a mischief if you don't listen to their long, shit-boring stories.
Two things that everyone kept saying stood out like dog's balls in those early days: don't deadlift too much and don't do too many reps. My question was simply why? Enter that wonderful phrase the CNS aka the "Central Nervous System" as the reason for the above but what the fuck is the CNS? Hm. The vaunted CNS consists of your brain and spinal cord. That's it.
Yes, some 99.99% of our body's nerves run down the spinal cord sending & receiving messages about movement, temperature, strain, pain, fame you get the idea. What's my point? Over and over again you'll hear weightlifters-slash-bodybuilders-slash-internet-gurus going on about how dangerous it is to fry the CNS, and apparently deadlifts are good for that. Don't believe me? Do a search.
Can anyone tell me how you can possible fry your brain and spinal cord apart from hooking them up to your car battery? How the fuck do you even manage to target your brain anyway and as for your spinal cord, what knob-end even wants to damage that? I'll tell you. None. Not one knob-end actively pursues this, folks. Which leads me to this statement: CNS fatigue is over-rated. It gets far too much press because few, if any of us, actually "fry" our CNS to begin with.
Instad, think of fatigue as an all-over, whole body effect because you're absolutely shattered.
A good way to feel shattered is to try max squats five times a week -- Olympic lifters can head that way, but they're elite athletes, I'm not. I bet you're not either. But if we did push the bejesus out of ourselves squatting 5-6 times a week, one of two things would happen A) we'd adapt or B) become exhausted. But. Even if you and I "adapted" we'd still become exhausted if our program sucks, we're not incorporating periodization and we're not allowing for adequate rest and recovery.
In fact, we'll probably just become exhausted even with all the above in place.
I did.
That's why Olympic lifters have we-know-our-shit-coaches because said coaches know their shit. Actual.
Yeah, you may not be exhausted right away but two, three weeks down the line when you find you're stalling in everything and going backwards? That's exhaustion. That's fatigue. That's your body packing a sad and this is what frying your CNS actually looks like. It's when all the nerves are signalling your brain, "Hey buddy! The muscles you're sending messages too are buggered but you still want them to do shitloads? They're trying mate, they really are, but they're doing less and less more often. Give it a rest why don't you?"
...y'know, cut back.
Take a week off.
Deload or something. Paint some pottery.
Note that your brain and spinal cord aren't fried in this scenario at all rather, your nerves are reading muscular fatigue left, right and centre and sending that message back to the brain. CNS fatigue is actually all-over body fatigue. It's exhaustion. It's not centralised in any one area even if muscles in a specific area are sore. So getting back to deadlifts, when people say deadlifts will fry your CNS it's actually exhaustion that fries your CNS and not deadlifts per se, even if they were the original cause.
Lots of other things can get you exhausted just as well if not better.
My conclusion is you should deadlift as often as you want or can. Be wise, absolutely, but see what you're capable of. Don't listen to netspurts (I could say "including me" but I'm not an expert. But still. You know what I mean), listen to your own body. Deadlift low reps with high weight or high reps with medium weights or medium reps with low weights. If you wish, deadlift high reps with heavy weight naked and a peacock feather clenched between your butt cheeks. See what works. Will you fry your CNS though?
Nah. You'll either adapt or find out nope, this shit ain't for me, and utilize a more normative load. That's it. I can't put it any simpler. Personally, I find deadlifting once a week seems to do the trick but truth be told, I change my deadlift program based on how I feel day-by-day. I push for a 1RM maybe once a month if I feel like it, and even took most of 2017 off because I didn't feel like it: no deadlifts at all.
Lastly, a lot of people say touch-and-go isn't a real deadlift because you're using the bounce to "cheat" it up -- steel weights bounce fuck all, by the way -- instead, you should touch-pause-go. Well shucks. If only I knew! I don't have a panel of judges sitting in my garage when I deadlift, shaking their heads when I touch-and-go, looking at one another forlornly as they mark me down. It's just me. Touch-and-go is awesome for time under tension. So. Let's recap:
• Your CNS is your spinal cord and brain. That's it
• You will never, ever fry your CNS; rather, your nerves will signal to your brain you're exhausted and that's what a "fried CNS" means -- total body exhaustion, not nerve exhaustion. The expression is ass-to-front
• Deadlift as much as you can or want by discovering what works for you. It's pretty easy to do that, just give shit a go
• If you don't want to deadlift then don't. You really don't have to. Do bent over rows and/or pull-ups for your back instead
• Deadlifts do NOT put an abnormally huge drain on your CNS as any extended period of exercise that uses max weights is going to have the same effect
I trust this helps clarify a few things for you. Few of us over-train but as older lifters, we need to be doubly aware that if we do over-train, we'll get there a hell of a lot faster than our younger selves. That's why some netspurts espouse decreased weight and more volume for us older trainers. Yep, not a bad idea but as always, do what works for you. Kia ora whanau.