Eye-Twitch? from CNS Fatigue

Bigger Stronger Leaner Beginners
1

Yesterday and today I started getting an annoying eye-twitch. A quick google indicates either stress or fatigue as a possible cause, another is neurological causes. I’m wondering if my routine is too intense and this is fatigue or am I stressing my CNS by too many compound lifts together?

I don’t feel any other signs of fatigue other than some expected DOMS. I’m sleeping 8 hours a night and I’m eating as much as I have time for, aiming for about 200g of protein a day, 45-50% of my diet is fat. (no fish and rice cakes though :P) My RHR hasn’t increased, but I haven’t tried the tap test yet.

I lift 3 times a week, bench, power cleans and deadlift on each of my lifting days. I start with some sprints (brisk walk 5 minutes, then 400m sprinting 400m walking/jogging, repeat 3 or 4 times) I’ve only added the sprints a couple of weeks ago and I’m probably going to cut back on them after reading the comments in the T-Cell thread about the silliness of doing this.

On my non-lifting days I run/jog 5k, at a relatively slow pace (7 miles an hour) and I take 1 or 2 days off running a week depending on my energy. Sometimes I do a long run on the weekend and take an extra running day off. Yesterday I ran 10k and at a higher intensity than I planned. I woke up feeling fresh today with some expected soreness in my hamstrings. So I kept my lifting plan and will take tomorrow off running.

I think it probably is a lot now that I’m typing it out but mostly I’m wondering about the wisdom (or lack of) of doing those lifts on the same day. I noticed on SS, the power cleans and deadlifts are alternated. I don’t lift to failure on any of the lifts and my weights are pretty low I’d imagine by this sites standards, no more than 95lbs on each of the lifts, bench only 85lbs, I’ve only just started adding weight to the squats and I do 3 sets of 8 cycling through each of the lifts per set with some air squats in between. I’m answering my own question here heh, but I still wouldn’t mind feedback on what is sensible and what is moronic.

Also, has anyone else noticed eye-twitch along with intense exercise routine? Normally I wouldn’t bother but some comments in other threads I’ve read lately has me questioning my routine.

I’ve never actually consulted anyone knowledgeable about the lifting aside from a brief intro from my guy showing me some proper form and basic safety, so now that I’m reading here and finding out there’s a lot more to it than I realized I fully expect to get yelled at :smiley:

Thanks in advance for any criticism. I promise I won’t ask how to get a six pack :confused:

2

[quote]debraD wrote:
Yesterday and today I started getting an annoying eye-twitch. A quick google indicates either stress or fatigue as a possible cause, another is neurological causes. I’m wondering if my routine is too intense and this is fatigue or am I stressing my CNS by too many compound lifts together?

I don’t feel any other signs of fatigue other than some expected DOMS. I’m sleeping 8 hours a night and I’m eating as much as I have time for, aiming for about 200g of protein a day, 45-50% of my diet is fat. (no fish and rice cakes though :P) My RHR hasn’t increased, but I haven’t tried the tap test yet.

I lift 3 times a week, bench, power cleans and deadlift on each of my lifting days. I start with some sprints (brisk walk 5 minutes, then 400m sprinting 400m walking/jogging, repeat 3 or 4 times) I’ve only added the sprints a couple of weeks ago and I’m probably going to cut back on them after reading the comments in the T-Cell thread about the silliness of doing this.

On my non-lifting days I run/jog 5k, at a relatively slow pace (7 miles an hour) and I take 1 or 2 days off running a week depending on my energy. Sometimes I do a long run on the weekend and take an extra running day off. Yesterday I ran 10k and at a higher intensity than I planned. I woke up feeling fresh today with some expected soreness in my hamstrings. So I kept my lifting plan and will take tomorrow off running.

I think it probably is a lot now that I’m typing it out but mostly I’m wondering about the wisdom (or lack of) of doing those lifts on the same day. I noticed on SS, the power cleans and deadlifts are alternated. I don’t lift to failure on any of the lifts and my weights are pretty low I’d imagine by this sites standards, no more than 95lbs on each of the lifts, bench only 85lbs, I’ve only just started adding weight to the squats and I do 3 sets of 8 cycling through each of the lifts per set with some air squats in between. I’m answering my own question here heh, but I still wouldn’t mind feedback on what is sensible and what is moronic.

Also, has anyone else noticed eye-twitch along with intense exercise routine? Normally I wouldn’t bother but some comments in other threads I’ve read lately has me questioning my routine.

I’ve never actually consulted anyone knowledgeable about the lifting aside from a brief intro from my guy showing me some proper form and basic safety, so now that I’m reading here and finding out there’s a lot more to it than I realized I fully expect to get yelled at :smiley:

Thanks in advance for any criticism. I promise I won’t ask how to get a six pack :/[/quote]

I have had the same thing. Get more sleep or better sleep. That is all it took to fix stop my twitchy eye. Train as hard as you like – add some sleep and you will be fine.

3

Thats what I want to hear :smiley: Thanks! More sleep, I can definitely do.

4

I disagree with CaliLaw and most of the other guys in the T-Cell about the fatigue HIIT creates. I was doing Starting Strength and HIIT 3x/week while eating at a caloric deficit and my squat went up (okay, really it was back to baseline, but the point remains that the stress from your leg workouts and their leg workouts are very different).

I’m impressed that you’re aware of the tap test and are measuring your RHR. Good calls, both.

I can’t speak for the eye-twitch, because I’ve never experienced it. It sounds like you’re doing all the right things for a beginner to gain strength and lose fat at the same time though. Let us know if increasing your sleep time works.

5

Something to be aware of is superfluous tension that you can create through tasks. My left trap feels like someone is inserting a knitting needle into it if I type long enough. I have a left eye twitch after very intense workouts as I grit my teeth and squint quite hard. It is minor and usually goes away quickly with relaxation and sleep.

An eye twitch is more common than you think. They are seldom spontaneous and are usually contributed to excessive strain. More rest will help but try to be aware where your tension is throughout the day.

You may also need glasses. I never knew how much I could not see until I got them. Well into my 20’s before I had a problem.

6

The condition you have is called myokemia and it can be caused by stress or changes in your body’s ability to handle stress. Nutritionally, it might be due to an imbalance in your electrolytes.

A home remedy I found that works well is: Drink a half can of tonic water, two days in a row and see if the twitching goes away. Tonic water has quinine in it and it blocks the neuromuscular junction of the highly sensitized nerves in the eyelids searching.

Also, I would be sure you are getting enough magnesium. For your training, I would cut out steady state cardio. I prefer GPP or HIIT (I have neumerous posts explaining my reasoning)On the days you train with weights add it in spaced 6-8 hours appart (weights in the morning gpp at night)

Don’t overdo it, the purpose is to BUILD UP exercise tolerance and workload. Muscle burns the calories and simply dropping bodyfat is good for your heart. You will better effect and have more total days for recovery. Hopefully this will help. Good luck and keep us posted.

7

I get these without fail during times of high stress. Getting sleep won’t help the situation for me, I just need to do what I need to do to get rid of the stress. Laroyal, thanks for the tonic water suggestion, I will have to try it next time. It is a really annoying problem and can be really embarrassing as well. Believe me, nothing will scare the girls off quicker than a guy with weird face and eye twitches.

8

Thanks for all the great advice! I will sleep more, try the tonic water and adjust my cardio and report back in a bit. I do love to run but I guess I can’t do everything.

Someone else told me they thought electrolytes too and it wouldn’t surprise me since I’ve noticed a load of salt on my hat and shirt after running.

9

I too have just started to get an eye twitch. Left eye, the opposite side to tear duct. Would never have thought it was due to lifting.