Why You Should Consider A Deload

Unless you are superhuman, you likely experience the feelings of soreness, fatigue and, in some cases, pain as the result of exercise. This is not uncommon. Imposing physical stress to our bodies is going to lead to tissue adaptation (muscle growth, skeletal maturity, etc.), but not without a residual response to being tested past our previous physical capabilities. 

On top of this, there is also a point in our training, where we may not be able to perform at the level we had planned during a given training session or week. The deload can be programmed into your existing program (e.g. week 6) or can be implemented when necessary. This usually occurs more frequently in advanced lifters and less so in novices. For example, an advanced lifter may have to deload every 4 weeks where a novice lifter could possibly go 2 months without one. As with everything else, this is a case-by-case basis and no one-size-fits-all approach will do. 

Aside from the factors listed above, physical and neuromuscular adaptations become more difficult to make as we become better trained. At this point, we need to do one and/or both of the following: a deload (or programmed week of exercises at lower intensities) or modifying the variables of your program (e.g. sets/reps, intensities). 

This is a good time to point out that rest is NOT always the best option when we reach a point where training gains have diminished. A deload is a great way to continue training and reinforcing movement patterns; even if the deload involves other modes of training like yoga or running. After all, training at lower intensities would have more positive health benefits than ceasing exercise for a week; excluding planned vacations or illness. 

Preventing what we refer to as “spikes” in training is also important. We want to provide our bodies with a relatively consistent amount of stress to decrease our likelihood of injury and deloads will allow us to do just that. The general rule of thumb is to reduce your working sets by 30-50% and/or lower your working weight on a deload and build back up beginning the following week. How much you build up is dependent on your performance on any given day. 

And that is deloading 101. Questions? Comments? Please feel free to reach out.