The Benefits of a Deload Week (And How to Do It)
The harder you work and the more phsycial effort you put in, the better the results - right?!
While that may be true for some, it’s actually quite common for people to end up overreaching or overtraining without even recognizing it. Before we talk about how to avoid both, let’s take a moment to explain the difference between the two. Overreaching is defined as a temporary condition that occurs as a response to heavy or intense training loads. Overtraining is defined as a chronic condition of extreme fatigue that is induced by prolonged high intensity, high volume, repeating, and recurring monotonous training sessions. If either of those sound like something you may be experiencing, it’s probably time for you to take a deload week!
To help with understanding when and how to effectively use a deload week, we’ll cover the following topics:
What is a deload week?
Why should I use a deload week?
How do I perform a deload week?
When and how often should I deload?
What is a deload week?
A deload week is when you would back off on volume and/or intensity in your workouts. It is a way to temporarily reduce overall stress on the body from training. By stress, we mean overall physical and neurological strain on the body. This temporary reduction can lead to improvements in recovery, energy, strength, endurance, and overall performance.
Why should I use a deload week?
It’s a great stress management tool. The most important aspect of seeing results with any fitness or performance goal is making sure we are managing stress properly. Exercise is a strategic way to expose us to more stress. Over time, as we adapt to those stressors, we become more resilient and get in “better shape”. The challenge arises when we begin to overstress our bodies and don’t allow for optimal recovery. Properly managing that stress is the key to staying in the gains zone!
How do I perform a deload week?
There are two very common approaches to deloading. You can cut the volume for the week by doing half of the amount of reps you would normally do at the same weight or intensity. Or, you can cut intensity by doing the same exercises with 50% or less of your normal weight or intensity.
Example: Say you normally do 3 sets of 12 reps with 150 lbs on an exercise.
Cut the volume by doing 2 sets of 8 reps at the same weight.
Cut the intensity by doing 3 sets of 12 reps with 75 lbs.
Both situations are great opportunities to focus on form and mind/muscle connection. Spend the time and energy you save by cutting down on reps or intensity by doing some light cardio and/or stretching.
When and how often should I deload?
If you haven’t done anything like this for more than 8-12 weeks, it’s definitely worth trying. It’s easy to get to running on momentum and not recognize that you are overtraining. It happens to the best of us. Here are a few other signs that it might be time for a deload week:
Sore joints
Decreased strength and/or endurance
Mental fog
Mental stress
Suboptimal sleep (quality and/or quantity)
Higher resting heart rate
Muscle aches, soreness, fatigue
You’re here because you’re interested in taking care of your health, mind, and body. When it comes to optimizing all 3, deloading is one of the best tools you can use to optimal recovery from any excess stress you’ve been exposing it to.
As always, check out our coaching services for more information on how we can help you create a strategy that sets you up for success!