When embarking on a new fitness routine or strength program, it's easy to adopt the mentality of "no pain, no gain" or "go hard or go home."
While pushing your limits and testing your ability to withstand greater resistance is necessary to see strength gains, to do so day in and day out is a recipe for disaster. Not only will you find yourself struggling to perform the same lifts you managed with ease weeks ago, but you're also more likely to experience plateaus in your training and significant fatigue that can be hard to shake.
If training at a lower intensity seems at odds with boosting your performance, it's time you got acquainted with a deload week. This week of lower intensity or training volume allows your body to recover optimally between sessions and gives both the central nervous system and muscles a break.
Far from seeing you lose any gains you may have already established, a deload week can actually help you to realise the progress made as fatigue is flushed out of the body, allowing for maximised overall performance.
When you want to boost energy levels, overcome training plateaus, and see improvements in your high-intensity workouts, deload weeks are crucial. Sometimes, backing off just slightly from intense workouts is enough to see you move forward in great leaps.
So, if you're wondering how you should be scheduling regular deload weeks into your fitness routine and what to do during the deload period, we've got you covered. In this helpful guide, we'll cover everything you need to know about the benefits of a deload week, when to take one, and what to do during that time.
What is a deload week?
A deload week refers to a programmed phase of lowered intensity or training volume.
Unlike complete rest, a deload week still allows you to train. However, you will decrease the weight lifted or reps and sets completed. By scheduling a deload week into your training regimen every 4 to 8 weeks, you'll be able to avoid the poor physical performance that comes with overtraining and allow your body the time it needs to recover optimally between sessions.
It's not just your muscles that need a deload week, though. While fatigue might manifest as muscle soreness in the body, if your training schedule is one of intense training and lifting heavy weights, you're also placing greater strain on the central nervous system.
With a deload week, you allow the nervous system to recover so you can see greater physical adaptations in muscle growth and work towards your performance goals. It also reduces the risk of injury and illness, allowing you to return to normal training with more energy.
What to do during a deload week
When it comes to the deload week itself, there are 3 main ways you can incorporate it into your fitness routine depending on your preferred method and how your body responds.
1. Take the full week off
As the name suggests, another way to deload is to take a full week off entirely. While most would advise that any form of active recovery is beneficial to increase blood flow to muscles and continue to reap the benefits of training, research has shown that taking 1 week off every 6 to 8 weeks won't derail your gains or training goals [1].
2. Use a taper week
A taper week allows you to continue to train at a high intensity but the volume is significantly lower. Especially beneficial for powerlifters, you'll still be able to lift heavy weights, but you'll do half the sets and cut back on accessory lifts.
The ideal way to use a taper week is before competition or testing. For example, if you want to test your squat max after 10 weeks of training, it's best to introduce a taper week in week 9 so that while you still keep the loads relatively heavy, your muscles have a greater chance to recover fully. That way, when week 10 arrives for squat max testing, you're primed for peak performance.
3. Introduce a volume deload
Considered the more standard approach to deload weeks, this approach will see you introduce a moderate decrease in both the volume and intensity of your workouts.
For example, if you typically do 3-4 sets per exercise, on your deload week you might do 2-3 sets per exercise. It's also important to drop the intensity back a little bit, so if you measure your rate of perceived exertion (RPE) for each set, keep it around 6-8 on a deload week if you normally train at an RPE of 8-10.
The benefits of taking a deload week
No matter your workout routine, when you're constantly increasing your training load or simply training hard, the body experiences significant fitness fatigue. While training hard allows you to increase lower body strength, muscle growth, and overall fitness, it also leads to an increase in metabolic waste, muscle damage, and nervous system fatigue.
This is why training heavy on Monday and returning to do the same workout on Tuesday might make you feel weaker. Even though you're using the same weight during your training, the fatigue experienced masks any improvements in fitness.
By giving your body a deload week and the time to flush out that fatigue, you'll actually be able to see the progress made more clearly. Other benefits of taking a deload week include:
- Avoid overtraining and performance plateaus: A deload week gives muscles the time they need to adapt and grow, helping to break through performance plateaus and fatigue.
- Taper for an event: If you're training for an event, scheduling a deload week prior to the date of competition can help reduce muscle fatigue and soreness so you perform at your peak.
- Increase muscle sensitivity to muscle damage: For muscle hypertrophy (an increase in muscle mass) to occur, you need to put your body under greater tension or resistance. This strain on muscles causes damage to muscle fibres which the body then repairs, resulting in muscle growth. Without rest or considered deload weeks, you may be more susceptible to injury and muscle damage.
- Greater flexibility: Taking a deload week can help when navigating lifestyle changes, such as when you're sick and need to give your body adequate time to recover fully or when travelling and don't have access to heavier weights.
- Reduce burnout: Intense training can be mentally exhausting, and a deload week helps provide a mental break and reduce training monotony. You'll return to your workouts refreshed, energised, and more focused on your goals.
How often should you deload?
If you're training at a high intensity, it's generally advised that you include a deload week into your training routine every 6-8 weeks [2]. That being said, there are two approaches you can take when it comes to implementing a deload week into your training routine.
- Reactively: This is a more intuitive approach to incorporating deload weeks and will see you implementing one when you feel like you need it or that your recovery is suffering. Maybe you've been experiencing more frequent injuries or sickness, have had poor recovery following training sessions, or are experiencing a training plateau. In these instances, it might be worth implementing a deload week.
- Proactively: This is a more structured approach to deload weeks and involves programming a deload into your training routine every 4-8 weeks to help you build more muscle, avoid stress, and train hard.
Can you lose muscle mass during a deload week?
For most, the fear of incorporating a deload week into your training plan is that you'll lose muscle mass and strength gains but rest assured that this isn't the case.
It takes 2-4 weeks of skipped workouts before muscle loss occurs, with studies showing that including a deload week midway through a 9-week resistance program had no impact on participants' endurance or power [3].
As mentioned above, deload weeks can actually work to boost muscle growth and achieve peak performance when structured into a training routine every 4-8 weeks. According to one study, participants who took planned breaks from high-intensity training every 6 weeks gained as much muscle and strength as those who didn't deload, achieving the same results with 25% fewer training sessions [4].
While you can choose to take a full week off training, most will remain active and simply decrease the volume of their training and its intensity. This won't hinder your fitness goals or see you lose muscle mass at all.
Now that we know about the benefits of taking a deload week for enhanced recovery and performance, you're likely wondering how best you can incorporate this planned period of reduced training intensity into a fitness routine to achieve peak performance.
Meet Compound, we're a digital clinic for performance health. Once the exclusive domain of billionaires and Hollywood stars, we're on a mission to make premium concierge care accessible to every man who wants more.
Equipped with leading diagnostic reporting, Compound's team of dedicated healthcare professionals and expert specialists is guaranteed to help you access the future of proactive healthcare and reach your health goals.
We take a multi-disciplinary approach to health optimisation and preventative care to help men unlock barriers to everyday performance. Our team of dedicated healthcare professionals and expert specialists are here to help you access the future of proactive healthcare, today.
This post contains general information about health and wellness practices. It is not intended as medical advice and should not be treated as such. Please consult with a healthcare professional before starting any new health regimen. This information is provided without any representations or warranties, express or implied.
When embarking on a new fitness routine or strength program, it's easy to adopt the mentality of "no pain, no gain" or "go hard or go home."
While pushing your limits and testing your ability to withstand greater resistance is necessary to see strength gains, to do so day in and day out is a recipe for disaster. Not only will you find yourself struggling to perform the same lifts you managed with ease weeks ago, but you're also more likely to experience plateaus in your training and significant fatigue that can be hard to shake.
If training at a lower intensity seems at odds with boosting your performance, it's time you got acquainted with a deload week. This week of lower intensity or training volume allows your body to recover optimally between sessions and gives both the central nervous system and muscles a break.
Far from seeing you lose any gains you may have already established, a deload week can actually help you to realise the progress made as fatigue is flushed out of the body, allowing for maximised overall performance.
When you want to boost energy levels, overcome training plateaus, and see improvements in your high-intensity workouts, deload weeks are crucial. Sometimes, backing off just slightly from intense workouts is enough to see you move forward in great leaps.
So, if you're wondering how you should be scheduling regular deload weeks into your fitness routine and what to do during the deload period, we've got you covered. In this helpful guide, we'll cover everything you need to know about the benefits of a deload week, when to take one, and what to do during that time.
What is a deload week?
A deload week refers to a programmed phase of lowered intensity or training volume.
Unlike complete rest, a deload week still allows you to train. However, you will decrease the weight lifted or reps and sets completed. By scheduling a deload week into your training regimen every 4 to 8 weeks, you'll be able to avoid the poor physical performance that comes with overtraining and allow your body the time it needs to recover optimally between sessions.
It's not just your muscles that need a deload week, though. While fatigue might manifest as muscle soreness in the body, if your training schedule is one of intense training and lifting heavy weights, you're also placing greater strain on the central nervous system.
With a deload week, you allow the nervous system to recover so you can see greater physical adaptations in muscle growth and work towards your performance goals. It also reduces the risk of injury and illness, allowing you to return to normal training with more energy.
What to do during a deload week
When it comes to the deload week itself, there are 3 main ways you can incorporate it into your fitness routine depending on your preferred method and how your body responds.
1. Take the full week off
As the name suggests, another way to deload is to take a full week off entirely. While most would advise that any form of active recovery is beneficial to increase blood flow to muscles and continue to reap the benefits of training, research has shown that taking 1 week off every 6 to 8 weeks won't derail your gains or training goals [1].
2. Use a taper week
A taper week allows you to continue to train at a high intensity but the volume is significantly lower. Especially beneficial for powerlifters, you'll still be able to lift heavy weights, but you'll do half the sets and cut back on accessory lifts.
The ideal way to use a taper week is before competition or testing. For example, if you want to test your squat max after 10 weeks of training, it's best to introduce a taper week in week 9 so that while you still keep the loads relatively heavy, your muscles have a greater chance to recover fully. That way, when week 10 arrives for squat max testing, you're primed for peak performance.
3. Introduce a volume deload
Considered the more standard approach to deload weeks, this approach will see you introduce a moderate decrease in both the volume and intensity of your workouts.
For example, if you typically do 3-4 sets per exercise, on your deload week you might do 2-3 sets per exercise. It's also important to drop the intensity back a little bit, so if you measure your rate of perceived exertion (RPE) for each set, keep it around 6-8 on a deload week if you normally train at an RPE of 8-10.
The benefits of taking a deload week
No matter your workout routine, when you're constantly increasing your training load or simply training hard, the body experiences significant fitness fatigue. While training hard allows you to increase lower body strength, muscle growth, and overall fitness, it also leads to an increase in metabolic waste, muscle damage, and nervous system fatigue.
This is why training heavy on Monday and returning to do the same workout on Tuesday might make you feel weaker. Even though you're using the same weight during your training, the fatigue experienced masks any improvements in fitness.
By giving your body a deload week and the time to flush out that fatigue, you'll actually be able to see the progress made more clearly. Other benefits of taking a deload week include:
- Avoid overtraining and performance plateaus: A deload week gives muscles the time they need to adapt and grow, helping to break through performance plateaus and fatigue.
- Taper for an event: If you're training for an event, scheduling a deload week prior to the date of competition can help reduce muscle fatigue and soreness so you perform at your peak.
- Increase muscle sensitivity to muscle damage: For muscle hypertrophy (an increase in muscle mass) to occur, you need to put your body under greater tension or resistance. This strain on muscles causes damage to muscle fibres which the body then repairs, resulting in muscle growth. Without rest or considered deload weeks, you may be more susceptible to injury and muscle damage.
- Greater flexibility: Taking a deload week can help when navigating lifestyle changes, such as when you're sick and need to give your body adequate time to recover fully or when travelling and don't have access to heavier weights.
- Reduce burnout: Intense training can be mentally exhausting, and a deload week helps provide a mental break and reduce training monotony. You'll return to your workouts refreshed, energised, and more focused on your goals.
How often should you deload?
If you're training at a high intensity, it's generally advised that you include a deload week into your training routine every 6-8 weeks [2]. That being said, there are two approaches you can take when it comes to implementing a deload week into your training routine.
- Reactively: This is a more intuitive approach to incorporating deload weeks and will see you implementing one when you feel like you need it or that your recovery is suffering. Maybe you've been experiencing more frequent injuries or sickness, have had poor recovery following training sessions, or are experiencing a training plateau. In these instances, it might be worth implementing a deload week.
- Proactively: This is a more structured approach to deload weeks and involves programming a deload into your training routine every 4-8 weeks to help you build more muscle, avoid stress, and train hard.
Can you lose muscle mass during a deload week?
For most, the fear of incorporating a deload week into your training plan is that you'll lose muscle mass and strength gains but rest assured that this isn't the case.
It takes 2-4 weeks of skipped workouts before muscle loss occurs, with studies showing that including a deload week midway through a 9-week resistance program had no impact on participants' endurance or power [3].
As mentioned above, deload weeks can actually work to boost muscle growth and achieve peak performance when structured into a training routine every 4-8 weeks. According to one study, participants who took planned breaks from high-intensity training every 6 weeks gained as much muscle and strength as those who didn't deload, achieving the same results with 25% fewer training sessions [4].
While you can choose to take a full week off training, most will remain active and simply decrease the volume of their training and its intensity. This won't hinder your fitness goals or see you lose muscle mass at all.
Now that we know about the benefits of taking a deload week for enhanced recovery and performance, you're likely wondering how best you can incorporate this planned period of reduced training intensity into a fitness routine to achieve peak performance.
Meet Compound, we're a digital clinic for performance health. Once the exclusive domain of billionaires and Hollywood stars, we're on a mission to make premium concierge care accessible to every man who wants more.
Equipped with leading diagnostic reporting, Compound's team of dedicated healthcare professionals and expert specialists is guaranteed to help you access the future of proactive healthcare and reach your health goals.
We take a multi-disciplinary approach to health optimisation and preventative care to help men unlock barriers to everyday performance. Our team of dedicated healthcare professionals and expert specialists are here to help you access the future of proactive healthcare, today.
This post contains general information about health and wellness practices. It is not intended as medical advice and should not be treated as such. Please consult with a healthcare professional before starting any new health regimen. This information is provided without any representations or warranties, express or implied.
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