You've probably heard of people incorporating deloading weeks into their strength training routines. But, does deloading actually work and if so, what benefits does it provide?
A planned deloading week can reduce the risk of injury, help you taper for an event, reduce burnout, and allow you flexibility in your training.
Read on to learn about how deloading weeks can help improve your performance.
What is a Deloading Week?
A deloading week is a planned week in your training schedule where you reduce your training to allow your body to recover better. When creating a deloading week, you can reduce the load, intensity, volume, or combination of the three.
The load refers to the amount of weight you lift during your workout. You can change to a lower weight setting during the deloading week. To change your intensity, you can take longer rests between your sets or perform modified exercises. You can also reduce the volume by completing fewer sets or reps during your fitness routine.
Some training programs deload every 4th week of training. However, other training programs, especially for seasonal team sports, may practice deloading for months. Olympic athletes deload on a four-year cycle. Personal trainers can even help you build a regular training program where you regulate your training days so that you don't need a deloading week.
Your level, age, and health also affect how often you should deload. Some signs you need a deload period include low energy levels, poor performance, pain or muscle tightness, and feeling fatigued and unmotivated. These symptoms are your body telling you it's time to slow down.
Deloading gives your muscles and nervous system a chance to recover so that you can become stronger.
Is A Deload Week the Same as a Rest Week?
Deloading is different from a rest week because, with deloading, you are still training. You just have a less intense workout for a short period of time. A rest week is when you cease exercising because you need a break. There are many reasons why people take rest weeks. This could be due to injury, illness, mental fatigue, fitness plateauing, or a vacation.
In contrast, a deloading week is a scheduled part of your training that occurs every 4-8 weeks. When you deload, you can decrease how much you lift, do a lighter activity, exercise fewer days, or try a slower pace than usual.
Rest weeks can be planned, but they are still a week of no training. Deloading weeks should incorporate light training.
How Does a Deloading Week Work?
When you exercise, you have periods of fitness and fatigue. Fitness is when your body is ready and able to perform exercises. Fitness increases muscle size and creates adaptations in your body to increase your strength. After repeated, intense workouts, however, your body becomes fatigued and is less able to prepare for more performance.
Following fatigue, your body enters a stage of resistance. This is when your body returns to baseline. It has built up a resistance to the training you performed. Your body is then able to return to exercise. But, if you train too frequently, too long, or too intensely, your body becomes exhausted and has a harder time returning to baseline. This leads to poor performance.
For example, if you shoot a gun over and over, eventually it runs out of ammo. Your body is like a gun. The ammo running out is your body's fatigue. You need to reload your ammo by including periods of rest into your workout routine. Then, you'll be able to perform again.
Adding a deloading week into your routine gives your body a chance to adapt to the changes so that you have better resistance and can meet your fitness goals.
The Benefits of a Deload Week
There are many advantages to having a deloading week included in your training routine. Deloading can help you see better results on your fitness journey. According to a study, implementing a 1 week deload in the middle of a 9-week training block led to increases in endurance, power, and lower-body muscle mass.
So, incorporating planned lower-intensity workouts into your training schedule can help you meet your training goals better.
Here are some other deload week benefits:
#1 Prevent Injuries
Deloading weeks can prevent injuries. Every time you exercise you get muscle damage in the form of small tears. The tearing and healing build muscle over time. However, if you experience too many tears without giving your body time to heal, it can lead to muscle soreness and injury. However, incorporating deloading weeks into your training sessions will help you to achieve better muscle hypertrophy.
Overuse injuries are traumas that affect bones, muscles, ligaments, and tendons from repeatedly using the same movements. These types of injuries are commonly seen in athletes who train at a high intensity. You can also get an overuse injury from poor technique or ramping up your activities before your body is ready.
Your body informs you something is wrong with soreness, pain, or discomfort during the activity. If you ignore this pain, it can become chronic, hurting even when you are not using the body part. Overtraining leads to more overuse injuries. These injuries can affect you psychologically, as well as physically. Overworking your muscles can change your nervous and endocrine systems, leading to poor performance.
To avoid getting an overuse injury, you can incorporate a deloading week at regular intervals into your training routine. This gives your body time to heal and to adapt to the microtears in your muscles. There is no shame in using less heavy weights or reducing the number of sets you perform. In fact, a balanced training cycle is best for your overall wellness.
#2 Taper for an Event
If you run marathons or participate in sports with a big event, you can use deloading to help you taper before your event. Tapering is when you slowly reduce your training volume to allow your body to rest before it needs to work at maximum. If you continue high-volume training all the way to the event, you could be too fatigued to perform well.
Deload periods reduce the stressors you have on training days to allow your body to recover. Based on what type of sport you play or what event you are training for, you may need to taper your training volume by 40-70%. You will also need to think about reducing your training intensity and frequency as you prepare.
Professional athletes use tapering to ensure they are at peak performance on the day of an event. Many begin tapering weeks or months before its time.
#3 Avoid Burnout
Strength and muscle growth occur when you incorporate progressive overload into your workout routine. Progressive overload is when you slowly increase the number of repetitions until you reach your rep max. This includes intense training that can be both physically and mentally exhausting.
When you are training, it can be easy to reach a point where going to the gym can become laborious. In these times, you can make simple mistakes that can lead to injury. Doing the same cardio routine every day can also become boring.
Incorporating a deloading week gives your central nervous system some time to reach equilibrium. Changing the intensity, volume, and load of your exercise routine can add interest to your routine so that it doesn't become boring. Deloading can be essential in preventing burnout.
#4 Allow Flexibility in Your Training
You can also use a deloading week to accommodate life's little interruptions to your exercise routine. If you have an illness, you won't be able to perform at the same level, so deloading gives you the flexibility to stay active while also giving your body time to heal.
Deloading is a way to get in your training while on vacation, too. You can still work out, but a lower volume and load lets you still enjoy your vacation.
If you have an injury or just need a mental break, a deloading week gives you the freedom to reduce your exercise intensity while still keeping up with your training.
How to Deload Weightlifting
There are a few options for how often you need to deload based on the type of weightlifting training you are doing. If you are a beginner, you should deload for 1 week after every 8-10 weeks of heavy lifting. For intermediate athletes, this would change to 1 week of deloading every 6-8 weeks of lifting. Experienced lifters with 3+ years under their belts should deload for 1 week every 4-6 weeks.
You also have options on the way that you handle your deloading week. You can reduce your load, which for bodybuilders should be a 40-50% reduction of your 1RM. Another option is to reduce your volume, so you can keep the same weight but complete fewer repetitions. You can also do both or alternate between the two.
Who Needs to Deload?
Beginners and younger men may need to deload less frequently than more experienced and older men. Beginners are still building up their resistance and haven't quite reached the level of intensity that leads to the need for a deload week. Younger men will have more adaptability for longer periods.
However, once you reach a high level of intensity and experience while training, you'll need to take more frequent deloads. Also, men in their 40s and above may need to take more frequent deload weeks than men in their 20s and 30s. If you are susceptible to overuse injuries or if you feel fatigued or have lots of muscle soreness, as an older man, it's a good idea to incorporate more deload weeks.
A rule of thumb is 3 weeks of hard training and 1 week of deloading. Each person is different and you may need more or less deloading periods based on your individual body and needs. Older men have an increased risk for injury. Pushing yourself too hard can lead to elbow, shoulder, and knee issues.
Men over 40 have more wear and tear of the cartilage surrounding their joints. If you overwork these joints while lifting, you could end up with a lot of pain. Deloading weeks are a chance for you to hone your skills and give you an opportunity to perfect your form.
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Conclusion
A deload week is a good way to add more balance to your workout routine. Deloading weeks are when you decrease the load, volume, and intensity of your training program to give your body a chance to heal.
There are several benefits to incorporating a deloading week into your program such as preventing injuries, tapering your training, avoiding burnout, and allowing for more flexibility in your routine. Based on the type of exercises you do, deloading will look different. So, be sure to talk to a professional trainer if you need additional support working in a deload period to your sessions.
