Thread: deload

I tend to take a full week off every three months or every time I change up my routine (which is usually every 12 weeks anyways). It's probably best to take a full week off to let your body fully recover and then go hard again when you go back. I have found that even taking a full 2 weeks off every 3 months won't have any detrimental effects on my physique provided my diet is still in check. In fact, usually after a week or two off I come back stronger and look/feel better.

there are two ways: 50% weight for your week or however long it takes you to complete all the days until you repeat or just completely off.

which do you reckon is better, im leaning towards a full week off

i just did a full week off, while i feel better my rep count has dropped by about 1 per set. should be able to bounce back in a few days

I think a week off is very beneficial, especially the older you get. Your body will thank you. The hardest part for me is the mental aspect. I hate not lifting something and I get cranky.

Another option is to deload once a month (i.e after everything third week).

One can spend that time working at a lower intensity (perhaps not going above about 50-60% of one's 1RM) or at a lower volume (basically cutting sets in half).

Additionally, one can spend that time with other athletic activities -- bike riding, pick up ball, swimming, boxing, etc.

Finally, one can just take the week off.

Younger folks can probably be a bit more aggressive on that 4th week -- maybe even push it back if they feel that their progress is on the up and up.

Older folks would probably be well served to lean towards R&R.

I am going to do a weird deload week in a month. I want to do some high reps on a few choice compound movements. Probably see how many times I can rep 135 for squat and deadlifts and do some pushups. I feel it will give my CNS plenty of rest while shocking my muscles for a week.

<-- currently taking a week off... and loving it!

I usually take a week off every 3-4 weeks.

A week off every 3-4 months usually does it for me. Come to think of it, it's about that time. Its hard to get over it mentally though. However, I usually come back stronger than the week before. I have never tried a "50% deload" week. Maybe I will try that next week and see how I feel then.

during your deload week do you eat less calories than you would when going to the gym? ie during that week you wont be tearing your muscles etc so i assume you dont need to eat quite as much, its more to give your CNS a break and time to recover? is that correct?

i think i need one ive noticed my left eye lid has started to twitch randomly throughout the day, im getting plenty of sleep and it sometimes does it after particularly heavy lifts

i could see how you could gain a few pounds of fat eating like a psycho and not working out.

I eat the same and I gain muscle on deload weeks.

Originally Posted by ihateschoolmt

I am going to do a weird deload week in a month. I want to do some high reps on a few choice compound movements. Probably see how many times I can rep 135 for squat and deadlifts and do some pushups. I feel it will give my CNS plenty of rest while shocking my muscles for a week.

How is doing something completely unfamiliar to your CNS but also taking it to extreme levels of fatigue resting it? Just curious.

Read your last sentence. What causes your muscles to fire?

Originally Posted by ihateschoolmt

I eat the same and I gain muscle on deload weeks.

yeah but you seem to be unnatural!!! i was reading your journal and your eating like 6000 cals a day some days?!? i think im getting about 3500 and in the past few months ive noticed some fat gain i think about 1 inch around my waist but all lifts are up and size is up everywhere else, i dont think i have the best diet though far to many sweets....i love sweets......

No I'm natural, get drug tested every month as a matter of fact lol. You don't have to eat 6k calories a day but I would keep eating about the same while deloading, it's only a week and your muscles are still repairing a good portion of that time usually.

Originally Posted by ponyboy

How is doing something completely unfamiliar to your CNS but also taking it to extreme levels of fatigue resting it? Just curious.

Read your last sentence. What causes your muscles to fire?

I thought endurance work wasn't hard on the CNS? Like if I ran real hard for 2 miles that wouldnt cause much stress to my CNS would it? Thought it was kind of the same thing. Is that not a good idea?

Hmmm... interesting thread. I can't see how a week of pump training while eating at a surplus would cause CNS overload. Maybe I'm missing something here.

Ponyboy, are you thinking ihate is going to be pushing to failure this whole time - if so, I might be inclined to agree with you. I don't think that's what ihate's thinking, though. In your opinion, would this matter?

Originally Posted by ihateschoolmt

No I'm natural, get drug tested every month as a matter of fact lol. You don't have to eat 6k calories a day but I would keep eating about the same while deloading, it's only a week and your muscles are still repairing a good portion of that time usually.

sorry i didnt mean assisted, i meant not normal!! its a good thing im jealous!

I am 45 years old and just recently did a deload week.

I went only 50% of my 1RM on compound movements and cut sets in half. It did wonders for my shoulder joints and also my entire body. I felt more refreshed when I came back.

I did indeed get a bit weaker by a couple reps. But, that is not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes our ego gets in the way of performing proper form on critical movements. The deload week gave me an opportunity to look at my form and correct and tweak a few things.

Believe it or not, my muscles look fuller since I backed off around 10-15% on the weight and have been concentrating on proper form and really contracting my muscles on movements. I have also been incorporating some negative reps as well which have been yielding some results as well.

Taking time off or backing off on weight/sets not only gives your body a rest, but gives you time to think about what you are doing.

Originally Posted by pwloiacano

I am 45 years old and just recently did a deload week.

I went only 50% of my 1RM on compound movements and cut sets in half. It did wonders for my shoulder joints and also my entire body. I felt more refreshed when I came back.

I did indeed get a bit weaker by a couple reps. But, that is not necessarily a bad thing. Sometimes our ego gets in the way of performing proper form on critical movements. The deload week gave me an opportunity to look at my form and correct and tweak a few things.

Believe it or not, my muscles look fuller since I backed off around 10-15% on the weight and have been concentrating on proper form and really contracting my muscles on movements. I have also been incorporating some negative reps as well which have been yielding some results as well.

Taking time off or backing off on weight/sets not only gives your body a rest, but gives you time to think about what you are doing.

The same thing happened to me.

yeah im considering changing the weight i use as well primarily i do 6-8 reps on most exercises but im convinced on some exercises i dont use great form

Originally Posted by Built

Hmmm... interesting thread. I can't see how a week of pump training while eating at a surplus would cause CNS overload. Maybe I'm missing something here.

Ponyboy, are you thinking ihate is going to be pushing to failure this whole time - if so, I might be inclined to agree with you. I don't think that's what ihate's thinking, though. In your opinion, would this matter?

I agree. My argument is that overload is overload, no matter if it is high rep, low weight to failure or low rep, high weight to failure. He was saying he wanted to push himself to see how many times he could do something, ie failure.

CNS doesn't care about the resistance, it cares about the accumulated force on it and the repair process required.

ponyboy, thank you for the clarification. And agreed.

I schedule a week off every 8 weeks. Really helps me mentally as well as letting my joints feel better.

Originally Posted by Anabolic5150

I schedule a week off every 8 weeks. Really helps me mentally as well as letting my joints feel better.

How do you do it man? Id be going crazy in my head! lol

I know I need to every 2-3 months, but its just so hard to make myself take off!

Originally Posted by SuperLift

How do you do it man? Id be going crazy in my head! lol

I know I need to every 2-3 months, but its just so hard to make myself take off!

It used to drive me nuts too, but once I started seeing the benefits I was convinced. I still might go to the gym, super light cardio or swim, steam, whatever. But no weights at all. Don't even do abs. Try it Bro, by the end of the week the little aches are gone and I'm mentally ready to go again.

No way I'm taking a week off. If I feel signs of overtraining I might take a couple extra rest days, but never more than 3 in a row. And even on my rest days I'm in the gym doing abs/calves/cardio. Maybe you guys are on to something though...I haven't gained a pound since I finished my first cycle