Bro do you even deload

[Bigken1985]

How often does everyone De load. I've been blasting pretty hard the last 8/9 weeks.now my deads feel like ass. The whole week thing seems to piss me off more than anything. Does a couple light days suffice?

[Wookie]

A deload is simply the lowering of volume, frequency or intensity with the goal of increasing recovery.

 

So if you do 5x5 on bench press at 140kg for 4 days a week usually, and then you do 4x5 at 140kg on 3 days a week, you technically are deloading.

[maccaz]

Ask skeletor about taking a couple days vs the whole week haha.

You wont go backwards having a light week. Opposite really

[Realtalk]

A couple of light days, no. If that was the case I would be "deloading" every week when I have the weekends off. In my terminology that is 2 rest days not a deload. It takes like 2-3 weeks of no training before you will loose 5-10% of your strength. Before my comps i quite happily and confidently take 7 full days off and only go to the gym to keep everything moving. Im talking machines at like 3rpe.

The rest you take is just as important as the training you do. Fatigue masks fitness, deload reveals it. You are stronger after a deload not because the deload has made you stronger but because before it, you were training in a fatigued state. It's nessercery to train in a fatigued state for a period of time to get stronger. During this time testosterone drops when you training under high stress and that's normal and when you deload the levels peak. Nervous system gets back to optimal function and a few other important things happen which I know about but don't know that much about glycogen stores etc. End result you are left with a body ready to perform at its peak. All sports people follow some kind of deload.

I'm having a weeks deload every 5th week at the moment. So train 4 weeks have a week deload. Train another 4 weeks... Work for your deload.

[maccaz]

other point that il add to what tom says is it will become pretty obvious that a deload has done you good on deadlift and squat, not so much bench,

 

i think this shows the recovery that goes on under the hood that you don't notice, but becomes noticeable when you suddenly get stronger on the more demanding lifts after a proper deload.

 

my deadlifts were feeling like arse in week leading up to deload, then deload and pull pbs that felt relatively easy

[Realtalk]

I forgot to add to what i was saying and that is that a deload pre Comp day for me isn't just stopping training for a week it's a deload for about 2-3 weeks, tapering off and lowering the volume, like wookie first posted about. Whereas at the moment I am just stopping cold turkey and into my deload for the week but I am still training hard in my deload just dropping the compounds out for that week and doing my other stuff so it's just less volume. So different deload approaches for different blocks of training.

[BeastBuilder]

Agree with everything the lads have put up here.

Not guna repeat what they've said but they pretty much hit the nail on the head.

Couple light days is not a deload. A week is generally the accepted minimum time to have any sort of real deloading affect, especially as the frequency of a powerlifter/bodybuilders training is usually based on a week by week basis.

It's very individual how much you get out of a deload, how long to take one for, what kind of deload (eg frequency, volume, intensity drops) work best for you etc.

Also depends on how hard you're training etc.

Definitely pays to have them pre-programmed I think otherwise you may feel okay and not take one when you would benefit from one or the flipside you don't know when is best to take it and waste a week of training which can be annoying especially if you have a deadline.

Try having a lighter week and see how you feel. Squats and Deads benefit the most imo as they are heavier and more demanding on the nervous system and whole body in general than bench so fatigue affects them more.

I think from my programming atm I went hard for about ten weeks or so, then deloaded intensity but kept frequency and volume up last week, did my last heavy session on Wednesday, and from now my frequency, volume and intensity all deload. So mine was more ten days mini deload, one day 9RPE singles on Big Three and now ten days full deload. Should come out a lot better on the other side.

When I was doing 5/3/1 I took the deloads every fourth week as programmed and benefited greatly. I kept frequency and volume up just deloaded the intensity of the weights on main movements and also rotated accessories so had a light starting week on those too.

Just examples of what has worked for me, but you may benefit from more or less or different kinds of deloads. Play around and see what works for you. All about experimentation.

[maccaz]

more thoughts on this just from my recent experience is personally i would prefer to keep the big 3 movements in a deload, but much lighter eg dont drop them altogether during deload

 

particulary squat, if i take a week off, going from really frequent, they feel a bit unnatural when going back into it, i would rather still squat all the way through but with not much weight

[teamfatboy]

:ditto:  

What they said - Wookie, Maccaz, RT and BB have nailed it.  

[muscle99]

I train heavy 6 to 12 rep range for 8 weeks and take one full week off where I don't train at all. I always come back without losing strength. If I don't take that week off I find my progress comes to a screetching halt lol

[Skeletor]

Yeah definitely can vouch for deloads. I take one every 4th to 5th week at the mo. I may only take 5 or 6 days though but ill limit my lifts to light work . As Maccaz said I to have to still include the compound lifts but just drop the volume and intensity . Ive found taking 7 plus days off squats altogether I seem to be weaker when coming back into it unless I have a lighter day midweek. Everyone responds different you just have to find your happy place.