How to deload is a question all lifters should ask themselves.
Why?
You see, success in the gym rests upon 3 major pillars.
Once your nutrition and training are in check, there is one tiny little thing left…
Recovery.
And today we are going to discuss how to deload and why it is crucial for best results.
We'll also go over recovery weeks and how to pick the right option for yourself.
More...
Why is Taking a Week off From The Gym Important?
Although taking a week off from the gym might sound nuts to you, it’s actually an important element of long-term progress.
You see, lifting weights puts a lot of stress on your nervous system, muscles, joints, ligaments, and tendons.
Over time, that stress builds up and your performance starts to fall off. You start feeling achy, weak, de-motivated to lift, and so on.
But we don’t want that!
We want to hammer at the weights without all these negative symptoms of overtraining.
Enter the recovery week.
The purpose of a recovery week is to give you some time off the gym to recover both physically and mentally. Once the week is about over, you would be itching to get back and crush your workouts.
And the funny thing?
You’d most likely be feeling rested, motivated and even stronger than before.
I know the skeptical part of your brain is like:
“Yeah, like NOT training is going to make me stronger.”
But think about it:
If you haven’t taken time off the gym lately, you’re likely starting to feel overtrained. And piling on more stress on top won’t make you jump over the fence and feel better.
Still, there are those individuals that won’t benefit from a recovery week. Then again, they aren’t benefiting from the training they are doing, either.
Those are the individuals who give priority to going out on Friday night over lifting.
To sleeping in over having that morning cardio session before work.
To socializing with their bros rather than actually training.
To eating junk over whole foods that nourish the body.
To.. you get it.
Those are the people who don’t feel tired and accomplished after a workout. And they look exactly the same as last year.
THEY don’t need a recovery week. Hell, they don’t even need recovery days.
But not you. You’re determined and hungry for progress.
You push yourself hard every workout.
You follow a decent training program that delivers results.
You most definitely need to be taking a week off from working out every once in a while.
How often should I be taking a week off from the gym?
Much like other aspects of training, recovery is also individual.
But there are certain guidelines you can follow to ease the process of figuring stuff out for yourself.
Recovery needs depend on different factors such as:
Based on all these factors, there are 3 main ways to schedule recovery weeks:
Option #1: Predetermined training breaks
Those are the scheduled breaks you have. For example, I used to follow the Beyond 5/3/1 by Jim Wendler. It calls for a deload week (which we’ll cover below) every 7th week.
Most decent strength programs out there have some sort of recovery week scheduled. They are there to help you manage fatigue and feel motivated to lift year-round.
The idea is, decide how long you will train and schedule a recovery week every so often.
Option #2: When you start feeling tired
The second scenario is based on feel. You start feeling like crap = take a recovery week.
Symptoms of overtraining could include body aches, loss of sleep, lack of motivation, and weakness when training. There are others, but you get the idea.
Once the symptoms start piling on top of each other, there’s no doubt, you need rest.
For some, it could take 3-4 full months of training before the symptoms begin to surface. For others, it might be after the second month.
My two caveats with this option are:
#1
Most people don’t have the experience to tell whether they need to back off for a while. This kind of intuition comes with time and being able to tell a bad day from a state of overtraining is important.
#2
Recovery weeks should serve as a preventive action. Use them to avoid overtraining, rather than recover after the fact.
Think of it this way:
A recovery week should help steer you away from crashing into overtraining. Being in that state is not beneficial and it can affect other aspects of your life.
Option #3: Unexpected life events & vacations
Sometimes life tends to creep up on us and our plans.
Did you plan that 405 squat for Monday? Too damn bad, man. That stomach virus making its way in your body right now doesn’t care.
When life happens and you’re unable to get to the gym (read: unable, not unwilling), treat it as recovery time and don’t beat yourself up.
Other times, you might have to skip the gym for something more pleasurable. Like a trip to Fiji.
I often get asked whether taking a break from lifting during a vacation is alright.
My answer is yes.
If there’s no gym where you are, you haven’t taken time off recently, and you want to have a good time and take a break from the iron, by all means, do it.
But, if there is a gym near you, and you’re itching to go hit some weights, don’t let the fact that you’re on a vacation stop you.
The Method I Prefer
I used to follow the option of a scheduled de-load week when I followed the Beyond 5/3/1 program and it works well. I still do to this day.
Most if not all decent strength programs out there have a scheduled period of taking it easy. This, in on itself, should tell you how important recovery is.
Some of you might say:
“Well I don’t need to take an easy week after 6 weeks of lifting!”
I hear you.
But, again, think of such a week as a preventive mechanism in your training. To help you stay energized and motivated year-round.
But Wait, Won’t I Lose My Gains If I Don’t Lift For a Week?!
Dr. Mike Zourdos wrote an article on the exact same topic MASS (Monthly Applications in Strength Sports):
Strength and Size Are Resistant to Decline Following 2 Weeks of Detraining
MASS is a research review for strength/physique athletes and coaches.
Eric Helms, Greg Nuckols and Dr. Mike Zourdos are doing an excellent job at reviewing the current literature and putting out the monthly issues.
You can get access to that article and many more articles, videos, audios, and PDFs.
You can read my full review of MASS here.
This is the most common concern people have with taking a week off from working out.
And I get it.
When I was first introduced to the concept of “not lifting”, I was skeptical.
I thought that if I took a week off training, my gains would evaporate and I would need at least 2-3 weeks of solid training to get back to where I left off.
Boy, was I wrong.
I read enough materials to convince myself that a week off was what I needed. At that point, I was pretty overtrained, too.
So, I took a week off (I felt like a slob the entire time, too) and once I came back, I was thunderstruck.
I had forgotten what it feels like to feel energized and motivated to lift.
I crushed all my PRs.
I felt stronger on each accessory exercise.
And I felt good after my workout, rather than like a boiled turd.
Ever since then, I’ve taken my recovery weeks without worrying that I’d lose my gains. I get impatient to return and see what I can do after the break.
If you still feel skeptical about this whole recovery week thing, I get it. I was too.
If you’re not on board not to lift for an entire 7-day period, you can take 2-3 days and see how it benefits you. Then, after some weeks, take a whole 7-day off.
I’ll admit, I know individuals who feel a bit weaker after a recovery week. But, that could be due to not treating a recovery week well.
You should focus on getting quality sleep and keep your nutrition in check. Just because it’s time off the gym, doesn’t mean that it’s time to forget it all.
Yet, it could also be due to factors that are not in your control.
You may find yourself weaker after a recovery week despite keeping everything in check. For you, there's another option I mentioned above – deloading.
How to Deload and is it Right For Me?
A deload week:
“The week where you’re supposed to go light. You enter the gym, do some warm-up and feel the most energetic you’ve ever felt in your entire life. Too bad you can’t do anything with it, though! MWHAHAHAHA”
But in all seriousness…
I’m joking because this has happened to me once or twice before.
A deload week, unlike the recovery week, is one where you don’t take time off the gym. Instead, you keep training but you keep your workouts light and unchallenging.
There are 3 main ways to plan out your deload week:
- Reduce training sets for each workout.
- Reduce training intensity for each workout.
- Reduce both for each workout.
Deloading Your Training Sets
With this method, your goal is to maintain the weights you lift and instead reduce the total sets done for the workout in half.
For example:
If you normally do 4 sets with 225 pounds on the bench for 5 reps, now you would do 2 sets with 225 for 3 reps.
If you normally do a total of 14 working sets for your chest, now you would do 7.
Cut back your repetitions a bit for each set to further reduce volume and don’t take sets to failure.
Deloading Your Training Intensity
When deloading intensity, your goal is to maintain the number of sets you do in favor of less weight lifted. You can go as light half of what you usually lift.
For example:
If you squat 4 sets with 315 pounds for 5 reps, now you would squat 4 sets with 160-170 pounds for 5 reps.
If you usually deadlift 375 pounds for 3 reps on each set, now you would do 185 for 3 reps.
Deloading Intensity and Sets
With this option, you reduce both the weight you lift and the total sets you do for a workout by about 50%.
For example:
If you deadlift 4 sets with 385 pounds for 5 reps each, now you would deadlift 2 sets with 180-200 pounds. Barbell curls with 90 pounds for 4 sets – 45 pounds for 2 sets, etc.
A quick note on the set reps and weight I used as an example:
I realize that your sets likely aren’t static as the examples above and that’s okay. I presented the examples in a simplified way to make things easier to understand.
It doesn’t matter how you usually train that much. Don’t overthink your deload workouts too much.
Choose a weight light enough and do the sets.
How Often Should I Deload?
The answer to this question is individual and I’m afraid I can’t give an answer that will fit everyone. There are questions you need to answer, like:
These are all questions that can help you determine how often you need to take a deload week.
What I recommend is to deload every 6-10 weeks. Experiment with the frequency of your deload and see which works best for you.
Remember:
Treat your deload week as a preventive mechanism to steer clear from overtraining.
The Proper Mindset for a Deload Week
I’d like to address this issue because a lot of people feel that a de-load isn’t doing them any good.
The problem is, they can't see the benefit in training with less effort.
“Damn, I’m lifting the bare minimum of my ability!”
“I feel like I’m going through the motion.”
“Why don’t I take a recovery week? This crap is useless.”
If you feel this way towards your deload weeks, I’d like to help you change your perspective.
First off:
Don’t think of a deload workout as useless because you’re lifting less weight. Think of it as a reset point.
And also consider the fact that after each of these reset points, you’d be better than you were before.
Second:
Focus on proper form and explosiveness. Also, address any nagging pains you might have had in the past, but never got around to fixing.
It could be that your left shoulder feels kind of uncomfortable. Or one of your hips.
It doesn’t matter.
Do extra long warm-ups, focus on mobility work and perform your compound lifts with mindfulness.
Finally, on the accessory lifts:
Instead of yawning because you’re lifting baby weights, focus on each individual repetition.
Are you lifting the weights properly?
Are you feeling the right muscles activate?
Maybe your form is a little off and you never noticed until now.
Fix that.
What’s the bottom line?
A lot of people approach the deload week with a negative mindset and feel miserable until it’s over.
I urge you to shift your mindset and focus on the positive things your deload can bring.
Once you do that, you can reap the benefits from the deload and get back into your normal training feeling stronger and more determined.
How About Nutrition During a Deload/Week off?
Since nutrition is such a crucial element of proper recovery, you should pay as much attention to it as you would during any other week.
Your body is in a state of rebuilding and nourishing itself and it’s your duty to supply it with the building blocks it needs.
When Building Muscle and Increasing Strength
During that period, you’d already be in a caloric surplus. And you need to maintain that surplus even during your deload or recovery week.
Since your body is working to recover and grow stronger, you cannot cut the energy supply short.
Also, because of that, It’s not uncommon for you to actually build some muscle mass during the recovery week and actually come back stronger.
When Losing Fat
There is some controversy here and a lot of different opinions.
This is a tricky subject so I’ll try to look at it as objectively as I can to help you make a good decision.
We all know that the main goal of fat loss is to maintain as much muscle mass as possible while leaning out. Thus, lifting heavy and eating enough protein are two crucial elements.
But what happens when you don’t lift heavy for a week and instead take a deload or recovery week, AND keep that caloric deficit?
That’s right, you’re likely to lose more muscle mass than if you were to keep training heavy.
I couldn’t find any studies that looked into the issue and this information is more of an intuition.
Until we have more research, my advice to you is to raise your calories to maintenance level until your recovery/deload week is over.
That way, you can supply your body with more energy to repair itself and also make sure you don’t lose any muscle mass.
You won’t lose any fat during that short period but you will spare your muscle mass.
Once the deload or recovery week is over and you’re back at it, go back to a deficit and resume your fat loss.
Can I do Cardio During a Deload/Week off?
If you feel like you must do something to keep your sanity, go for it.
But, keep in mind that the goal of the deload/recovery week is to reduce the stress on your body.
You should avoid high impact cardio such as running and doing HIIT cardio.
Aside from that, non-impact cardio like a stationary recumbent bike or a walk in the park can do some good for your recovery.
Back to You
Did you find this post helpful?
Have I missed anything you wanted to know?
Either way, leave a comment below and let me know what you think.
Nice post and you are so correct. I have never read an article going this much in depth as to rest or deloading. I have no regular schedule to recover. I tend to listen to my body and the recovery week can consistent of lighter workouts, active stretching, doing an activity I don’t regularly do, such as swimming, or nothing at all. Thanks for the info.
Taking breaks based on feel can work, but people who are inexperienced are better off taking scheduled breaks. 🙂
Hi there,
If I’m overweight and trying to lose weight using a healthy diet but I am injured, should I still use BCAAs or other forms of supplements?
What is your injury? Can you lift weights?
So I have been training for going on 15 weeks and had no clue as to why my numbers weren’t jumping like they really were around month 2 to 3. Did some research and I am so glad I found this post. My lower back was tight, arms would be tighter than hell after 3-4 biceps/triceps exercises, and was generally having limited to no energy during the work day. I am going to still be taking a protein shake every day to aid in the recovery process but thank you for doing this discussion for us dedicated lifters.
Glad to be of help, David! Sometimes taking a step back is all we need.
I have decided to take a recovery week. I returned to weightlifting after several years of not exercising due to several surgeries and attention to managing a chronic health challenge of having epilepsy. I’m a busy mother and wife. When I returned to weightlifting, I was enthusiastic and have worked very hard. I had a rotator cuff surgery and my shoulder flares up a lot. I began to feel weak and lacking motivation. I’m in the process of making some dietary changes which are also leaving me a bit depleted. I caught a mild virus going around, so I decided..it was time. I’m excited to have a week off after such hard training. I plan to do some rotator cuff exercises, maybe a little treadmill or just fun but non stressing cardio, keep tweaking my diet, and to do somethings I have just been to tired to do..gardening, hobbies, extra family time.. I felt concerned at first..about loosing gains, fear I’d give up. I told myself to keep pushing but now I feel relieved and I believe when I go back it will with zest and enthusiasm. The point is to be fit and healthy and if I’m undermining that and forcing myself, then what’s the point.. I’m leaving the gym with sub par input due to overload getting more discouraged. A mental break, long relaxing baths, stretching and mind rejuvenating light yoga, doing a little very light loads of practing some exercises that form has been challenging, finding some ways to incorporate exercises that alleviate the shoulder discomfort. I’m excited to engage in something other than lifting. I put 110% in and I work with a trainer so I have let go of the guilt and worries, relish this opportunity to rejuvenate and regain my focus, with a body that has had time to really recover. I’m 48, I had put on some unwanted weight plus I was extremely weak going back in..my recoveries naturally take a bit longer and my CNS is feeling that overload of intense focus and high intensity which I usually am excited about. My time off isn’t eating cheetos and TV binging. It’s still focused on other health aspects of remaining fit but it is now a welcome decompression time after 3 months of hard work. This article helps support my decision and blow away the negativity and guilt about taking a break because it’s not throwing in the towel. It will keep my motivation to get back into the swing because I’m still focusing on maintaining and perhaps improving some other aspects of mental and physical health. Time to reassess my routine some and adjust. I think it will improve my performance. I’ve signed up for an aerial yoga workshop so I’m remaining active. If I loose gains, I know they will quickly return. I’ve experienced this because after 3 years of inactivity, although not where I was before, muscle memory kicked in to make quicker strides. Listen to your body before full burnout, adrenal fatigue, and risk of injury is not only needed but a wise choice that I know will keep me on track. Thank you!
Whoa, Julie. Thanks for that amazing comment!
I completely agree with everything you said and I’m glad that you have productive activities planned.
Yes, taking a week off to binge-watch TV and eat Cheetos is probably not going to optimize recovery. Haha.
And if you’re having a more difficult time recovering from lifting, you can consider taking a recovery week more frequently. Once every 6-8 weeks where you focus on mobility, yoga and shoulder health.
Take care and keep me posted. 🙂
Very informative, thanks for the great post!
Glad you found it helpful! 🙂
Hi Philip, I’m just starting my recovery week. I’ve built mine into a 3/1 ratio. I know it’s a short rotation but I did it this way because I had chronic fatigue a few years ago from overtraining & took many many months to come back from it. It was very scary. I thought I’d never recover. In fact now, I listen to my body very carefully & when I start getting the telltale signs I back down & take a brake whether I want one or not. It’s about long term gains & goals so that’s where I’m looking. Thanks for the well thought out article. Btw, I’m a 49 year old working woman with 2 kids, who loves mtb/cycling/hiking & working out . Your article reaches many
Hey Cath, thanks for the comment. Since you’ve found what works for you, do it this way. You can occasionally experiment with training a bit more when you feel up to it before taking a break. 🙂
Nice piece, most wont get it at all and face the injury later.
I take a week off every 7 to 8 weeks.
I see gains when I return as well.
Far as I’m concerned this is solid gold.
Yes, sometimes taking a step back allows us to get back stronger. Nothing wrong with the occasional break. Glad this resonated with you, Phil. 🙂 And thanks.
Hi, I found this article to be very informative. As of right now I am forced to take a recovery week maybe a few due to tendonitis from lifting. I am using this time to do more low intensity/longer cardio. ( i can’t do HIIT training due to issue with my heart) i am not lifting in order to recover but if I don’t get in the gym to do something then I feel like I will never get back in there. I am a very routine based person. I wanted to get your opinion on 2 things about this. Will getting the 1g of protein per lb of body weight every day help to prevent excessive muscle loss? Also will the cardio help to cut or define the muscle i already have while i recover? My diet is on point and I am losing about 1lb every 3 days since doing the cardio but I want to make sure that I don’t just turn into a skinny guy with low body fat but also no muscle to show for it. Any thoughts on this or any help on maintaining while injured would be a appreciated. Thanks!
Hey Brian, thanks for the comment. Keep your protein intake at 1g per lb of body weight and look into blood flow restriction training. Layne Norton has written about it and I believe he’s made some videos on Youtube. Here’s the post: https://www.biolayne.com/articles/training/blood-flow-restriction-training-the-next-generation-of-anabolic-exercise/
I highly recommend some type of resistance training if your goal is to maintain your muscle mass. I don’t believe that you can achieve that with cardio.
And, in any case, consult with your doctor about training. 🙂
Hi.
Thank you for an awesome informative article.
I follow a 3-split program, which I complete 2 times a week, so 6 days in the gym. Usually 1.5-2 hour workouts.
My goal is to maintain/build muscle, and as mainfocus, losing fat.
A run a low carb OMAD diet, and it is very effective. But due to how much I workout and how hard it is to eat all those calories in one go, I have a very large deficit.
I chose to take a recovery week after 12 weeks of training, because getting to the gym became very hard.. Not that the intensity got lower, but I had to push myself much harder, and motivation was lacking.
I also had a suspicion, that I was starting to get pretty low on leptin, so my guess was, that increasing carbs and decreasing my deficit during the recovery week, could also kind of restart my fat-burn when I start again.
Looking forward to see if it had an effekt..
I’m just now starting up again after the recovery week.
And I can actually both see, and feel the difference.
Can psysically see a difference i muscle density, and power in the gym has for sure increased a lot!
How do you recomment getting started with traing again following the recovery week?
I’ve read some where, that you should take it easy when getting back in the gym.
How do you feel about that, when is it okay to maximise the intensity again?
/Martin Hansen, Denmark
Hi Martin, thanks for your comment. 🙂
From what you’ve written, I think you’re pushing it a bit too hard in the gym, especially with a low carb OMAD diet. First off, try reducing the volume a bit and see how it goes for a few weeks. Chances are, you’ll feel better and make more progress by doing less.
Also, regarding your question – it’s up to you, really. I’ve jumped straight back into my training after a recovery week in the past and have never had any issues. If you want, you can do a lighter first week to ease yourself in. For example, fewer total sets with 10% less weight. 🙂
Cheers!
Exactly what I was looking for! Great, in-depth, research-backed article. Thanks a lot 🙂
Thank you, Tomas. I’m glad you found it helpful! 🙂
I’ve been doing abs for more than 3x times a week on a 6 day active workout plan for 12 weeks how should I deload for abs
Hey Yokesh,
Sounds like you should deload your entire training if you’ve been training hard for 12 weeks. 🙂
Nice column Phil! Ive just completed a 6 week twice a day rigours lifting program. I just started my week of recovery and speakin from past experiences with recovery weekz not only are they much needed but the strength i have once i resume lifting is off the charts. Im a 39 years combat veteran ( US ARMY) and i feel better now then when i was on active duty. Thanks for the tips dude
Thanks for your comment, Scott. 🙂
I’m glad you found this helpful. We all need a break from time to time.
-Phil
Great article. My former trainer mentioned over training and rest weeks and never realized how important they were until I literally “hit the wall” during my last training day last week after 12 weeks solid weight training, walking and swimming.
My body was telling me that it needed a rest but I was torn as after weeks of hard work I was finally seeing muscle gains.
Your article reinforced that my body needed and would benefit from a recovery break – thank you.
Hi Val, glad you found my article helpful. It all comes down to stimulus > recovery > adaptation. Without recovery, we can’t positively adapt to training stress both in the short and long term. 🙂
Love your posts! They are awesome. I’ll buy for sure your book if you’ll write one 🙂
Thank you for the kind words, Eli! Who knows, maybe there’s a book in me somewhere. Haha. 🙂