De-Load, the Overlooked Technique

[kirk_rintoule]

I had a 1.5-2 week deload for the holidays (planned), and when I came back I was pretty wrecked on weight on the dead and the squat; probably in the area of a drop of fifty pounds or so. Bench was pretty close to where I was when I took the break, though. I am working back up to where I was by 10 and 20 lb increments depending on the exercise, so it'll come back fast and I'm sure I'll have some good gains here in a couple weeks, but I was wondering if other people normally come back from a deload stronger, or it takes a little getting back into the swing of things?

I haven't been doing squats and deads for all that long, started the full body workouts in Aug-Sep or so.

Also, since I'm basically resetting, I am working hard on form and ROM, trying to get my squat closer to the ground and working on form on deads, so that might be part of the drop in workout weight.

Yeah its prob that you havent lost strength , just doing them with better form.

I remember like a year ago i was lifting close to the same weight i am lifting now , although my form these days is 10X what it was. Its important to use heavy weight to stimulate muscle growth but sometimes its how you lift the weight that counts!

[my_WHEY180]

Generally deload by a certain amount say take off 10%. And then work back up and past their original 100% weight after several workouts (depending on how much you choose to increase the weight each workout). I wouldn't exactly classify doing 15lbs lighter for one workout being called a deload. I would just say it's a "light" day but maybe that's just me

thanks and i was useing my bench as an example i took off weight the whole week for all my workouts so just put back the 15lbs this week and then add the 5lbs next week right?

[KindaBigGuns]

Great thread. Since I started lifting again after a long break (5 years!) I've started using deloading weeks. Now I know why I quit before lol! I can't see how I did it. I put a symbol on my workout logs just for a "deload" workout. I still log the results, but that way I know why the reps or sets were less that week. Having "deload=*" on my chart reminds me to take them, and it makes it easy to see when my last deload was. (which is often too long ago

[Confuzzl3dOn3]

thanks and i was useing my bench as an example i took off weight the whole week for all my workouts so just put back the 15lbs this week and then add the 5lbs next week right?

Might be best to ask someone who is doing a split rather than a full body workout 3x/wk. When i deload say for squats, i take maybe 1 or 2 weeks to get back up to where i was but i am doing like 6 workouts of squats in that period.

[Confuzzl3dOn3]

Hey to Vox or any other takers, i was just curious, but hypothetically if some of the reasons to deload is:

To allow your joints, tendons, ligaments, and other supporting tissues to repair.
To allow your central nervous system (CNS) to recover
To give yourself a mental break from the intensity of heavy lifting
To reduce the risk of under-recovery (overtraining)

Then when deloading is it necessary to deload on all exercises associated with the main target muscle groups involved in that exercise. For example if one was to deload on the barbell bench press, then would they need to simultaneously deload on other exercises such as incline bench press, dumbell bench, etc since they theoretically work the similar muscles, tendons, joints, etc and so since the aim of a deload is to allow them to recover wouldn't not deloading those other exercises act as a hindrance.

But then similarly compound exercises (i know the bench is also a compound exercise but ones that work even mroe muscle groups if you know what i mean) like the squat, would mean you'd have to deload on all leg, lower back, etc exercises which would be pretty stupid. So what do you guys think?

[justriot]

I completely agree with this post.

I've been training this way for 17 years now, kids. No injuries. No setbacks.

great thread. ive been getting shoulder injuries as of late, and it is very annoying. I am going to start deloading from now on so i can work out with no setbacks. repped

[91brett91]

Thanks!!

[VoxExMachina]

Hey to Vox or any other takers, i was just curious, but hypothetically if some of the reasons to deload is:

To allow your joints, tendons, ligaments, and other supporting tissues to repair.
To allow your central nervous system (CNS) to recover
To give yourself a mental break from the intensity of heavy lifting
To reduce the risk of under-recovery (overtraining)

Then when deloading is it necessary to deload on all exercises associated with the main target muscle groups involved in that exercise. For example if one was to deload on the barbell bench press, then would they need to simultaneously deload on other exercises such as incline bench press, dumbell bench, etc since they theoretically work the similar muscles, tendons, joints, etc and so since the aim of a deload is to allow them to recover wouldn't not deloading those other exercises act as a hindrance.

But then similarly compound exercises (i know the bench is also a compound exercise but ones that work even mroe muscle groups if you know what i mean) like the squat, would mean you'd have to deload on all leg, lower back, etc exercises which would be pretty stupid. So what do you guys think?

IMO, it's best to just de-load everything at once - back off on all exercises for your deload week. There is much less benefit trying to de-load a specific muscle group, since this does not address giving your CNS a break.

[Confuzzl3dOn3]

IMO, it's best to just de-load everything at once - back off on all exercises for your deload week. There is much less benefit trying to de-load a specific muscle group, since this does not address giving your CNS a break.

Thanks man.

[Pig_Bodine]

Brilliant thread. I'm planning to introduce a deload week myself.
What do you guys think of doing speed work during a deload?
Would the increased force output cancel out the benefits of the decreased weight?
I'm considering doing dynamic squats and bench, while simply lowering the intensity/volume on other lifts.

[VoxExMachina]

Brilliant thread. I'm planning to introduce a deload week myself.
What do you guys think of doing speed work during a deload?
Would the increased force output cancel out the benefits of the decreased weight?
I'm considering doing dynamic squats and bench, while simply lowering the intensity/volume on other lifts.

Whatever you choose to do I'd think of it this way: don't let your muscles get anywhere close to failure, and make sure at the end of the workout you feel like you have plenty of gas left in the tank. In my opinion, de-loads are more about letting the connective tissues, joints, and CNS (central nervous system) recover. It's more difficult to judge your recovery on these, so it's best to error on the side of making sure your workout is "easy".

[Pig_Bodine]

Thanks for the answer.
I'll go ahead and incorporate some light speed work then.

[AlphaCrisis]

Great post. I think this is overlooked far too often and results in injury.

[Stackz123]

so basically stick to same routine, do same sets and reps but lower the weight which for me is 3-4 sets of around 8-12 reps

if i do that i probably won't even feel satisfied with my workout

but i shall try this..

[Echo_1]

so basically stick to same routine, do same sets and reps but lower the weight which for me is 3-4 sets of around 8-12 reps

if i do that i probably won't even feel satisfied with my workout

but i shall try this..

flex your muscles as tight as you can on each rep and take your time. youll be satisfied.

[VoxExMachina]

so basically stick to same routine, do same sets and reps but lower the weight which for me is 3-4 sets of around 8-12 reps

if i do that i probably won't even feel satisfied with my workout

but i shall try this..

It's very likely you won't feel satisfied with it if you expect to feel like you "had a workout". You have to get it in your mind that what you're doing will help your next workouts, after the de-load, and help you avoid injury so you can have a long career of "satisfying" workouts.

[MantisShrimp]

I found this to be useful resource

http://ericcressey.com/artofthedeload.html

[-Lucifer]

I found this to be useful resource
http://ericcressey.com/artofthedeload.html

Why pay for something, that you can get for free?

[samanthayee]

De-load rests the muscle as well as CNS.

[Stackz123]

It's very likely you won't feel satisfied with it if you expect to feel like you "had a workout". You have to get it in your mind that what you're doing will help your next workouts, after the de-load, and help you avoid injury so you can have a long career of "satisfying" workouts.

so i only do it for for 1 week right?

[VoxExMachina]

so i only do it for for 1 week right?

Generally speaking, yes.

[xfly01]

So if I'm in my first full year of training is it safe to assume I cannot overwork my body to the point where I need to de-load? Or should I still consider de-loading?

[Uncle Ben]

So if I'm in my first full year of training is it safe to assume I cannot overwork my body to the point where I need to de-load? Or should I still consider de-loading?

Still consider it.

Imagine an empty bucket.. Every time you go to the gym, a little water gets added to that bucket. Eventually, the bucket will be completely filled with water.

The CNS is like that bucket. Stress from training is the water. Deloading empties the bucket.

The CNS doesn't care if you're new to training. It still has a limit as to how much accumulated stress it can tolerate.

[jacques43]

hmmm.. pretty amazing tips.. lets hope they work for me tooo.. i have benn working outfor year and a half and am not really satisfied with my biceps...

[po_scc]

hmmm.. pretty amazing tips.. lets hope they work for me tooo.. i have benn working outfor year and a half and am not really satisfied with my biceps...

It's all about what works for you. Don't stick to the one routine if you're not happy with the results. There are some tried and tested workout routines that have proved to be explosive but you need to sometimes fine tune them to what is good for you.

If you're not happy with your biceps you should not be afraid to try a different group of excercises for a while. you will see the benefits of trying different routines, and working out which one works best for you.

[andrewwww]

What about cardio on your 1week off?? or 1week off EVERYTHING?

[wingedsailor]

Thanks Vox. I just come off of my first deload and I am liking what I am experiencing so far. Thanks again for the advice very informative.

[wingedsailor]

What about cardio on your 1week off?? or 1week off EVERYTHING?

You can keep up the cardio, you can even continue to workout. Reduce the wieght and rep and work on form. During deloading phase I decided to take the week off completely. I did lots of research and sought out answers to questions that I had. I made adjustments with my new knowledge and went back to the gym with vigour. The pump was back and the workouts have been more intense. JMO

[healthylifting]

Yep, deloading can be very valuable.
Good post

I found that to get cut-up and tighten the biceps, deloading worked great. But if you're looking for size, it's probably not the best option.

[Studd_Muffin]

nice thread man very helpfull