De-Load, the Overlooked Technique

[DavidMan18]

VERY underlooked, VERY and is crucial for peak performance

[magadisho]

sometimes a deload week is all you need to get back up

[milkbar]

I just took my first official deload week. I've been doing Kelei's routine and didn't train during the week off. I kept my bulking calories the same but gained 1.6 lbs (and body fat) and lost size in almost every muscle group.

[limos]

Hi i am 5 months into my very 1st weights program/cut and i have been stagnating in my lifts for the past 2-3 weeks. Is this a sure sign that i should deload? I am thinking of simply taking a week off but since i am on a cut what about diet wise? Should one on a cut and thinking of deloading be fine with a week off weights but with a sprinkling of cardio by any chance?

[Paulos20]

gonna try this out. Thanks!

[rjw99]

Please could you add some info on how to adjust your diet, or if you even need to? I dont want to gain bodyfat (already have too much) by eating the same amount, or should I stick to the same diet?

thanks for any info, great OP!

[GeneralGreybush]

Great Thread!

Have a question, I just started doing stronglifts 5x5 in June and have been going strong since then only missing about 3 days total. I started at Bar weight on everything and am now at 205 Squat,(Failed 3 times at 190 so it moved me to 3X5) 145 Bench( failed to get it last time) 260 deadlift, 87 OHP( failed at 90 and de-loaded) and 140 barbell row.

I am 40 years old 5' 10" and 170 pounds and have been on a cut since late Jan. Started at 232 lbs. So I've lost 60 lbs in 8 months.

My question is if the program schedules a de-load after 3 fails do I still need to schedule one? and If so should I be doing one now? I am starting to get pretty worn out and that's probably the reason I failed at 190 on squat 5X5. I just could not do 25 reps without being exhausted by the time I got to set 5. It would affect my other exercises. Same thing is happened on my bench on Monday. I was golden for 20 some reps at 145 then failed on the last rep of set 5. Muscles just gave.

Should I de-load or just keep running program?

[KLipking]

How quickly will I see strength gains with this technique?

[1Fuzzy1]

Great Thread!

Have a question, I just started doing stronglifts 5x5 in June and have been going strong since then only missing about 3 days total. I started at Bar weight on everything and am now at 205 Squat,(Failed 3 times at 190 so it moved me to 3X5) 145 Bench( failed to get it last time) 260 deadlift, 87 OHP( failed at 90 and de-loaded) and 140 barbell row.

I am 40 years old 5' 10" and 170 pounds and have been on a cut since late Jan. Started at 232 lbs. So I've lost 60 lbs in 8 months.

My question is if the program schedules a de-load after 3 fails do I still need to schedule one? and If so should I be doing one now? I am starting to get pretty worn out and that's probably the reason I failed at 190 on squat 5X5. I just could not do 25 reps without being exhausted by the time I got to set 5. It would affect my other exercises. Same thing is happened on my bench on Monday. I was golden for 20 some reps at 145 then failed on the last rep of set 5. Muscles just gave.

Should I de-load or just keep running program?

I just went through something similar, albeit, not as much weight loss as you but this is what helped me....I was on a long cut like you and it came to a point I was getting pretty beat up. I did a de-load and also shifted my diet to a caloric maintenance level for about 10 days. It brought me out of my funk and I felt great afterwards.

[BrennanMCollins]

There are definitely some great points, most people don't realize the importance of de-loading, but it only makes sense. You can't push your body at optimal performance for extended weeks at a time and not expect to crash at some point. Best to give those muscles a break(;

[christina143]

Thanks for sharing thios post. I got some info about it.

[carlsonjp]

Considering a deloading as my body keeps hinting that I need to. Strength isn't at 100%, starting to get constant pain in a couple joints, right bicep hurts when I didn't think I pushed it hard, struggling to crawl out of bed cause legs and body are sore, and flat out cranky even at my gf cause I'm exhausted.

So after redading quite a few pages I'm considering to take the 2 days of my split light and drop the last day to allow myself 2 easy days and 2 full days of recovery. Considering not even working out the 2 lights days but feel guilty I'm hindering my progress. Logically I know it helps but can't help but feel guilty as I have a goal in mind and timeline to follow.

Other thing on my mind is what to eat. Normally on non training days I just drop some carbs from each meal so I'm in the same calorie deficit numbers wise as on training days. So wondering if the next 4 days keep the carbs low, eat the same or even eat a little extra.

*end mindless rant*

[cartermathis]

Hi I've been working out consistently every week since like July but went from a 6 day shredding program straight into fierce five upper lower and struggling on my upper body lifts and having to decrease weight but increasing on my lower body lifts but also struggling. I'm bulking but I just wanted a second opinion to see if I need a deload week?

[Rodman1]

Great, thanks for the post.

[Gripbrah]

I'm currently doing a full week of no weight training at all. Been training 4-6 times/week for the last 6 months with no breaks and gained about 20 lbs in weight. I kept getting stronger almost every week up until about 2 weeks ago when I started feeling tired all day every day and last week my strength and endurance had dropped about 20%.

Will be back at it at Monday!

[Shredzy]

Is it possible to deload for the rest of your life? I want to make gains by only deloading every week.

[lashin95]

nice

[jaredmus]

Going to hit my first deload in a long while.
Just finished a pretty intense 13 week cut. Lots of Training volume. I always like dropping my stims down( example go from 300mg to 100, or 350 to 150). Thanks for the information in this thread good stuff!

[BillyNguyenFit]

Ever since I incorporated deloads into my training I have noticed strength increases after returning to my regular workout regimen!

[unknowblood25]

After the deload week, do you work the weight up or go back back immediately to your working weight?

[svartberg]

After the deload week, do you work the weight up or go back back immediately to your working weight?

immediately

[phoenickz]

Would Calisthenics be a good De-Load method?

[milkbar]

I've noticed decreasing strength in my upper body workouts (mainly biceps) the past week or two. This was after I was making lots of progress for a while. I'm still making progress on lower body though. I was taking deload weeks (completely off) after every 3 weeks but I stopped doing that. Now I feel like I should do a week at 50-60% (because when I took completely off I'd come back but have to start at a lower weight). I've only been going to the gym for 7 months so I'm not sure what someone meant earlier when they said you don't need to deload for the first couple years. I'm just moving backwards now, and I'm wondering when I should plan my deloads. I was going to go every 6 weeks since VoxExMachina says 4-8 weeks for most people. This is what the last 7 weeks has looked like (PR = Personal Record):

1/5: PR
1/9: No PR
(9 days off due to sickness I think)
1/21: PR
1/28: PR
2/2: No PR
2/5: PR
2/10: No PR
2/14: No PR
2/18: No PR
2/22: No PR

[AiyanaRose]

I wish I would've seen this thread a month ago when I got exhausted and ended up losing interest completely for a short period of time.

[oh2Bhumble]

Good read, since I'm new to body building....actually more like cutting than building

[reynoldg]

if fir example I bench 3x10 with 40/50/60 on mondays is it considered deloading if i do 3x10 on 40/40/40 on wednesday and fridays then lift heavy again on monday?

[Mertcann85]

I read a lot today, so kinda exhausted here and as far as I could follow, some people asked the same stuff too; but still gonna push it and sorry if it has been replied before:

-After deloading, do we go back to the where we left before deload in terms of weight and reps, or do we continue to progressive load starting from the weights we used for deloading?

Exmpl: 30 kg bench press during deload, so after de-load week is it 35 or is it back to 60?

Cheers for your time and great post!

[wasmeFINAFLEX]

Definitely need to deload more.. I typically go everything 6 months.

[tylerfresh]

I always look for something to change my workout with so that I can continue increasing my strength/weight. Deloading is such a good thing to incorporate.

[Masharak]

Should you de-load while on a cut too? Won't that cause muscle or strength loss?