We’ve all been there: we’ve been in the gym for months and want to know how to build muscle, but we feel stagnant and we don’t break our personal records. If this is the case for you, maybe you should consider starting a week of deloading.
When we have certain goals in the gym, we may feel like we have to go every day, challenging ourselves and ending up exhausted after each session. But we tend to forget that muscle is actually gained by going home and resting. That’s why all trainers and fitness experts tirelessly stress the importance of adequate rest.
If we find our progress stagnating, perhaps it’s time to rethink our strategy. In all sports, athletes know that they need times to rest completely or reduce the level and intensity of their training. So why don’t we do the same with the gym? Why don’t we assume that lifting also requires such periods? This is where the so-called deload week comes into play.
What are deload weeks?
It’s very simple. It consists of scheduling a week every so often in which we reduce the intensity or volume of our training routine, to allow our body to recover optimally between sessions. We can do this by reducing the number of sets per exercise, or lifting a lower amount of weight than we are used to.
Take this as an opportunity to boost progress and prepare for the next stage of your fitness journey. With a deload week, your body will also adapt to training, reducing the likelihood of injury.
When training, we increase our strength and performance. But, at the same time, we also deal with fatigue, which can eventually lead to the type of extreme fatigue that ends up affecting our performance negatively. It’s simple: if we are permanently tired, we will not be able to make progress in our training.
When we take that deload week, fatigue and tiredness are reduced, and we will begin to see the results of our effort, motivating us to continue working toward our goals.
How can you incorporate a deload week into your routine?
There are three different methods and, in the end, you will have to choose the one that best suits your lifestyle and needs.
1. A week away from the gym
This is the simplest. Don’t lift weights for a full week, or do any other type of exercise in the gym. It is useful to make an active recovery and improve circulation in the muscles while doing this. Stretching or walking is typically a good way to do that.
2. Decreasing the volume of training
Through this method, we decrease the training volume but maintain a high intensity. In short: continue to lift large amounts of weight, but do half as many sets.
3. Decreasing volume and intensity
This is perhaps the most popular method. Moderately reduce the volume and intensity of training. Lift less weight and eliminate one or two sets per exercise. If you usually do three or four sets, move to two or three. Also lighten the load a little bit: if, for example, you usually do 20 pounds for shoulder presses, do 10 or 15 pounds instead.
Basically it is a week in which training continues as normal, but with a lighter approach.
How often should you do a deload week?
There are two approaches. From the proactive approach, schedule a deload week every four to eight weeks. From the reactive approach, follow an intuitive perspective and take a deload week every time you feel like you need it, perhaps because you haven’t been recovering properly after training. You can also include it during a period between finishing a training program and starting another one.
Reaching that moment when it seems impossible to gain muscle after months of training can be frustrating. With a week of deloading, you will surely find the energy to continue moving forward, leaving all frustration behind.
A version of this story appeared in British GQ.