Are Deload Weeks really needed?

tempest501

Weight training (and to a limited extent, running & cycling) tears muscle down & sends the debris to the kidneys to be filtered out and excreted. It also causes inflammation in muscles and tendons.

Deloading is important in order to allow your damaged muscles/tendons to rebuild & heal. (The tendons have a limited amount of blood flow & need longer to repair.) Also the kidneys need time to catch up & drinking lots of pure water is a good idea.

Another consideration is if you over train you will eventually lose mass and strength. You are also subject to sniffles and the common cold due to the fact that the kidneys are over burdened and your resistance to infection is compromised.

Also do not take NSAIDs. NSAIDs constrict blood vessels, can increase blood pressure, and cause irreversible renal failure.

I have no idea what NSAID's are but I have no intention of putting anything unnatural near my body so dont worry. Appreciate the warning though, thank you.

drgndancer

I'm not a lifter, but I can say that we get the same recommendation as distance runners: a light mileage week every 3-4 weeks inserted into any training plan. The theory seems to be the same: much as rest days help the body recover light weeks give you a chance to consolidate gains and move forward stronger. I've ignored this advice to my detriment in the past, so I recommend you follow it for your particular sport. We all may do different stuff, but in the end our bodies are more or less the same. Most good training advice follows across sports.

bdamaster60

I like de-load weeks. I use 1 week deload after my 2 strength weeks where my CNS is shot to hell, I don't like the fact where the alternative is take a week off. I go insane if I don't go to the gym for more than 2 days.

MoreBean13

Weight training (and to a limited extent, running & cycling) tears muscle down & sends the debris to the kidneys to be filtered out and excreted. It also causes inflammation in muscles and tendons.

Deloading is important in order to allow your damaged muscles/tendons to rebuild & heal. (The tendons have a limited amount of blood flow & need longer to repair.) Also the kidneys need time to catch up & drinking lots of pure water is a good idea.

Another consideration is if you over train you will eventually lose mass and strength. You are also subject to sniffles and the common cold due to the fact that the kidneys are over burdened and your resistance to infection is compromised.

Also do not take NSAIDs. NSAIDs constrict blood vessels, can increase blood pressure, and cause irreversible renal failure.

I have no idea what NSAID's are but I have no intention of putting anything unnatural near my body so dont worry. Appreciate the warning though, thank you.

NSAID = Non-Steroidal Anti Inflammatory Drug, e.g. aspirin, ibuprofen (advil) , acetaminophen (tylenol), naproxen sodium ((aleve)

Doodlewhopper

Weight training (and to a limited extent, running & cycling) tears muscle down & sends the debris to the kidneys to be filtered out and excreted. It also causes inflammation in muscles and tendons.

Deloading is important in order to allow your damaged muscles/tendons to rebuild & heal. (The tendons have a limited amount of blood flow & need longer to repair.) Also the kidneys need time to catch up & drinking lots of pure water is a good idea.

Another consideration is if you over train you will eventually lose mass and strength. You are also subject to sniffles and the common cold due to the fact that the kidneys are over burdened and your resistance to infection is compromised.

Also do not take NSAIDs. NSAIDs constrict blood vessels, can increase blood pressure, and cause irreversible renal failure.

I have no idea what NSAID's are but I have no intention of putting anything unnatural near my body so dont worry. Appreciate the warning though, thank you.

NSAIDs is an acronym for Nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs.


IE. Aspirin, Ibuprofen, Motrin®, Advil®, Motrin IB®, Naproxen, Naprosyn®, Aleve®, Nabumetone, Relafen®

theryan244

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnoxdfsJWNk

Schedule extended periods of rest time/decrease in intensity. You may hold the mindset that you'll never get injured, I did... Having an absurd amount of frequency and intensity every single week was undoubtedly the most foolish thing I've done in years.

tempest501

I like de-load weeks. I use 1 week deload after my 2 strength weeks where my CNS is shot to hell, I don't like the fact where the alternative is take a week off. I go insane if I don't go to the gym for more than 2 days.

I have the same issue but I plan to still go and do some cardio or some bodyweight excercise some pressups and situps etc. Trouble with me is If i go do weights I know I will just end up doing loads of resp to get the burn or increase the weight lol

tempest501

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KnoxdfsJWNk

Schedule extended periods of rest time/decrease in intensity. You may hold the mindset that you'll never get injured, I did... Having an absurd amount of frequency and intensity every single week was undoubtedly the most foolish thing I've done in years.

Thanks for the link but can not get it to work.

mareeee1234

YES, I learnt the hard way , but from endurance cardio!

So yeah, I think if you're going hard and giving your 100% with cardio and/or weights, then deload weeks are needed every 6-8 weeks!

Keto_T

Couldn't I just give 60% all the time instead?

You, sure. People who are serious about fitness probably don't want to go that route, though.

(Ouch. Your words, they sting.)



ETA: Before anyone gets the wrong idea, I did not interpret her comment as attacking, mocking or otherwise insulting me in any way, so is therefore not a violation of Community Guideline #1. It was not disrespectful and not a violation of Community Guideline #4. I did not feel belittled, so it is not a violation of Community Guideline #6. Further, I did not believe her comment was in violation of any of the other Community Guidelines not specifically mentioned by number.

Nonetheless, if anybody needs me, I'll be over in the corner...in the fetal position...sobbing.

This made me snicker out loud

Fittreelol

Weight training (and to a limited extent, running & cycling) tears muscle down & sends the debris to the kidneys to be filtered out and excreted. It also causes inflammation in muscles and tendons.

Deloading is important in order to allow your damaged muscles/tendons to rebuild & heal. (The tendons have a limited amount of blood flow & need longer to repair.) Also the kidneys need time to catch up & drinking lots of pure water is a good idea.

Another consideration is if you over train you will eventually lose mass and strength. You are also subject to sniffles and the common cold due to the fact that the kidneys are over burdened and your resistance to infection is compromised.

Also do not take NSAIDs. NSAIDs constrict blood vessels, can increase blood pressure, and cause irreversible renal failure.

I have no idea what NSAID's are but I have no intention of putting anything unnatural near my body so dont worry. Appreciate the warning though, thank you.

The active ingredient in aspirin originally was sourced from willow bark, and used as a pain reliever by pretty much every cool culture ever.

The more you know.

tempest501

Weight training (and to a limited extent, running & cycling) tears muscle down & sends the debris to the kidneys to be filtered out and excreted. It also causes inflammation in muscles and tendons.

Deloading is important in order to allow your damaged muscles/tendons to rebuild & heal. (The tendons have a limited amount of blood flow & need longer to repair.) Also the kidneys need time to catch up & drinking lots of pure water is a good idea.

Another consideration is if you over train you will eventually lose mass and strength. You are also subject to sniffles and the common cold due to the fact that the kidneys are over burdened and your resistance to infection is compromised.

Also do not take NSAIDs. NSAIDs constrict blood vessels, can increase blood pressure, and cause irreversible renal failure.

I have no idea what NSAID's are but I have no intention of putting anything unnatural near my body so dont worry. Appreciate the warning though, thank you.

The active ingredient in aspirin originally was sourced from willow bark, and used as a pain reliever by pretty much every cool culture ever.

The more you know.

Neat fact.

I think I have pretty much decided to take a week off from weights after 7 weeks of going at it now. Will still go gym for cardio and body weight stuff but stay away from weight that week.

mommymeepa

I've seen you post on other threads as well. You crack me up.

mommymeepa

I've seen you post on other threads as well. You crack me up.

This comment was meant for jofjltncb6

victoriannsays

I wish I knew aboutthis sooner.. now I have tendinitis in my quad!

tempest501

I wish I knew aboutthis sooner.. now I have tendinitis in my quad!

Ouchie =C

It was talking to the gym guy about elbow aches that got us on the subject of deloads actually. I guess it does make sene for us to take a rest.

bdamaster60

I like de-load weeks. I use 1 week deload after my 2 strength weeks where my CNS is shot to hell, I don't like the fact where the alternative is take a week off. I go insane if I don't go to the gym for more than 2 days.

I have the same issue but I plan to still go and do some cardio or some bodyweight excercise some pressups and situps etc. Trouble with me is If i go do weights I know I will just end up doing loads of resp to get the burn or increase the weight lol

What i've found is that there must be a cycle to what we do and how we do things. Everything happens in cycles, night and day, male and female, awake and sleep. From this there is hard work and rest. To receive the full benefit of the hard work we have to complete the cycle with rest. We can not work hard with no rest, otherwise we will burn out and fall a part. That's just my take on it though.

AZKristi

New Rules for Lifting recommends taking a week off between phases. Alternately, if you have to take a week off during a given phase, that can be your rest week instead.

Remo_Williams

As someone briefly mentioned, read up on "Dual-Factor Theory".

Basically, when you are training there are two main effects: 1) increasing your training ability & 2) increasing fatigue. The speed at which you accumulate both ability and fatigue will depend on how you are training, but generally you will accumulate fatigue faster than ability. Eventually you can (will) accumulate so much fatigue that it will overshadow your current ability and you can seem to "stall" or even move backwards (get weaker/slower/etc.). To fix this you have to allow yourself to rest to dissipate the fatigue. This is a deload period. During the deload, you will also lose a little ability, but since you will lose the fatigue faster than the ability, you will have net gains left at the end. For strength training, I've seen a 3 to 1 ratio thrown around a lot, but I don't know how scientific it is.

A deload can be anything from total rest, to, more commonly, a period of lighter workouts - some combination of less weight, sets, and/or reps. I like to take time off of my primary exercises (squat/bench/deadlift) and work on accessories, do some extra HIIT, etc.

As several others have said, frequently deloads happen spontaneously due to life, but it is also good to have these planned in if it doesn't "just happen", but be willing to keep it flexible.

Keep in mind that if you are strength training a specific movement/body part only once a week, you will likely not need to deload often, as you are not accumulating fatigue at a very fast rate. (For myself, I find I can generally get rid of nearly 100% of fatigue with a 6 day break between workouts.) If you are training a specific movement/body part 3 or more times a week, you will deload more often.

So when should you deload? If you are following a specific program, follow it's rules for deloading. Otherwise, keep a journel, keep progressing, and look for "stalls". Also listen to your body, if you start getting joint pain, general body fatigue, etc. these can be signs it's time for a break.

Many famous training protocols (like Sheiko), are based upon frequent, sub-maximal workouts, where you accumulate fatigue (and gain ability) over a specific time period. I've seen a lot of programs that take a scheduled deload week once every 4 to 6 weeks.

Finally, your diet will also affect you ability to "recover", aka dissipate fatigue. When you are eating at a caloric deficit, you will stall more and need more deloads then when you are eating in surplus.

I hope this helps.

vanguardfitness

Yes. They help the body and mind for recovery when you're going into your next phase. Mine starts tomorrow. It's going to last about a week to 10 days and I will mostly just be walking or light cycling. Maybe a spin class or 2