Are Deload Weeks really needed?

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.

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®

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!

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.

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

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

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.

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.