De-load

Kdp2015
Kdp2015 Posts: 519 Member
in Fitness and Exercise
I've hit a bit off a wall weight training (I've only been going 3 months so not sure how much of that is long term deficit related) I'm wondering if deloading weight for a week or two will help? Or am I better going straight into 200 cal surplus?

Replies

  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    edited August 2016
    Explain this further... Are you doing a recomp now? And when you mean long term deficit, how long was this?

    You diary shows 1700 to 2000 calories (more 2000 calories) a day. You do not track protein as I am curious how much protein you are getting day?
  • Kdp2015
    Kdp2015 Posts: 519 Member
    I've been losing weight for six months, I'm happy now to to put on some weight (I understand it could be more than half fat but I think I'll be ok with that)

    My maintenance is 2000, I think I will be comfortable with 2200.

    Definite stall in strength gain, I feel like I'm even going backwards with squats, I don't know why I'm struggling so much and read that de-loading might help.
  • RoxieDawn
    RoxieDawn Posts: 15,488 Member
    edited August 2016
    Kdp2015 wrote: »
    I've been losing weight for six months, I'm happy now to to put on some weight (I understand it could be more than half fat but I think I'll be ok with that)

    My maintenance is 2000, I think I will be comfortable with 2200.

    Definite stall in strength gain, I feel like I'm even going backwards with squats, I don't know why I'm struggling so much and read that de-loading might help.

    I updated my post earlier cause I peaked at your diary... How much protein do you get a day?

    And yes the deload can help and since you are doing a "recomp", stalling like this or a "tapering off" is gonna happen..

    So you can deload or change the strength program.. you may have met your "match" on this program per se. Curious which program..? The stall can be because of recovery issues. For a short period of time change to facilitate improved recovery. I might even change the program all together if I am seeing results after doing a deload.

    You seem more than ready to me to eat a small surplus.
  • Kdp2015
    Kdp2015 Posts: 519 Member
    I do track protein so not sure why it's not showing, I average 90g a day but aim for over 100g if I can, although I do rely heavily on shakes for that.

    I'm basing my workouts on sl5x5 although not following it religiously (I do squats, oh press, deadlifts, bent over rows each time and have just added bench press and Lat pull down) I average 4 sets, my reps range from 5 up to 10. I've definitely progressed with deadlifts but quite slowly and I feel a massive wall when it comes to squats, used to love them - now I hate them!

    I do think I'm ready for surplus I just want to make sure I get the training part right first so I don't gain more fat than I really need to - I want to make the most of the extra calories!
  • julie_broadhead
    julie_broadhead Posts: 178 Member
    Are you still able to put more weight onto the bar during your workouts? When I stalled out, I deloaded, added weight every other session, and busted through my squat plateau and my OHP plateau without adding calories to my diet. It may be worth trying a deload before increasing your calories.
  • RelevantGains
    RelevantGains Posts: 83 Member
    edited August 2016
    If you've been lifting for 6 months on a decent program, that's about the time I'd expect you to stop being able to make gains while in a deficit. Once you get past that beginner level, strength gains really just aren't going to happen. At least not significant to be noticeable. If you want to continue cutting, that's great. Focus on keeping your volume near your MRV.

    If you do some kind of progressive mesocycles, usually a deload is good at the end of a block right after an overreaching week. So it'll look something like: way under MRV, under MRV, at MRV, over MRV, deload. The time frame of each of those sections sort of depends on the individual, not necessarily one week of each, but using this approach, you'll likely deload once every 5-8 weeks.

    Edit: To clarify, using an approach like this, the block after a deload, you may see more gains (probably more in volume than strength), but that is not your primary focus anymore. I know, TRUST ME I know the feeling of wanting to keep getting stronger. But our bodies just can't do everything at once. Focus on one goal at a time, and I think that may help you mentally.
  • Kdp2015
    Kdp2015 Posts: 519 Member
    It's only been 3 months, I'm still adding on lat pull down and bench press but I'm relatively new to them. On the other lifts I've made really slow progress and now I feel like it's stalled completely.
    I'm at a stage where I can stop losing now, my bmi is 19.9 so it probably wouldn't hurt me to bulk a bit, would that help my lifting by much? I'm on holiday next week so I might deload rather than a complete break and see how I feel the week after. I just don't really feel like I'm getting anywhere and worry I've not pushed myself hard enough...

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