The Importance of De-Loading

Only in recent years have I recognised the importance of a "de-loading" week and it's something I continue to struggle to get others on board with at times. Bit by bit though some of my clients and friends are getting on board with it should the intensity of their training require such a thing.

So what is it? And, why is it so important?

What is de-loading?

De-loading is a principle whereby you spend a period (usually a week) deliberately reducing your training volume and intensity, working with lower loads in the gym. No personal bests this week and no ego allowed. It's based on the theory of "Supercompensation" ( Explained Here ).

What are the benefits of de-loading?

De-loading allows:

- A rest for your Central Nervous System (CNS)

- Improved recovery and repair in key joints and muscle groups by lessening the load they endure for a week

- Full recovery in order to allow supercompensation to occur

- You can focus on weaker areas and accessory work

- Time to focus on your technique and tweak it under a lesser load

- A chance to experiment with new exercises and exercise variations

How should I do it?

The general consensus is to use no more than 60-70% of your maximum loads throughout the week. Also reduce the volume of work for your week ie: Less sets and less sessions ideally. However, I also like to try and focus more on some isolation work and also some accessory work to compliment your later workouts. For instance, some people may have weaker triceps that let them down during pressing work so focus on that. Or perhaps an imbalance or lack of lower body stability. Or mobility issues that can be addressed. Use the time to focus on improving yourself and addressing some of the issues that you usually try to "work around" / ignore.

Things to be aware of:

While I've just been singing the praises of de-loading as it has helped me HUGELY, it's not for everyone. There are some things you need to consider:

1) De-Loading is not for everyone if A) You don't do enough: Not everyone has a training schedule with an intensity great enough to warrant a de-loading week. The average gym member uses a gym 0.9 times per week (yes, less than once!) so if you're doing 1,2,3 or even 4 gym sessions per week then you probably (probably!) don't need a de-loading week. If you're doing more than 4 sessions per week or working with a strict strength focused protocol then a de-loading week might be beneficial to you every 4-6 weeks.

De-Loading is not for everyone if B) Your recovery rate is superior: We aren't all built the same and every person will recover from exercise differently. Just recently I had my DNA tested (article on that to follow) and my suspicions were confirmed: I have an extremely slow recovery rate and high susceptibility to tendon related injuries. Therefor, it would be impractical for me personally to expect to follow an intense training regime without giving back to my body and expect to avoid injuries and make regular progress.

2) De-loading should not always be penned in: It's important to not be too regimented with your de-loading. If you're feeling great and you're feeling strong then carry on. Planning a strength cycle or training cycle that allows for a de-loading week every 4-6 weeks (usually nearer 6 weeks) is a smart idea, but, at this stage if you don't need it, don't feel obliged to de-load; it can wait a week or 2.

3) Deloading is for prevention rather than cure: At the other end of the spectrum is this. Don't wait until your body is broken and you're injured before you de-load. De-loading is a short prevention solution, not a cure for a body that's damaged and broken.

THE KEY:

So they key that I want to leave you with is this:

You must, must, MUST learn to "listen to your body".

This is easier said than done and can take years to master. Be aware of energy levels, how the weights feels (monitor the weights you use and be aware when weights suddenly feel heavier), tension and mobility restrictions, aches and pains.

If you're aware of these things and aware of subtle changes or regressions in these areas then you'll soon know when de-loading should be introduced.

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8 "Don't"'s when designing gym programmes

Despite the fact that most popular fitness publications offer "the best" gym programmes for anyone who wishes to buy their publication, following generic programmes won't work for everyone.
 
It can be tricky telling everyone to "Do exactly this". Ultimately, if there was a perfect program we'd all just do that.
 
I think it's essential to know exactly what you're going to do in a session, before you enter the gym and how this fits into a larger, periodised and specific program. Knowing this will allow you to be confident in the knowledge that each session is steering you towards becoming the person you want to be. Basically, you're not just "doing some bits."

So, if you're going to design your own programmes, you should take some of the guess work out of it and NOT do a few things. Follow these hints below and avoid some common mistakes:
 
DON'T do too much
Sometimes less is more. A long gym session is not necessarily a good one, nor "better" than a 30 minute session. If you want results, often intensity is one of the main thing that lacks in most peoples programmes. Try to restrict yourself to (roughly) an hour in the gym. If you're ACTUALLY working hard that is MORE than enough!
 
DON'T abuse your grip
Grip strength is one of the thing that lets people down in key larger exercises such as deadlifts, pull ups etc. Try to do those exercises requiring a lot of grip strength ("pull" exercises) early on in your session. Try not to involve a large number of grip-centric exercises in one session. If your grip is a weak link, read here on how to improve it in your training: click me, read me!
 
DON'T leave "technical" stuff until the end of a session
By "technical" I mean exercises that require the most coordination, concentration and muscular recruitment. Squats, cleans, deadlifts and the like all require a lot of coordination and for you to engage various areas of your body. Do this at the end when fatigued and watch your technique suffer. Best get them done first ay?.. For that matter, probably best to not put a LOAD of these exercises in one session. Personally I'd say 3 maximum. You can do more if you want, that's just my opinion.
 
DON'T do loads of isolation
Loads of people say “functional exercises” or “compound movements” are best, so this won’t be the first time you read this. Compund exercises are multi-joint movements that rmuscle groups in a single exercise. Isolation work can be boring, warrants slow results and often isn't addressing bigger issues. Sure, it needs doing, but it shouldn't be your main focus or use of time. Basically, it’s like painting the front door of a house that’s falling down.

DON'T plan sessions that need the entire gym to be empty
Unless you have your own private gym (you lucky sausage you!) then it’s likely there will be other folk in the gym when you train; especially if you’re training during peak hours. If you want to do a circuit style workout and increase the intensity of your workout as discussed above, make sure you plan properly. Use equipment that’s next to each other, move equipment closer to one another or better still, use the same equipment for more than one exercise. For example pair bench press and bent over row and use the same bar for both.

DON'T add variety for the sake of variety
There aren’t many things in life that are worth doing that you can master first time round. The gym is no different. Personally, I’ll squat, overhead squat, deadlift, pull up, bench press and overhead press in some form every week. I do it because they’re good exercises, I like them and I want to be better at them. Stop chopping and changing your gym work from week to week. I’m not saying “never change it” but try tweaking exercises or adding variations before you completely re-write your workouts.

DON'T neglect mobility
This is a lesson that I learned the hard way (one of many!)  Don’t neglect mobility! It might feel “boring” at times and is often the thing that gets neglected when time is tight but it’s essential if you don’t want your results to eventually plateaux and suffer. Try to incorporate some form of mobility work in every session... SOMETHING!

DON'T forget to de-load
You can’t just keep going and doing more and more – eventually your body will pack in. If you do lots of strength work, make sure that you schedule a de-loading week at some stage every 4 -6 weeks. Use it to recover, repair and come back stronger. Focus heavily on mobility and work on technique and practice areas you’re unhappy with; focus less on weight.

DON'T do the stuff above and you should have a good basis for a pretty trusty workout program.

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Reasons you're not getting any stronger

Question: Are you lifting heavier weights (with good form) than you did 6 months ago?

I’d estimate at LEAST 50% of people would answer "no"... or not significantly larger anyway. So why? What’s the point of going to the gym if you’re not going to get any better at it? How do you expect to look any different than 6 months ago if you’re doing pretty much the same as you were 6 months ago? Even if you’re not doing out and out “strength training” you should be making SOME improvements; male or female, young or old.

So here’s a few key reasons why you might not be getting any stronger...

No structure...

If your plan is to go to the gym and do strength training by adding a heavy weight and lifting it not many times, then the week after change the weight a bit and adjust the reps accordingly, then you’ll quickly plateaux. It’s essential that you have a structure to your program; something that’s tried and tested and may take some time but will offer results. Without that you’ll be working hard and getting nowhere.

No deloading...

One key element of that structure is a scheduled deloading period. Basically, every 4-6 weeks spend at least a week away from heavy lifting. Work on areas that will compliment your gym work such as mobility and technique make repair and recovery your main focus. It may pain you and seem non-logical to back off the weights when you’re trying to get stronger but it’s a long game – trust the process.

Too much variety...

If you perform squats one week, leg press the 2^nd week, lunges the 3^rd week and weighted step ups the 4^th week, don’t be surprised in week 5 that your squat hasn’t improved. You’re not a child and you don’t need to be kept entertained; if you want a better squat then practice squatting.

Not ENOUGH variety...

No this is not a contradiction to the previous point... well, not exactly! What I mean is: If you want to improve deadlifts for instance, just banging out endless deadlifts might soon warrant slow progress or eventually stop progressing. It’s important to exercise complimentary muscle groups for this exercise. For instance, improved pulling and grip strength through pull ups, lat pull down and bent over row will all assist in your mission for a mighty deadlift.

Training alone...

This (in my opinion) isn’t the biggest downfall as it’s very possible to improve strength and train alone; but, if you feel nervous to lift near your limit without a spotter – train with a friend. If you lack motivation at times to aim for one last rep – train with a friend. If you might benefit and work harder with a little healthy competition – train with a friend. Simple, but it might be what you’re lacking.

Too Afraid to fail / Too Rep Sensitive...

In order to find out how strong you are, it’s important to find out how strong you AREN’T. If you’re aiming for a specific number of reps you shouldn’t ALWAYS get every last rep. It’s good to fail; you then know how strong you are and you instantly have a target for the near future. Don’t worry so much about your ego and always making each rep; your body doesn’t know what 5 reps is, your body knows what “can” and “can’t” is.

Poor technique / Mobility...

Most of us will have seen endless amounts of poorly performed exercises and some of us guilty of doing them ourselves – particularly when learning them for the first time. Learning the skill of a lift and performing it incorrectly is understandable, yet plenty of people limit their abilities and progress due to a lack of mobility. Don’t let something so relatively simple be your limiting factor. Include recovery and mobility work in each workout and even more during deloading periods.

Poor technique (2) “Train your body, not your ego”...

This goes back to the technique point in some ways. But, if you’re lifting weights with questionable form as the weight is too heavy for you to do so comfortably with your skill level then it’s time to take some weight off of the bar. Naily your technique and make bigger jumps in your progress. Shoot ahead and chuck on too much weight too soon and you’ll soon hit a wall. Do it now and reep the benefits later. I know it hurts, you’re not as strong as you thought you were, but do it right and you will be.

Laziness...

If you don’t have the discipline to train as often as you need to, try as hard as you need to or attempt all of the repetitions you need to then you won’t get the strength you seek. Simple!

Summary...

Improving strength is a long game – improving real strength is no overnight procedure and something that takes patience and dedication. While we might not all want strength to bend a horse shoe, we should all be aiming to better ourselves and gain strength in some capacity throughout the year.

 

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