Deloads and Training Breaks

Photo Credit: Army.mil

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Muscle growth, it’s what most of us who wish to look great naked are desperately yearning for. I think it’s safe to say most of us probably train too often and too intense at times. I also believe we easily forget to maintain an objective approach during this journey as well. If I told you it’s absolutely necessary to take a break every now and then you might assume I ate a few paint chips as a kid.

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I admit, I am guilty of not always taking a break when I should. I confess that as I’ve failed forward and experienced injury, I now realize how important scheduled breaks really are. This is why I now program a “deload” or training break every 4-6 weeks.

The Infamous Deload

A deload, when referring to strength training or bodybuilding, is when you reduce volume and intensity for a week or so before returning to previous personal records. The reasoning behind the idea is to give your joints a break from the heavy loads you impose so frequently on yourself and to prevent possible injury from pushing near maximal weights too often.

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A deload can do wonders for your training if you actually do them. The problem is that no one ever takes a week or two to actually ease up at all. Most continue grinding it out for weeks on end only to burn out, plateau or even worse, injure themselves. No wonder my coaches always scheduled a “light” week every 30 days or so during my athletic years.

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Now I have first hand experience on both sides of this fence. I used to be the guy who went months without a break. I always wondered why I felt so trashed and beat up. I worried about why I couldn’t progress anymore and even thought about picking up a new hobby like hopscotch or badminton. Now I take advantage of scheduled deloads to stay fresh and ready for all training sessions.

Complete Break From Training

Sometimes a complete break from training is essential. When I was going months on end without any form of relief, something would eventually come up and I’d have no choice but to put my training on hold. This usually meant I was leaving town or had to work for a few days in another city.

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Every so often I would get sick and have no choice but to lay in bed for two or three days. Luckily I had enough sense to take some time off when I was ill.

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I always noticed when I returned to the gym after a week of zero training, I felt more motivated than before and my strength, energy and drive was through the roof. The break seemed to be the fuel I so desperately needed.

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This now brings me to the question you are probably asking.

When And How Often?

For deloads, when I am really pushing the weights in search of lean body mass and personal records I like to take a back off week every 5-6 weeks. Some like to deload at week 4 and some at week 8. It all depends on the intensity and frequency of your training regimen. Heck, some even deload after they stall on a certain lift for more than 2 workouts

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If you are into crunching numbers, some advocate taking 4 full training breaks per year. This means you are resting 1 month annually if you choose to break every 12 weeks. I am a big advocate of this philosophy.

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Another way to gauge if it’s time for a break is by simply assessing how you feel. Do you feel like a sack of crap that desperately screams to be set ablaze atop someone’s doorstep? If so, then it’s probably a good time to get your butt out of the gym for a week or 10 days. Go sit by the pool and drink some beer.

What Does A Deload Look Like?

There are 2 ways you can perform this so called deload. You can either reduce intensity/frequency or just do something completely different for a week.

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If you opt to keep your routine exactly the way it is, drop the intensity to about 80% of your current working weights and cut volume by about 1/3. Ramp the weights up over the next few weeks and break through previous plateaus.

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If you don’t want to be a boring Billy, then you will enjoy the more interesting method of doing something completely random for a week. Perhaps you can visit the park and do body weight training in the nude or try out some bikram yoga. The whole point of this type of deload is to get your mind off of the same ol’ same ol’ and enjoy doing something different for a change. I think you’ll be surprised at how ready you’ll be to get under the bar again and I’m sure you will be pleased with the progress you make in the weeks thereafter.

What To Do During A Break From Training

This is pretty easy. You can go on vacation, go to the library, get married, pick wildflowers, sing melodies, make babies or (insert your favorite past time here). The whole point of a full blown training break is to get the heck out of the gym and enjoy something else for a change. Hey, this may be a time to actually, umm, socialize outside the gym.

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Anyway, just treat yourself to some time away from the iron. Oh, eat some ice cream too.

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So tell me, are you like I used to be? Are you stubborn about your training, never taking a break and eventually burning out or have you seen the light? Tell me about it.

Tagged as: Bodybuilding, Strength Training, Training