The Fundamentals Series - The Deload

A Necessary Tool for Maximum Muscle and Strength Gains

Let me ask you a couple questions; when is the last time you purposefully let off the gas in your training? When is the last time you went to the gym and…all week long…intentionally lifted weights that felt too light?

If you're like most people, including myself at one time, you might not remember the last time you did either of those things. You might not even realize it's an option, or better yet, realize it's actually a foundational part of reaching your size and strength goals and training smart.

What is a Deload and Why Do I Need it?

Let's first talk about what a deload is. Simply put, a deload is a planned period of reduced load on the body. It's done so a damaged/tired body can catch up on repairs and climb out of the recovery deficit it's in.

I just dropped a concept which may be new to you; the recovery deficit. Let’s talk about it. I want you to imagine a scenario where you hit a challenging training day, placing stress on your joints, ligaments, and tendons, demanding high levels of nervous system use, and causing micro-tears and damage to muscle tissue.

These are all things that require recovery and recovery requires time. The accepted timeframe for muscle recovery between intense sessions is 48-72 hours.

Now imagine hitting intense training days multiple times per week, which is what effective training programs require. Are you fully recovering between sessions? If you're not, and it's likely you're not, and you continue at the same level of intensity with every training day, you're eventually going to dig yourself into a situation where your body is in a sizable recovery deficit.

Let me explain it with a story. In this story:

• Your body is represented by a brick wall.

• Your training days are represented by you removing bricks from the wall.

• Your recovery is represented by you adding bricks back to the wall.

• Your recovery deficit is represented by the pile of bricks at your feet.

Got it?

Say you're standing in front of that brick wall. For every intense workout you do, you need to remove ten bricks from the wall. The bricks come out easy, so removing them (lifting weights) happens quickly. You just finished a training day, so you pull out ten bricks.

Just as soon as you finish pulling out those ten bricks, the recovery process begins and you start to put them back in place. Putting them back requires more time. You need materials to do it (macro and micronutrients) and you need time to get it back to just the way it was before, maybe even a little better (new muscle growth and added strength).

Let's say you get nine of the ten bricks back in place and it comes time to hit another workout. Another ten bricks are pulled from the wall and now you have eleven bricks at your feet when the recovery process begins. Are you staying with me?

You finish up the job you started after the first workout, requiring just one more brick, and get started on the newest ten-brick replacement. You get another eight bricks replaced before it's time for another training day. You had two bricks left to put back before this new workout and now you have twelve after. This story could go on forever, but I bet you're seeing where this is going.

The pile of bricks at your feet at the end of each workout gets bigger and bigger. Remember, the pile of bricks represents your recovery deficit.

What ends up happening, as you continue to work harder over time and increase your recovery demands, but are only capable of recovering to a certain degree between training days, is a bigger hole in the wall. You can't replace the bricks as fast as you can tear them out and eventually the wall is in shambles.

If you were literally in this brick-laying situation, and you could never rebuild as fast as you’re tearing down, and someone said you needed to fix the wall…or else, how would you fix the wall? It's really a simple answer; you'd stop tearing new bricks out and spend time focusing solely on repairing it.

This is exactly what deloading is; a planned period of reduced bodily stress so the body can catch up on repairs and recovery.

When Should I Deload?

Now that I've illustrated why we all need deloads from time to time, I'd like to talk about how you know if it's time to take one. Below are some common signs associated with the need to deload:

Looking at the list above, none of those signs are desirable and experiencing them isn't fun. You may not experience all of them at the same time, but it's likely you'll experience more than one and can make the call to deload before your recovery deficit gets bigger and more signs show up.

Let's be honest, none of us want to get to the point of experiencing all of those signs, which is exactly why you need to be honest with yourself and pull back when your gut tells you to.

Fighting the urge to deload will only make you need it more. Resisting only goes one way and deloading makes you bigger and stronger in the long run, so be smart.

Here are some general deload guidelines for people training intensely multiple days per week:

When it comes down to it, deload frequency depends on experience level, how intense you are in the gym, age, supplementation, what type of nutritional phase you're in, food quality, how focused your lifestyle is on maximizing recovery, and the list goes on.

Due to differences in the factors I just mentioned, one beginner might need to deload on their eighth week, while another beginner will be good until their tenth week.

This is exactly why you need to keep personal tabs on yourself and combine them with my general guidelines above.

Also, scheduling deloads into your programming is a smart idea, which I would strongly recommend. They may not always hit at the absolute perfect time, but if they’re scheduled in at logical intervals, and you follow the schedule, you’ll be ensuring you’re keeping your recovery deficit in check. We’re not always the best at assessing ourselves and being honest about how we feel, which is why scheduling them in and just sticking to the plan is a smart move.

So far I've covered why you need to deload, signs to look for so you know when to do it, the advantage of scheduling deloads into your training, and also provided my own general guidelines on deload frequency based on training age.

Next, I'm going to detail my recommended deload method so you have a concise plan of action when the need arises.

How Do I Deload?

Deloads are executed through multiple methods. We’re going to be using my method of lightened loads and increased reps to maintain training volume. This focus on maintaining training volume differs from multiple other commonly used deload methods.

Those methods include:

• Simply leaving the gym for 1-2 weeks.

• Using a reduced percentage of your usual weights and changing nothing else about your routine.

• Using a reduced percentage of your usual weights and decreasing working set counts as well.

As you can see, that first option reduces training volume to zero and is usually pretty challenging, mentally. Many of us mentally miss the gym if we’re out of it for a few days, let alone 1-2 weeks. When some people take a long break, they never come back. I don’t want people taking that chance.

Looking at the second method I mentioned, the usual load is decreased, which is smart, but since the reps aren’t increased and the number of sets isn’t changed, volume is cut, which I'm not a huge fan of. And finally, the third method with reduced load and reduced working sets cuts volume even more, which I'm not pumped about...literally.

My deloading method lasts the duration of one week on average, it will keep you in the gym so your iron cravings are fulfilled, and it results in a higher level of training volume than the three methods I talked about earlier, promoting continual muscle size increase.

Let me tell you how it’s done. Here’s a hint…it’s real simple. To start, you will be doing a little math. If you hate math, don’t worry, this is simple math, like as simple as dividing numbers by two. You will cut all of your most recently performed medium-rep working weights in half and double the number of reps per set.

As an example, say your medium-rep count is 10 reps per set. You would cut your usual 10-rep weights in half and double your rep counts to 20. An important aspect to note is that your usual set counts should not decrease. This is important for maintaining your usual volume levels.

The result is much lighter weight, decreased stress on your muscles, tendons, joints, and nervous system, high-rep cardiovascular system-improving sets, plenty of rep opportunities to work on form and mind/muscle connections, enjoyable pumps, and at the same time, no decrease in usual training volume.

Specific Directions for Trainees Using GST

You may or may not know about the main program I’ve built, released, and evolved over the past 13 years. It’s called Growth Stimulus Training and if you’re on the program, this section is meant for you.

GST Core Exercise Deload Directions

• Divide your core exercise 1RM by 2. This will be your working weight. As an example, a 250lb 1RM will become a 125lb working weight. 250/2 = 125

• Complete the core exercise, with it's lightened weight, for 3 working sets of 10 reps each.

GST Supplement Exercise Deload Directions

• Find the last 10-rep weight you used for each supplement exercise.

• Divide each supplement exercise 10-rep weight by 2. As an example, a 100lb 10-rep working weight will become 50lbs. 100/2 = 50

• Complete each supplement exercise, with its lightened weight, for 3 working sets of 20 reps each.

GST Weak Point & Direct Ab Work Exercise Deload Directions

• Use the supplement exercise deload directions above for your weak point and direct ab work exercises.

How Long Should I Deload?

OK, let's do another check-in on what's been covered so far. I've explained why deloading is important, listed common signs you may be in need of a deload, provided my general guidelines for recommended deload frequency, and outlined exactly how to get it done in terms of weights, reps, and sets. You'd think that's everything, but there's one more necessary aspect to talk about..duration.

How long should your deload last? From personal experience, client results, and veteran lifter guidance as a whole, one week seems to the sweet spot.

There may be instances when you need more time, which does happen. In this situation, I've never needed to, nor has any client of mine, needed to deload for more than two weeks. Keep this in mind when planning your pullback.

One week will get the job done the majority of the time and another added week most certainly will. Use an added week if feel you really need it, but don't plan on two weeks being the standard.

Let’s Wrap This Thing Up!

Congratulations, you're now well-versed in the deload training concept! Respect the deload just like you respect other aspects of training. While it doesn't show up every week, or even every month for some, it's still a valuable tool to understand and use.

You know that tool you buy and use it when a special job needs to get done? The deload is that tool when you need to fix a recovery deficit. Use it as recommended to help you get your biggest and strongest.

You didn’t think I was gonna leave you without a bad joke, did you? Here goes:

A man joined a gym and said to the trainer, “I want to impress beautiful girls, which machine should I use?” The trainer said, “Try the ATM outside.”