We all know that resistance training or strength training helps in improving our muscle mass and strength. However, if we continuously do high-intensity strength or resistance training without a break, then both our physiological and psychological fatigue increase a lot. And the concept used to control this high level of physiological and psychological fatigue is called deloads.
Now what are deloads ideally? Deloads are planned or short periods of reduced training volume and intensity. That is, your volume and intensity is reduced in a planned manner in a short period of time. There is no 100% break.
There is no zero training for a week. Overall training or volume intensity is reduced. And this is a common strategy that helps in preventing overtraining.
Also, planned deloads are used to enhance performance in upcoming competitions or to peak on the performance day. In today's date, the social media culture, hard-as-worker-in-the-gym, hustle, all these words are very motivating. Deloads help you recover from high-intensity training.
And when you come back, you become stronger. So always remember that the way your workouts are planned, high-intensity training sessions are planned, in the same way, deloads, i.e. reduced intensity is also planned. In the case of competitive sports, this concept is used the most, where we design the program for the whole year in a periodized way.
So the coaches plan in a periodized way, in which cycle the intensity of the workout will be high, in which cycle the intensity will be reduced, i.e. a deload period will be kept, so that the athlete can give maximum performance on his competition day and remain in the best form. Now, the deload is applied by different individuals in different forms. But in the case of competitive athletes, the deload is planned after an extensive week of training.
For example, there is a concept called over-reaching. I am not talking about over-training, I am talking about over-reaching. This is also a planned concept, in which for a particular period, let's say for a week, a very extensive intensity and volume workout is done for an individual, an athlete.
So this high-intensity and high-volume training workout, it causes a lot of fatigue, physiologically and psychologically. And generally, if you continue this pattern here, then we can enter into over-training. But here, after this particular over-reaching week, if you plan to deload the next week, then your performance gets better after the deload week.
Whenever an athlete finishes an over-reaching week with an extensive training week, then generally, the fatigue levels are very high. Sleep patterns get disturbed. The overall stress level increases a lot.
The overall motivation is reduced. So after that, the coach decides what to do in the upcoming week when the deload is planned. Whether they want to reduce the volume and intensity of the training, or give a complete break, or include mobility and stretch work, that depends on the coach and that depends on that particular sport.
So when we talk about this type of deload, it is not a common application. On a powerlifter, a bodybuilder, a swimmer, a football player, the deload is used in a different way. But generally, complete cessation of training, that is, completely zeroing the training, taking a break, is a very rare case.
Generally, in the week of deload, your training volume and intensity are reduced. For example, when we talk about bodybuilding or hypertrophy-based training, in the week of deload, in simple terms, we generally avoid muscle failure. Studies have shown that after a proper week of deload the growth hormone level is almost 58% and the testosterone level is almost 20%.
Now if you look at competitive sports, two types of words are used. One is deloading and the other is tapering. Many people get confused in these words.
But the process in both is generally similar. But tapering is generally done in the preceding weeks of the competition day. So that the athlete can peak on the day of the competitive day.
But deload can generally be planned at any time of the year according to the coach. Now, as we saw, there are different ways to plan deload. Generally, a 5-7 day period is enough for a deload.
And in this period, we do not stop training, but we taper it down a little and reduce it. And there are different ways to reduce it. The first way is to keep the training frequency the same, but reduce the intensity and volume.
The second is to keep the intensity high, but reduce the frequency and volume. And the third method is to maintain the volume but reduce the intensity and frequency. Generally, this third method is used very little.
The simplest method that I would recommend is to reduce your overall volume and keep your intensity and frequency similar. And the simple way to do this is to reduce the number of sets you are doing in the gym. For example, if you are hitting 4 sets of squats on a normal leg day, 4 sets of leg press or 4 sets of any other exercise, then reduce each set in all of them.
If you do not want to reduce the sets, then the second way is to reduce the overall weight you are lifting. Generally, if you reduce the weight by 20-50%, then that is also a very good way to de-load. You will have to check how your recovery is maximized in these methods.
So once you de-load, then apply one method, and the second time apply another method, and see which one gives you the best effect. But remember that the de-load that is weak is generally relaxation weak. So make sure that your diet is adequate, your hydration is proper, and you take a little more sleep so that you can recover properly.
Another thing you can do very well in the de-load period is variations. The de-load period is a time when you can focus on your weak muscle groups. You can try some different isolation movements with a slightly lighter weight.
And you can do all these experiments on your body in the de-load week. Now the most important question is when should I de-load? What should be the frequency of de-load? See, the competitive athletes, I am underlining, Competitive athletes who have been practicing for years, they plan the de-load according to their coach, which is generally planned from 4 weeks to 12 weeks. The coach decides when to give the de-load week to an athlete.
However, it is very important for an individual to understand one thing, that is to understand his body, to listen to it, to understand its symptoms and signs. This is where we talk about training maturity. For example, if your motivation is very low due to continuous prolonged training, your energy levels are very low, in 2-3 workouts in a week, your motivation is low or you are not able to work out with full focus, your sleep patterns are getting disturbed, your stress levels are high, it means you are over-training or over-reaching, then it is time to enter a de-load week.
Apart from this, you will see that your muscle soreness is increasing, you are getting cranky, you are getting frustrated on small things, so these are all indications that you need a de-load week.
Maximum youngsters who are going to the gym, who have just turned 6 months or a year old, in fact, it has been more than a year, they do not need a de-load, because they have not reached that level yet, that they have taxed their neuromuscular system and muscles so much, where they need a de-load week. And another reason for that is, that the maximum individuals, in their life, there is always a break in some form or the other throughout the year, sometimes there are holidays, sometimes there are student exams, sometimes there are family functions, or if they are not feeling well, anything can happen, and there are many such times, in which there is a break in their life, in path of willing to do regular exercise.
De-loads are for those people, who are serious lifters, and have been working hard day in and day out for a long time. If you have been training for 1.5 to 2 years, and you are doing very good intensive training, progressively overloading, then you can surely plan a de-load, but make sure, that the symptoms that I have told you, you should also feel them. It is not necessary that I am saying, it's been so long, that's why you have to do a de-load.
I have told you, first of all, listen to your body. Are you continuously suffering from any of the problems that I told you? If you are doing it, and it's been so long, then you can take a de-load. And as I told you, de-load does not mean, a break from the training.
De-load means, to bring a reduction in the volume, intensity, and frequency of the training. And, the rest of the recovery methods, like sleep, diet, hydration, etc., should be improved. So, I hope, your doubts on de-loads, have been cleared now.
No comments:
Post a Comment