Been following a modified WSBB4SB for a solid 2 years now… can’t say i’ve taken a legitimate break for at least 9 months. When does one decide/how would i know when it is necessary to deload? is it necessary at all? I don’t feel as though i’m burnt out, nor overtrained, but week-in week-out i have relatively high volume, high-intensity workouts, with only 1-2 rest days a week…
should i Consider rep/set scheme swapping? Deloading? What cues, or length of time, should i be tracking when following this sort of program… granted i consider myself physique oriented, not really competitive BB as my avatar clearly shows. thanks for any input
I too have a hard time knowing when to deload. Did one once and took an entire week or two off, lost no size came back strong and definitely grew within the following weeks.
I’ve also taken a deload before and all it did was set me back a little while in the gym.
Go with how you feel, just be honest with yourself. Having said that I schedule a deload week every 12th week of training as I find I always come back way stronger and ready for the next cycle.
[quote]MeinHerzBrennt wrote:
I always know to deload when I feel like working out is one of the last things I want to do, even if it’s one of my favorite body parts that day.
Always a sure sign i’m burnt.
It doesn’t sound like you need to deload but only you can really know when the proper time is.[/quote]
^Good advice. I think mentally, you can get worn down, and that’s usually the best indicator, when you would really rather do anything other than train.
Other things that can be viewed as indicators could be:
-Strength loss
-Inability to sleep
-Injuries (This is usually the reason I back off a couple of times each year)
Of course if you’re handling everything just fine, with 1-2 days off per week, continually making progress, and still driving hard each session, there’s no concrete rule that says you must deload or take a break.
glad you brought this up. i hadn’t realized it but i’ve been doing full steam with like 4 or 5 days off a month since like september. i could use a solid week of eating like a normal human being and no working out other than maybe minor body weight stuff.
I almost always forget to deload. Then one day I feel sluggish and lack enthusiasm. I also have a hard time getting excited about food. Then I realize I need time off.
But every time I deload (take a week off), I feel like my momentum has stalled when I return. Sometimes it takes weeks to get it back (I’m sure some of this is due to my age).
Next time I’ll deload by taking a week off of my usual routine, but still train while switching to a week of moderate weight, high rep work NOT to failure.
Every four months or so I go into a crazy week long depression where all I do is mope around, eat ridiculous amounts of food, and play video games…
This is my deload week.
Like, just imagine a kid crying into his Call of Duty mic and voraciously shoving Cool Ranch Doritos and pizza simultaneously into his mouth, choking on the combination of too much food and garbled xbox trash talk.
That’s me, for five to seven days.
