For all that take a regular deload (every three, six, whatever weeks) how do you structure that week? Especially for those that follow a westside template.
Eat alot, dont lift at all. Go for a walk or run once or twice that week, jack off. The usual.
a week off of absolutely nothing at all is glorious.
Thanks BlackLabel and creep. Can’t do the week of nothing, I have tried and a) pscyhologically it fucks me up and b) I feel worse. Not for the biannual week off, but for a regular deload a whole week off it too much. More input? rep work? Nothing on shoulders no weight from the floor?
40 - 50% of intensity
i used to do the week off thing and it was great, except these last couple of weeks i end up losing major strength, so i just turn down the volume and maintain the same weight. ie, go from regular 5X5 scheme to 3X5 or even 2X5 depending on how i feel. personally, ive made an assload more of progress deloading this way.
Skip your accessory stuff.
Do your big lift but leave a rep or two in the tank.
Do supplemental stuff where you also leave a little in the tank.
Call it a day.
If I feel the need to deload, that’s how I do it.
Technical practice, try out something new, BB work, no big lifts.
Well man, the above examples look pretty good to me. Theres a few ways to do it, I dont know what your usin for your accessories but all you have to do is drop the volume and/or intensity on your exercises.
For a drop in volume
5x5 becomes 2-3x5
3x10-12 becomes 1-2x10-12
3x12-15 becomes 1-2x12-15
For a drop in intensity
5x5 at 85% goes down to 65%
3x10-12 at 70% goes down to 55%
3x12-15 at 65% goes down to 50%
Now these are just numbers man, so dont follow them to the letter. Basically have easier workouts for a week.
im in the Marine Corps and usually just do a deload when something comes up.
Like hey you’re going to so and so for 4 days, ill just take the week off from lifting and then hit it hard again.
Now when im back in the States and have a somewhat normal schedule, then I will deload every 8 or so weeks, or when I need it. I just drop alot of the accessory stuff and leave a rep or 2 in the tank on ME shit.
well, i generally drop total volume like in 30%-50& (more on main lifts)
for accesory work
if i do for example
5x10x100kg (50reps)
i’ll do
4x8x100kg (32reps).
Pretty much do jack for my big lifts, cut the intensity way back.
On my accessory stuff, I cut volume by ~40% and intensity by 5-40%. Anything that loads the shoulders or low back I’ll drop the intensity the most. For example, if one of my accessory lifts is dips, I’ll drop all extra weight I’m using and just do them body weight. But for a DB row, I’ll just go down 5 lbs per db.
If I’m using any sort of deadlift or rack pull as an accessory movement I’ll drop it completely during my deload.
Single joint stuff like direct arm work I’ll use very little if any intensity decrease.
On some of my corrective/prehab stuff I won’t cut volume or intensity at all.
I drop intensity by half an up the volume a bit.
All assistance work.
I tend to switch certain lifts out. For example, during my last deload, I dropped heavy good mornings and did some weighted (but light enough to still get high reps) back extensions. I also dropped squats and deads and did some olympic lifts, because they’re fun and impossible for me to load very heavy. I also took the opportunity to do some complexes and circuits so that I could still throw around a barbell and work up a sweat, while giving my joints a break.
So basically, I try to make my deloads light, but still as fun and challenging as possible while allowing for recovery.
Currently doing 5/3/1 and doing the recommended deload. Before, every 4th week I would do no more than 65% of 1RM for 3x5 and do half of my assistance work. After three blocks, about every 12th to 15th week, I would stay away from the gym.
The best advice I have ever heard. “Your gains are made out of the gym.”
When I feel the need to deload, ie, my maxes start to drop off, stop hitting PR’s, feel burnt out, I do my ME lift w/ no more than 65% to grease the groove for a few sets of 1-3. Speed work I remove accomodating resistance and use no more than 45% of max for 3-4 sets. Accessory work I won’t take to failure, see how I feel, and cut all sets in half.
Make sure I rest, relax, sleep and eat well, and try and take a few more walks, especially on the beach. Sometimes I do 2 or 3 days of just complexes and no regular lifting too if I’m time crunched. If you get adequate rest and recovery I don’t always think a deload is necessary though, at least for me, in my opinion. Know your body!
I like to take a week every 4-6 weeks to bring it down to:
-warm up
-foam roll [triple the usual time so ~20mins]
-super/extreme stretch
-grip work
-shoulder stability shit
basically recover from the terror of heavy training.
-chris
about how long do you deload for ? a week ?
[quote]PeteS wrote:
For all that take a regular deload (every three, six, whatever weeks) how do you structure that week? Especially for those that follow a westside template.[/quote]
Either drop the lifting, or reduce the intensity.
I usually wait until I get sick (common- I’ve got young children at home) or hurt (also common)to delaod unless I have a meet coming up. That takes a lot of the psychological addiction to training out of the mix.