Deload: do you really need to back off to progress?
Plateaus, fatigue, achy joints: what a deload is, when to take one, and how to trigger it at the right time.
A deload is a short, planned period during which you deliberately make training easier in order to recover. It sounds counter-intuitive when you want to progress: backing off to move forward. Yet it is one of the most common practices among strength athletes.
What experienced lifters do
A survey published in 2024 of 246 competitive strength and physique athletes found that all of them deload. On average, a deload lasts about 6 days and comes around every 5 to 6 weeks. It is usually planned in advance, and also triggered when performance stalls, or during periods of unusual muscle soreness or joint aches.
During a deload, these athletes reduce volume (fewer reps per set, fewer sets), lower the load and leave more reps in reserve. However, they usually keep the same training frequency and the same exercises.
A topic that is still under-researched
To be honest: deloading is everywhere, but research does not yet know exactly how to integrate it optimally. In 2023, a consensus of expert coaches set out design principles based on their experience, since no studies demonstrate them yet. It is a field-tested practice rather than a scientific law.
Warning signs
- You have been stuck on an exercise for several sessions in a row.
- Your loads or reps are dropping from one session to the next.
- Fatigue keeps building up and no longer clears between sessions.
- Your joints ache more than usual. Persistent pain deserves the opinion of a health professional.
Keeping it simple
- Keep your exercises and your number of sessions per week.
- Lower the load and, if needed, the number of sets.
- Stop every set well short of failure.
- Get back to normal training the following week.
Loaden's automatic deload
Loaden compares every session with the previous one. As long as you progress, it suggests your next load. When a set gets too close to failure, it consolidates instead of adding weight. And after three stalled sessions in a row on the same exercise, it suggests lowering the load by 10% to get going again, rather than stacking up failures.
Sources
- Rogerson D. et al., "Deloading Practices in Strength and Physique Sports: A Cross-sectional Survey", Sports Medicine - Open, 2024.
- Bell L. et al., "Integrating Deloading into Strength and Physique Sports Training Programmes: An International Delphi Consensus Approach", Sports Medicine - Open, 2023.
Never miss the moment to back off
Loaden spots plateaus and suggests the right load, session after session.
