Deloading simply means to take it down a notch for a few days in order to let your body fully recuperate from the stresses you put on it at the gym. Without this downtime, the body and mind can become weakened from overuse. This can lead to plateaus and injury, and sap your motivation. Luckily, deloading is easy and feels good. The only problem is you have to remember to do it! While we all know we should keep close track of our workouts, not all of us (including me) hit the gym with notebook in hand. So if you belong in this group it may be easier for you to schedule your deloads on a recurring basis, such as the first or last week of every month.
Now that you have it scheduled... what are you gonna do on your deload week?
Here are some suggestions:
1. Most importantly, Earn Your Deload! Work hard on the weeks leading up to the deload week. You want to tax your body so that this time to recover takes place when it will benefit you. The point is to allow your body to fully adapt to the new stresses (higher intensity and weight loads) you have put on it. This can restore you to a baseline that is a level above where you previously were, and prepare you to reach new levels in your training. If you don't earn your deload, don't take it until you do. You don't want to defeat the purpose.
2. You have earned it, so enjoy it. Don't think of this week as downtime or regression. Instead use it to improve your form at lower weight loads, practice explosive lifts, and work accessory muscles that will help pull things together when you are back to full intensity. Give your mind a break by changing things up, and after a few days you will feel yourself dying to get back to your program.
3. Stretch it out! This is a great time to stretch. Do some yoga. Work on your balance. Use a foam roller to release any knots that you have building up. This should be part of your regular routine anyway, but I know its not as exciting and often gets left out (like a warm up and cool down). Eric Cressey of Cressey Performance compares stretching and soft tissue work to flossing. We all know we should do it and its good for us, but nobody really wants to. Also like flossing, it hurts if you haven't done it in a while. But, if you do it regularly, you are glad you did.
4. Keep in mind that deloading is also appropriate in everyday life. Take it one step further by taking it easy at home too. You work hard, take some time to relax. Treat yourself to a massage. Change things up a bit, get into a book you wouldn't normally read. Try to unplug a little, turn off the phone and the tv. These changes are good for you, will inspire new thought, and will will help your body to focus on rebuilding.
5. Eat right. Deloads are a great time to plan your meals for upcoming weeks. Find some new recipes. Nutrition is as important as exercise, so put some thought into it. Remember to give your body what it needs to support your efforts.
6. Get some sleep. You may not be as worn out at night, but doing a little stretching before bed and reading with the tv off usually puts me right out. Obviously sleep is huge for recovery and adaptation. Plus, it's sleep, what's not to like.
7. If you have vacation coming up, plan your deload for your vacation week. Work your butt off in the weeks leading up to it. Bonus, you'll be buff at the beach and you won't feel like crap if you slack a litte while you are there. Just do some bodyweight stuff (check out the earlier post on staying fit away from home), maybe a run in the morning... you're good to go.
Well, there ya go, there's no secret to the deload, at least for those of us who won't be competing in the olympics anytime soon. Ain't nothin to it but to do it.
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