Why deload?

Well, the reasoning behind this is based on research of how the body deals with, and recovers from, the physical stress of our workouts. When we train, we provide physical stress to our muscles. This breaks down portions of our muscle and as a result actually temporarily decreases components of our fitness (like strength).

Chiu & Barnes (2003) discuss the fitness-fatigue after effect, whereby increases in workload cannot be sustained (linear progress every week is unattainable) for long periods of time, as the build up of fatigue will surpass the increases in fitness, leading to a decrease in performance.

Other unwanted effects can present themselves with 'overtraining'. Not only do we see a decrease in physical performance, we also see suppression of the immune system, imbalance of the neuroendocrine system, increased risk of injury, as well as a decrease in mood and motivation (Armstrong & Vanheest, 2002).

So, as we improve our recovery rate by using deload weeks, the body adapts to the stress we have accumulated in the last few weeks of training, coming back bigger and better for the next block. This is a phenomenon commonly known as supercompensation (Murach & Bagley, 2015).

Generally speaking, around 4-7 weeks is considered the most appropriate time to deload in the research for intermediate-advanced trainers (beginners may not require it as soon). A deload is typically done by reducing volume or reducing intensity - or both (Fisher et al, 2013).

So, how does this relate to our current program?

Week 4 is our designated 'deload' week in this block. We will be reducing volume (to about 60% of week 1-2), not intensity, as the neural stimulus of high load is important, not to mention confidence under the bar prior to testing.

If we look at tracking volume, we can use the example of tonnage to show how the next 4 weeks will pan out.

Tonnage is simply the total load volume simplified, where we take the total number of reps x weight lifted.

Tonnage is not always entirely accurate when taking into account an entire session, as effort levels and different exercise selections may not be accounted for.

However, tracking one lift (our main compound lift of the day) can be beneficial.