I'm on a Deload this week. What is a Deload? You’re probably wondering what that even means - it's either when you scale back your training volume or take off a week from training intentionally.

In my current training cycle, I programmed a Deload week because the training volume has been pretty high. I'm eight weeks into my current training cycle, and I could tell it was time to lift with less weight and decrease my sets. It's ironic that my menstrual cycle coincided with this Deload week. It was just what a needed.

In another email, I can go more into depth about how our menstrual cycles can affect our training, which can affect when the best time is to hit it hard and when to scale it back.

For now, let's tackle this Deload situation.

If you are a serious lifter and have been training for a while now, I am assuming that you can tell when your body needs a bit of break. Don't push through, listen up and scale back. Deload weeks can vary based on your training history.

At first, when I started lifting, I didn't listen as much, but as I age, I listen up because I don't want to acquire any injuries. I always want to train optimally and in a healthy state of mind and body!

So, when should I scale back my training? Great question! While everyone's biofeedback is different, there are some common body signs that show up when we need to scale things back. We just have to listen to our bodies. It's important to know when to push and when to scale it back. It's not a sign of weakness; it's a sign of respect to the body and longevity.

Some reasons to Deload:

- Feeling run down or fried

- You've been training consistently for a while with a good amount of volume

- You've never taken a break from lifting

- Your head is out of the game

- When you need a physical and mental break

- Dreading your workouts

These are just to name a few! It's better to be preventive and plan a structured time off rather than be forced to take one because of an injury.  In fact, most training plans program deload weeks every 4-6 weeks, and not doing that actually slows or even stops significant progress.

Even with clients new to lifting, I encourage them to take off at least two days of strength training to recover even during their training cycles.

Deloads help you come back fresh, ready to go, and stronger. It gives your body a break; it gets to recover even better because when we are lifting, we are tearing down the muscles and taxing our Central Nervous System.

But, Candace, I'll lose all my gains, I won't progress, I'll lose muscle, I'll get fat. Nope!

I finally got a client to take a week off from training, and she came back like 110% better. Her performance improved. On her break, she continued to move and was active with other activities that she loved - yoga, bike riding, and hiking. Movement is still important outside of lifting.

When structuring your deload week, my recommendations are to cut back on training volume by 40-50%. Training volume includes sets, reps, or the number of training days. Also, using lighter weights is great here too. During this time of the deload, it's also great to work on lifts that you need to hammer down the form on. You can also pull back on the intensity.

Lastly double down on other restorative activities! 

That's it in a nutshell! Rest, and Recovery is just as important if not more than Lifting. You'll see!

Thank you for taking the time to read. Don't hesitate to reach out and ask me any questions in regards to Strength Training or anything else that may be on your mind about Fitness and Nutrition!

Have a beautiful weekend!

In Strength,

Candace