The Benefits of Deloads – This is Why You Should Take Deloads!

In strength training, you have to consistently push yourself even further.

Creating reasons so that your body reacts and adjusts itself to the new condition.

In other words, steady and consistent progression will eventually lead to muscle growth because our body reacts to heavier weights with building bigger muscles.

That requires a great deal of effort. But a “head-through-the-wall” mentality does not always get you there, and sometimes it can make sense to shift down a gear.

All among you who yet don’t know what a Deload is and how it works, I recommend to give it a read and then come back here to continue.

Advantages of deloads

In the following section, I am going to address the benefits of a deload as opposed to a normal training-free period:

1.) Technique/Execution

Let’s be honest: In the heat of the moment, it can happen that we get a bit sloppy during the execution of the exercise. It happened to all of us at least a couple of times and sometimes even still does.

But that’s normal, the most important thing is to be conscious about it and therefore keep an even closer eye on your execution.

In a deload phase, it is always a good thing to review your technique and assess whether it is on point. The lighter weight and accordingly lower fatigue gives you some latitude to experiment.

In principle, this way, you have a phase every 4-8 weeks, in which you can perfect your technique more and more.

However, don’t get me wrong. A deload does not mean training with proper technique and apart from that training the rest of the time sloppy and dirty.

Your technique should always be clean and controlled to maximize your results while minimizing the risk of injury.

2.) Increasing protein synthesis

Even if it’s not our primary target to excite a stimulus for muscle building during a deload, it is probably not wrong to boost the protein synthesis by training a little bit.

Light weight or less volume is sufficient for this.

Training is always better than no training.

3.) The regeneration

Through the formation of Synovia (synovial fluid) and the better circulation of the musculature, regeneration can be promoted.

In other words, by use of a deload, our body is able to properly recover and thereby generate Synovia which leads to a better regeneration for the musculature.

4.) Movement pattern

In training, it is not all about muscles. During training, we not only stimulate our muscles but also certain patterns of movement, and of course, these are better internalized if you continue to do them.

The more often you do something, the better you get a doing it.

5.) Calorie consumption

Those who train with a very high volume and may move a lot during the breaks between sets will consume fewer calories without training (due to the lack of activity).

6.) Training

This may sounds funny at first, but many out there cannot and don’t want to pause for an entire week.

This was also true for me personally over a long period of time, but by now it has fairly changed.

On the hand, I truly need those deloads after every 4-5 weeks which makes me even looking forward to them. And on the other hand, instead of taking an entire break from training, the week of lighter workouts gives me the perfect preparation for the next upcoming mesocycle.

The only drawback of a suitable deload is the training time that one spends in the gym. If this time can be applied, one will probably be able to achieve even greater results in the long term as compared to folks who don’t consider deloads in the first place.

Accordingly, the following conclusions can be drawn from a Deload training:

1.) Extremely difficult re-entry

In that case, you probably trained too delicate and should rather take more weight but fewer sets in the next deload. Or you have been extremely overreaching before, so one week was not enough to completely reduce fatigue.

If that applies, you should hang on for another week and perhaps reconsider the volume and composition of your training altogether.

2.) No progression

Now, after you’ve had some training cycles with overreachings and consequent deloads, there is one thing still not working well. You do not make any progress.

This oftentimes results when people do not train hard enough and do not overreach accordingly. If this is the case, then a deload is virtually in vain, as you will probably completely reduce fatigue between workouts.

If you still insist and perform a deload, that would only end up in, you wasting valuable training time with a light training period that is not even required.

3.) Sore muscles

Although you have reduced the weight or the volume, you suddenly get a sore muscle after the deload. The reason for this is actually always the same:

A changed burden.

For example, extremely short breaks may be responsible because you now need much less time to handle your sets with lighter weight.

Do not get me wrong, it is totally viable to reduce the break times but don’t cut them extensively that you end up just as close to muscle failure as in a normal training week.

Another cause may be a highly altered technique/execution that puts more strain on the target muscle. If this happens, it might be that you have previously trained past the target muscle and missed the mark.

If these three cases apply, you can at least exclude the deload as a source of error for lack of progression.

The same goes for overreaching and training stress. If you constantly experience the symptoms of overreaching after 4-8 weeks, the training stress will probably be halfway fit. In that case, the problem (lack of progression) is probably related to your current lifestyle (diet, external stress, etc.).

So far, we have only considered the benefits of a deload physiologically, but it also absolutely has its justification to review it from a psychological point of view.

On the one hand, because hard training also demands a tremendous amount of mental training. On the other hand, because the pressure to constantly improve even further, can be very stressful in the long term.

A deload not only recovers our body physically but also reduces mental fatigue and thus fully recharges your battery.

Finally, I want to emphasize the importance of deloads for maximum outcomes once more.

If you want to achieve the best possible results, you have to train hard/frequently and to be able to guarantee high performance at all, a deload is essential. In addition, deloads certainly help to avoid injuries that can cost you several months of effective training or, in the worst case may even end careers.

Prejudices against deloads

Moreover, you’ve probably also heard some phrases speaking against deloads, such as:

1. “No one needs a Deload!”

2. “Injuries, illness and holidays are Deloads enough!”

After already having discussed deloads in detail, and now the benefits of deloads, it is probably superfluous to “diverge” these sentences. Nevertheless, I would like to briefly discuss these “arguments” to give you even more certainty on your way.

Furthermore, I want to show you that these people obviously do not have much knowledge about training theory.

“No one needs a Deload”

Mostly this saying comes from people who either don’t train with a high training frequency or consume steroid and thus have extreme regenerative capacities and benefits.

In both cases, these athletes don’t need deloads, as they always manage to fully reduce the accumulated training stress. You can train for months on end, without the negative consequences of overreaching or overtraining, as they will never get into these conditions.

So, if you’re one of those folks who never get close to their regenerative capacities, you certainly do not need deload.

“Injuries, illness and holidays are deload enough!”

The latter may apply if you really have a vacation every 4-8 weeks and do not train during that time. But honestly, is that the case with you? For my part, I enjoy training on holiday tremendously and would not want to miss it.

Injuries and illnesses are extremely favored by too much training stress. And what reduces this stress? Right, a good old Deload.

So anyone who thinks he does not need deloads because he is either sick or injured every 8 weeks anyway, makes a big mistake. First and foremost, that person would not be sick or injured as often as when using deloads.

Let me ask you a simple question to illustrate and point out the error.

Do you only change the oil in your car when it’s broken?

Pretty logical, isn’t it?

Take home

As you’ve learned today, a deload has quite some advantages over an entire workout break.

A deload not only helps you to recover from the previously accumlated fatigue, but also prepares for the upcoming training cycle and prevents injuries alongside.

If you truly want to maximize your gains, there is no way around deloads every now and then.

The only exception are beginners, because for them it’s quite hard to get into a state of overreaching. This is because their bodies adjust very fast which makes it possible to achieve progress with almost every workout.

Do you have additional deload benefits in mind? How often do you perform deloads?

Get active and drop a comment below!

Cheers for reading, guys,

Claas