We all know by now, or should know we cant be the summit year round. That every peak has two valleys. That progress is anything but linear. Its full of ups and downs, times we push it hard as well as times we deload in order to reload for another push.
I have been asked by several clients and friends of late if I would write an article on deloading. Not so much the scientific benefit behind it’s use, as that been covered by people much more qualified then I in those fields, But more specifically the how to’s and general reasoning’s for the types of deloads I employ on myself and my clients.
In my world, two primary reasons and ways that I tend to use deloads...
The first, the event deload, is most easily scheduled and performed is that of deloading for a meet or, event of some sort. This is particularly easy for strength, or meet type athletes who have specific events they gear their training toward. My recommendation for those trainees who are not in a sport or activity that requires then to peak for several events a year is to fabricate their own events. 3 to 4 events a year with specified goals of your own choosing that you peak and deload for, or 3-4 scheduled weeks off to allow for rest and recovery. This could be placed around your life schedule, holidays, vacation etc.
For those who those who are seasonal athletes etc deloading is a bit different and more complicated and we wont even touch on that hear as it is more broken down to in and off season training rather then a specific deload for the purpose of peaking for a single event, though they can incorporate this type of schedule into their off season training protocol.
The event deload plain and simple is to allow you full recovery at which end you will then have the ability to express the full potential of the weeks and months of hard work you have put in. It is not until you are fully recovered that this will be possible. Many new to this worry and fret over getting weaker if they don’t train, I assure you if you have been training hard you need it, and even if you have not pushed your self hard enough there is Nothing you can do in the final week to make yourself stronger, the best thing you can do is fully recover so you can again express the strength you do have.
Some people take a full week and become a slug. If their weight class allows it cramming their pie whole with as much dense food as possible, usually in the form of carbohydrates etc, some have to watch it and make weight. None the less this method on no activity does have its merit and I have used it with some success but I find no activity lead me to yes recover but actually get a bit sore in the joints etc .
What I have found the most beneficial is as many calories as one can allow, increased sleep and rest, as little unneeded activity as you can muster with the exception of a very light and brief session of training each day for about 30 minutes. When I say Light I mean under 25% of your max on any given exercise and only a few reps. 5-10 nothing taxing but just working the full range of motion you have get some movement in and blood flow.
I personally like to break this into some kind of complex usually to kill a few birds with one stone. I may load say 40k on a bar and do a few rows, then 3 DL’s. Then I will clean the bar and do a few front squats, then push press the bar a few times and lower it on my back, do a few back squats, then a few GM’s and ditch the bar, rinse and repeat. Something like this for a few sets. Go in and don’t tax your self at all just a very relaxed session of getting some moving in. I find this in myself ,and those I coach, works best. By the end of the week we have greater recovery, joints feeling like butter and we are itching to rip a house down and put some loads on the bar.
The second , is a deload mixed into your training or event preparation to halt stagnation, and aid further progression. Progress, training again is anything but linear and in order to keep continued progress and not burn out one needs to have weeks where we deload or lower the training stimulus and allow some of the accumulated fatigue to dissipate in order to keep our training at a level we know is required to reach the progress we have set as our goal. If ones performance drops and they continue to PUSH it, over force the required training load son yourself or an athlete in your hands you are asking for nothing but problems that can lead to a greater time down to fully recover or an injury. Don’t kick the dead horse.
Instead I do one of two things:
-Pre schedule a deload every 4-8 weeks, err on the side of caution. Most elite performers don’t halter due to not enough work its due to not enough rest. You must evaluate you, or your client honestly to see which they fit in. If they/you are the type that lives on the razors edge all the time, schedule one every 4 weeks. If you or they are the type that has to be pushed consistently and does give their 100% then more sessions/time will be needed to create an event that will trigger adaptation / progression go 8 weeks for somewhere in between.
-Go by instinct. This is the method I prefer and use but it takes a bit of mastery and maturity and I honestly falter at times. It is tough, more so with yourself, then others to back off. For this method you must evaluate how you feel, your level of energy, enthusiasm, sleep, weight loss, appetite, and most importantly performance on a daily and weekly schedule. For each athlete I have to take it on an individual basis of course, for my self I am getting better at realizing what I need. If I am cramming my pie whole, losing weight, enthusiasm starts to consistently be low and most importantly performance is off on two consecutive sessions its time. I have done enough work to be considered an event that I need to recover from to make progress.
Unlike most of gym population you don’t train MORE, again kicking the dead horse, when you cant reach your usual expected progress,. Do the opposite. Deload. Recover and come back for round two.
For this method there are as many ways to accomplish this as there are ways to make someone scream out your name, but the two I use are as follows:
1: Keep the intensity High and drastically drop the volume.
- this is the method I prefer to use most often. For when I or an athlete is just a bit ran down. When enthusiasm is still there but performance has dropped for a few sessions but not much else has been effected. Sleep is still good, there are no excessive aches, weight loses, etc. Just a nice little recheck to get the ball rolling again.
-For this I simply drop everything but the few foundational exercises, or max effort exercises and we go to one single set for those at 90% of the intensity we have been . All the assistance work, rep work, sweat work etc is dropped in order to lower the volume and aid recovery.
- If last weeks workout was for example was Squat for 5 triples at 500lbs, zerchers for 3 sets of 10 and step ups for 3 sets of ten and a set of heavy ab work. This week we would simply warm up and do 1 triple at 450 and walk away. Do the same for all other session that week get plenty of rest and food.
2: Have Fun and work at about 50-70%
- this method I use for when I or we are zapped. Something happened and got away from us and a few very hard but productive sessions really took their tool. Performance has dropped, we are as enthused as Hugh Hefner at a convent, appetite is shot / or we are losing weight despite our eating big, and sleeping has been effected.
- For this I have tried a vast array of things but the one I found that works better then any, better then even taking a week of is GO have fun. Come to the gym and do what ever it is you find enjoyable and fun. Do things you normally do not do in your training. Play around with machines, Maybe go play a game of basketball instead, or go hiking or kayaking, go play dodge ball. Get outside in the park and throw things and get some fresh air. What ever.
-Get the picture? Train but do something you will have fun with, laugh, smile . You will find that even though you are training technically, just the novelty and the choice of doing what ever activity you will enjoy on a given day instead of doing your usual training you have lost the usual enthusiasm for. will aid your recovery. FUN is a huge recovery aid for you whole body, mind, nervous system, muscles and more. Get out have fun, don’t push things much over 70% and see how you feel in a week. More then likely you’ll be refreshed and ready to roll. If not in an extreme case your not 100% then take another like week and note this for future reference and adjust training accordingly or take a second week like the one I outlined above and then get back to your regularly scheduled program.
That’s that. A look into what I employ, and the reason for it, as far as deloads go. The things I have found to work. Give them a whirl and let me know how they work and by all means, let me know what has worked for you and your clients. I am always looking to learn more.
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