[quote]Bricknyce wrote:
[quote]its_just_me wrote:
If I really need my system to bounce back (not as much as before since I manage fatigue better nowadays), I’ve always favoured lowering intensiveness. I do this by simply cutting the set a rep or few short of failure. [/quote]
Exactly how Dorian deloaded. [/quote]
Wow, does that mean that I’m doing something right for a change? 
Nobody else needs to deload for their joints?
[quote]andersons wrote:
Nobody else needs to deload for their joints?[/quote]
Eh. Personally, I’m really not moving that much weight yet.
I deload when necessary, 6-12 weeks depending on a lot of factors.
[quote]Professor X wrote:
This forum went through many changes to make it clear what this section is about. There should be no more confusion. If you don’t want bigger muscles (ALL MUSCLES) or a more balanced physique, get the fuck out.
[/quote]
QFT
After last week’s debacle I’ve been trying to bite my tongue and let the dust settle, but I can only take fuckers asking why someone wants to be big for so long.
No one goes in the powerlifting forum pontificating about why someone would want to get stronger, even though they will likely never total elite in competition. So why the fuck people feel free to water down this forum is beyond me.
Do you have to be 250 @ 9% to have an opinion and post? No, but it would be nice if you were serious about this shit, and looking to gain some serious fucking muscle before you start laying down some dribble and self proclaim it to be gospel.
I think the only time I really take time off is if I’m injured.
For many I think it comes down to three things:
For example, when I did 5/3/1 and was squatting and deadlifting for rep PRs every week, along with the other 2 upper days and all the accessory work, I NEEDED that 4th week as a deload. NEEDED it.
Right now I just got back into Olympic lifting, and instead of 4 days a week I’m lifting 5 days a week. But I can spend about 6 weeks (I go on how I feel) until I need a deload, mainly because 1) There’s not a whole lot of TUT going on, a lot of it is technique work, and 2) the weights are often not maximal, except for maybe 1-2 times a week (and even then it is not maximal, it is just ‘heavy’).
Here’s how I lift normally, w/o a deload (picked random sessions from log):
Snatch - 65% x 2 x 3
Clean Pull - 103% x 2 x 3
Snatch Balance - 75% x 3 x 3
Back Squat - 87% x 2 x 3
Pull-ups - 3 x max
Tris
And during a deload:
Clean Pull - 90% of last week x 1 x 3
Snatch Balance - 90% of last week x 1 x 3
Back Squat - 90% of last week x 1 x 3
Pull-ups - 90% of last week’s reps x 3 sets
Working like a charm so far. Basically… if you think you need a deload, you probably do. Listen to your body.
While I generally agree with less need for deload when doing higher reps, it can depend on other factors. DC training was a prime example reps ranges between 8 and 30 yet after sometimes as little as 8 weeks I was in terrible need of a break.
[quote]plateau wrote:
While I generally agree with less need for deload when doing higher reps, it can depend on other factors. DC training was a prime example reps ranges between 8 and 30 yet after sometimes as little as 8 weeks I was in terrible need of a break.[/quote]
Yes but that’s because of the intensifying techniques used and the frequent use of big lifts (especially the two way version).
You’re talking about total reps per exercise; where DC employs very brief rest intervals and lowish reps (if I remember rightly, the highest rep range is usually the first set which is around the 7 rep mark). A set extender/intensifier is not the same as doing medium-high reps, resting enough, and then doing another medium-high rep set.
Doing 16 reps rest pause style, is far more intensive than doing two sets of normal 8 rep sets… because the load is far greater and the lowered rest intervals gives far more fatigue.
And also – though I can’t point to specific facts to prove it’s biologically so – it’s harder on the nervous system. Or at least that appears to be what is happening. It also has to be a fact that the nervous system must do more firing per period of time for these 16 reps (to use your example) than in a traditional 2 sets of 8, so it is plausible that this may be more draining on it.
Yeah I believe that too.
Going along the same lines as you; the muscle fibres haven’t recovered by much when you rest, say 20 secs, so your nervous system has to be “firing on all cylinders” (so to speak) to move the same load with a fatigued muscle.
[quote]its_just_me wrote:
The problem I have with many of the other ways of “cutting back”, is that you can de-train quite badly. Take up to a week off, and it can take weeks before you’re back to where you were. Reduce the load somewhat, and it still feels almost as heavy as before (if still approaching failure) because your body simply adapts. [/quote]
Do you really shed strength/weight so easily that it takes you weeks to bounce back from just one week off?
Just to be clear, when we talk about “a week off” are you guys referring to a week in which you remain sedentary? Because whenever I take a week off (not that often, mind you) I make sure to stay active with other activities, like flag football, strongman, basketball–just anything besides heavy weight training.
I take maybe two or three weeks of in a year, more for my sanity than anything else. It’s just nice to have a couple days off and by day 4 I’m chomping at the bit to get back in the gym…I usually don’t make it the whole week ha ha
[quote]Proud_Virgin wrote:
[quote]its_just_me wrote:
The problem I have with many of the other ways of “cutting back”, is that you can de-train quite badly. Take up to a week off, and it can take weeks before you’re back to where you were. Reduce the load somewhat, and it still feels almost as heavy as before (if still approaching failure) because your body simply adapts. [/quote]
Do you really shed strength/weight so easily that it takes you weeks to bounce back from just one week off?
Just to be clear, when we talk about “a week off” are you guys referring to a week in which you remain sedentary? Because whenever I take a week off (not that often, mind you) I make sure to stay active with other activities, like flag football, strongman, basketball–just anything besides heavy weight training.
I take maybe two or three weeks of in a year, more for my sanity than anything else. It’s just nice to have a couple days off and by day 4 I’m chomping at the bit to get back in the gym…I usually don’t make it the whole week ha ha[/quote]
When I mean a week off, I just meant idleness.
I don’t have a problem with incidental weeks off like you mentioned (about 2-4 per year)…it’s just when I used to have planned weeks off every 6 weeks or so it was like taking 2 steps forwards and 1 back. Reason for it being every 6 weeks was that’s the period where my lifts tended to stick (with low reps).
So if I took a week off, I’d de-load by about 5% less when returning. It would then take about another 2 weeks to get back to where I was. And then I’d make about another 2-4 weeks of progress. So if your cycles only last about 6 weeks, you tend to go up and down too much with taking a week off.
Although I believe that it effects you more if you’re training with low reps (like I was in the past when I used to deload/take weeks off often)…so I wouldn’t be able to say what effect taking a complete rest week has on medium-high rep training.
Maybe its just me? (lol)
I have trained for 24yrs & will be 48 this month. My routines have always been strength based.
In my twenties I never Deloaded (we called it active rest then).
In my thirties I Deloaded only after I injuried myself (should have seen the pattern).
During my forties I schedule them depending on the resistance routine & conditioning.
I currently do something similar to 5/3/1 and build the micro to last six weeks, but week three and six are Deloads. (Deload = reduce the ‘money’ station by 25-30% & remove the top set from each assistance station). In other routines it may be every 6th or 8th week. I do not enjoy the Deload week, but have learned that I must Deload or wish I had.
[quote]its_just_me wrote:
[quote]plateau wrote:
While I generally agree with less need for deload when doing higher reps, it can depend on other factors. DC training was a prime example reps ranges between 8 and 30 yet after sometimes as little as 8 weeks I was in terrible need of a break.[/quote]
Yes but that’s because of the intensifying techniques used and the frequent use of big lifts (especially the two way version).
You’re talking about total reps per exercise; where DC employs very brief rest intervals and lowish reps (if I remember rightly, the highest rep range is usually the first set which is around the 7 rep mark). A set extender/intensifier is not the same as doing medium-high reps, resting enough, and then doing another medium-high rep set.
Doing 16 reps rest pause style, is far more intensive than doing two sets of normal 8 rep sets… because the load is far greater and the lowered rest intervals gives far more fatigue.[/quote]
Exactly other factors, I hate to use the word intensity as people often feel there is the implication that they are not training with this when people say it here…
I’m confused as to why someone would ever deload or where this idea even came from? To me it has always seemed like a waste of time.
[quote]TD54 wrote:
I’m confused as to why someone would ever deload or where this idea even came from? To me it has always seemed like a waste of time.[/quote]
Probably because it works well for powerlifters…
Having said that I like having some form of periodisation in my training.
[quote]TD54 wrote:
I’m confused as to why someone would ever deload or where this idea even came from? To me it has always seemed like a waste of time.[/quote]
Some programs require it, some don’t.
Ever/never/always/ etc are terms that rarely fit with training and eating the way we do.
[quote]Scott M wrote:
[quote]TD54 wrote:
I’m confused as to why someone would ever deload or where this idea even came from? To me it has always seemed like a waste of time.[/quote]
Some programs require it, some don’t.
[/quote]
What’s the reason for bodybuilders? Honestly just curious. Trying to learn!
[quote]TD54 wrote:
What’s the reason for bodybuilders? Honestly just curious. Trying to learn!
[/quote]
If you read what I said about the other factors in DC training (above) you’ll get the gist.
Basically, it mainly depends on loads that you are using and / or how many sets you take to failure (or near).