Something We Overlook: Rest Days/Deloads

Something happened at the start of this week that I thought worthy of a mention ,I’d been improving in all lifts and gained some size in recent months and was pretty happy with it in general ,but then at the end of last week i started to feel slightly weaker and just simply like I had no energy no spark to me at work and the gym ,come Friday I had three huge spots on my forehead that hadn’t been a problem for years and a huge coldsore on my lip ,in was a sight for sore eyes believe me, so i decided maybe I’m run down ,maybe I’m not Ill but have simply just fried my body, decided to take three full days off and eat big ,I ate a shed load of good and bad food during those three days ,on stepping on the scales on Monday to my suprise I’d gained just 1 lb spots and coldsore had gone in general I looked like a new man, long story short I had the best deadlift session ever on Monday ,a great cardio day on Tuesday and today hit a PR on bench , in short do you think we all overlook just simply having a few days to factory reset on our bodies? I certainly do now.

I schedule deloads in my training to avoid running into this issue. I also appreciate how it allows me to use the week before the deload to just completely run myself into the ground.

I’m aware some people do this all the time but it is a new concept to me , however 100% something I will be planning into training from now on.

I utilize AMRAP-sets on almost every workout as a form of autoregulation and my assistance movements are all fully dependent on how I feel on a given day. This way I don’t need deloads or rest nearly as often or as much as I normally would. Also each training block culminates to a meet, mock meet or just some casual strength level testing that allows my body to recover fully.

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Seems like you twigged onto this a lot sooner than i did.

Get some work in
Over reach
Recover
Rinse & repeat

Thus has been a successful pattern for decades

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[quote=“telfordp283, post:1, topic:214717”]
take three full days off and eat big ,I ate a shed load of good and bad food during those three days[/quote]

Yep, calorie-loading works, especially if you notice a dip in training energy. The argument could be made that it shouldn’t be necessary if training and nutrition is properly managed along the way anyhow, but it still does work.

[quote=“telfordp283, post:1, topic:214717”]
in short do you think we all overlook just simply having a few days to factory reset on our bodies[/quote]
The concept of regularly occuring deloads has been around for ages. For example, Vince Gironda talked about “train 21 days, rest 7” back in the 1960s.

Of course, there’s the related debate as to whether a total rest day (doing nothing at all) is more effective than a day of active recovery (easier training with significantly-reduced intensity/load/volume, different exercises, mobility work, yoga class, etc.). I think blending all methods on a regular basis - training days, active recovery, and total rest - is the best plan long-term.

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I certainly will take more notice of these factors from now on thanks for the replies

Since I started 5/3/1 I have started to appreciate a deload week. My deload is next week and I need it.

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I’ll deload when I’m DEAD…

…or when my shoulder starts to ache. One or the other.

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