I saw this question pop up in a Facebook group the other day. I don't know why I still search through them, as torturous as they can be. However, I thought this was a good question - maybe one that is pretty common sense for most, but totally foreign to others. The Rules of a Deload: Take the exact (or almost exact) training sessions from the previous week and...
- Reduce intensity by 60% (not 60% of your max but 60% of the previous week).
- Reduce volume by 60%
- Remove taxing* movements
- For me personally, deadlifts are taxing, so typically I cut out that movement all together
- If you've been doing something like Anderson squats, pin presses, or rack pulls, remove those because they are inherently more taxing on your body
- If you're nursing a shoulder injury for example, use an SSB for squats or dumbbell bench
- And always use concentric only movements like sled pulls to aid recovery
| DAY 1 | WEIGHT | SETS | REPS | Rest | |
| 1 | SSB squat | 275-315-335-345 | 4 | 1 | 120 sec |
| 2 | SSB pause squat | 275 | 3 | 3 | 90 sec |
| 3 | Goblet squat | 90 | 2 | 15 | 90 sec |
| 4 | DB reverse lunge | 40s | 2 | 12 each | 90 sec |
| 5 | DB RDL - single leg - can use back leg as kickstand w/ little pressure | 20s | 2 | 12 each | 60 sec |
| 6 | Plank - single leg, switch halfway through | BW | 3 | 40 sec | 30 sec |
| 7 | Copenhagen Plank - short lever, at the knee | BW | 3 | 20 sec | 30 sec |
| Day 2 | WEIGHT | SETS | REPS | Rest | |
| 1 | DB bench- warm up 50x20,70x15 | 90 | 4 | 10 | 60 sec |
| 2 | DB row - knee supported | 50-60-70-80-90 | 5 | 10 | 60 sec |
| 3 | Barbell row - underhand grip - 'cluster set' | 205 | 3 | 6 | 20 sec |
| 4 | Incline cable Ext - 10lb jumps starting at 30 | 35-45-55-55 | 4 | 10 | 90 sec |
| 5 | DB incline - tempo 3:3:0 | 50 | 2 | 10 | 60 sec |
| 6 | Band pull aparts - single arm | red mini | 3 | 15 each | 45 sec |
| Day 3 | WEIGHT | SETS | REPS | Rest | |
| 1 | Deadlift - think about speed and technique | 305 | 6 | 2 | 60 sec |
| 2 | BB RDL | 225-245-185 | 3 | 6 | 90 sec |
| 3 | Stiff leg deficit DL (2-3" deficit) - consider this partly a stretch as well | 135-185-185 | 3 | 10 | 90 sec |
| 4 | DB RDL - single leg | 30s | 3 | 12 each | 60 sec |
| 5 | DB chest supported row | 50s | 3 | 12 | 60 sec |
| 6 | Seated band ham curl - single leg | red mini | 3 | 20 | 60 sec |
| DAY 4 | WEIGHT | SETS | REPS | Rest | |
| 1 | BB OHP - we can move to a z press if that would be helpful, just have to adjust weight | 135 | 5 | 1 | 120 sec |
| Drop set | 105 | 3 | 8 | 120 sec | |
| 2a | Push ups - tempo 3:3:0 | BW | 3 | 10 | 60 sec |
| 2b | Inverted rows - pull yourself up, 5 sec eccentric | BW | 3 | 5 | 60 sec |
| 3 | Lat pull downs - leave me a weight in the notes knucklehead | same weight as last week | 2 | 12 | 60 sec |
| 4 | DB front raise - DB lateral raise -DB bent over fly | 10,20 | 2 | 8 each | 60 sec |
| DAY 1 | WEIGHT | SETS | REPS | Rest | |
| 1 | SSB squat | 225 | 2 | 5 | 120 sec |
| 2 | - | - | |||
| 3 | Goblet squat | 50 | 2 | 10 | 90 sec |
| 4 | DB reverse lunge | 20s | 2 | 8 each | 90 sec |
| 5 | - | - | |||
| 6 | Plank - single leg, switch halfway through | BW | 2 | 30 sec | 30 sec |
| 7 | Copenhagen Plank - short lever, at the knee | BW | 2 | 15 sec | 30 sec |
| Day 2 | WEIGHT | SETS | REPS | Rest | |
| 1 | DB bench- warm up 50x20,70x15 | 50 | 5 | 10 | 60 sec |
| 2 | DB row - knee supported | 50 | 5 | 10 | 60 sec |
| 3 | - | - | |||
| 4 | Incline cable Ext - 10lb jumps starting at 30 | 25 | 2 | 15 | 90 sec |
| 5 | DB incline - tempo 3:3:0 | - | |||
| 6 | Band pull aparts - single arm | red mini | 3 | 10 each | 45 sec |
| Day 3 | WEIGHT | SETS | REPS | Rest | |
| 1 | - | - | |||
| 2 | BB RDL | 185 | 3 | 8 | 90 sec |
| 3 | Stiff leg deficit DL (2-3" deficit) - consider this partly a stretch as well | 135 | 2 | 8 | 90 sec |
| 4 | - | - | |||
| 5 | DB chest supported row | 30s | 3 | 10 | 60 sec |
| 6 | Seated band ham curl - single leg | red mini | 3 | 10 | 60 sec |
| DAY 4 | WEIGHT | SETS | REPS | Rest | |
| 1 | BB OHP - we can move to a z press if that would be helpful, just have to adjust weight | 95 | 3 | 5 | 120 sec |
| - | - | ||||
| 2a | Push ups -normal tempo | BW | 3 | 10 | 60 sec |
| 2b | Inverted rows - normal tempo | BW | 3 | 5 | 60 sec |
| 3 | Lat pull downs | 100-120 | 3 | 8 | 60 sec |
| 4 | DB front raise - DB lateral raise -DB bent over fly | 5 | 2 | 8 each | 60 sec |
