Jordan Syatt writes about the flaws of the typical deload week and what you can do to make that week as effective as possible towards your training goals.  He is the owner and head strength coach of Syatt Fitness.  Jordan is also a five-time world record powerlifter and has been featured in many fitness magazines and news.  His article can be read in its entirety here, Deloading is a Waste of Your Time.

The purpose of the deload week is to promote recovery from your previous workouts of high intensity or volume.  Typically your deload week is pre-planned and falls every fourth week of training.  The premise of a deload week is great, but the way it's usually executed is not making it a wasted training week for a lot of us.

There is a time and a place for the typical deload week, but it is most useful for a select number of individuals.  If you are not a professional athlete, older/experienced lifter, or someone who experiences recurring injuries during training than you should veer from the traditional deload week.  Your body does not necessarily need an entire week to recover.  In fact you don't need to look for a rest until about your 6th week of training Jordan states.  Even then it is recommended just one or two days off or very light activity.

The term cybernetic periodization, coined by Mel Siff, is introduced and is the premise of this article.  It basically means: listen to your body and train as hard as you are feeling.  Jordan gives some examples:

  • "Feel amazing? Follow the program as-is and push yourself to the limit. You better be trying to hit some big PR’s.

  • Feel good? Follow the program as-is and lift some serious weight. No need to go balls-to-the-wall but definitely push yourself.

  • Feel eh? Follow the program as-is but don’t feel obligated to do anything crazy. Use this as more of a technique day and focus on getting all of your reps with perfect form without stressing too much about the load.

  • Feel like dog shit? You have two options:

    • Follow the program as-is but drastically reduce the days overall volume & intensity. You should be in & out of the gym in less than 30-min.

    • Take the day away from the barbell and go through some movement therapy. Warm-up, foam roll, and do some light bodyweight exercises just to get the blood pumping. You should be in & out of the gym in less than 30-min."

On your deload training days you can incorporate calisthenics workouts or implement bands.  You should primarily focus on perfect technique and just getting your heart rate up.  There are more deloading options stated in his article, but to summarize: train as hard as you feel on that specific day.  Obviously this type of training requires a lot of self discipline to properly assess how your body feels; it's not recommended for the ill willed.