Right? Conceptually, deloading is just listening to your body. If your body is tired, give it rest. Otherwise you'll get hurt and getting hurt ruins your gains for an even longer stretch of time.
Same. I always try to go to the gym 4 times per week , and after 2 - 3 months I really feel that my muscles aren't too happy anymore. Because of circumstances in my life, there sometimes is a week in which I barely have time to go to the gym and on average I have one such a week every 2 - 3 months or so, so that's great coincidental timing! After such a week I am shocked at how much more iron I suddenly can pump at the gym! (Side note; I'm 49 years old.)
@@pandajohn5911 For some people it's a once a month thing you do because daddy mike told them hypertrophy, gains, bla bla blal... They don't know how to train, they don't listen to their body, the just grind away, and bitch slap themselves if their body starts to give out, 'cause mike mc juice said this and that..
For me, I deload once every two or three months. Not because I plan it, but I feel my body saying, "I need to rest and recover", so I do. Active recovery, of course. More cardio, a LOT more mobility work, but lifting is scaled back. I just do that because it feels right and it works for me.
But if you're sleeping properly eating properly it shouldn't matter how hard you're working out your body shouldn't be telling you to scale back or do less if that's happening that means you're not resting enough or your diet s***or both that coupled with the fact that you're probably overtraining because again if you are because you're supposed to be sleeping properly and eating a good diet balance there's no reason why your body would be telling you to stop or deload that makes no sense
@@jeremyalvarado2883 the answer to that is the lack of rest. As a grad student, I hardly have time to do anything outside of class and work. I don't have a prayer of getting perfect sleep for awhile, but I'm doing the best I can, given my circumstances.
Well everyone is different. I have a hard job, lifting a lot of heavy things in small spaces. It puts a lot of load on my lower back. I damaged a disc 2 years ago. Have to be very careful now. If I'm tired and I push, I will pull a muscle or cause inflammation which hurts like a mfer. So I need to manage stress and fatigue very carefully and also change a lot of the exercises I do. @@jeremyalvarado2883
Yea I do recovery workouts focusing on joint and tendons, low loads high rep work in my deload weeks. spend as much time in the gym as normal but don't really get fatigued, SNS gets a rest and joints feel better when I get back to workouts after a week. I don't schedule them just do it when my joints starts aching too much during and after hard workouts. I'd guess probably 3-4 times a year. I'd guess up to a 6 month basis you'd still get better gains with no deload, but I'm not in this for just 6 months, on the long term scale I know from experience that going "harder than last time" every week is eventually gonna get you injured, so once in a while you have to give it a rest.
isn't it better to address joint related issues through exercise? realistically they get stronger when you lift as you progress slowly. knees take most abuse and there're great exercises to help with pain through strengthening. also doing higher rep ranges will help - you don't want to squat for only 6 reps if your knees are weak and in pain
This study length (9 weeks) seems rushed and faulty by that alone, especially when the participants are really young. I'm 45 and have been lifting for 25 years. It would be interesting to see how this study would look with lifters 30+ years old, and for an entire Macrocycle (4 months). At my age, I know that I absolutely need my deload weeks.
@@samj8932 I read your comment and it's pretty spot on. It's unfortunate that we live in a time where we have forgone tried and true fitness science that's existed for years. Now we have lazy science and social media personalities trying to reinvent the wheel for the sake of creating daily/weekly content. Thank you for making the comment you did and explaining why.
49-year old here. because of circumstances in my life I have unplanned deload weeks every 2 - 3 months or so and I can lift much heavier weights after such a week. Making progress like crazy!
I often see it as something that doctoral students do to get their doctor's degree. Over the past few decades I have seen so many stupid studies, studies that contradict each other, rushed studies etc. Yoghurt causes cancer! Yoghurt helps to prevent cancer! Going to church causes cancer because of the insence and bad ventilation there! (Well, I personally won't be in danger then.) Coffee from certain very popular machines will block your arteries! Peanut butter causes cancer! Going to the gym keeps you young! Going to the gym causes you to age much faster! (Because of accelerated energy usage which causes free radicals and cell division which unravels your DNA) etc etc etc. @@johnnykarate_SweepLeg
The importance of DEload is connected to the wave of OVERload before deloading. You have to bring yourself into the hardest possible training and then deload to start the cycle again, closest to 1-0 RIR, more sets…then deload to something extra light/cardio/mobility. And it feels really different. If you “just train” and then “just deload”, then it’s “just rest”.
I have been lifting heavy for 30+ years. Sometimes I feel run down from stress, poor sleep, or maybe not enough nutrition, and when my strength is not recovered, a deload week where I cut all weights down as a kind of active extended recovery - really helps me.
deloads are awesome, time to recover with tons of food and booze for a week lol... jokes aside deloads are definitely useful to help reset the nervous system, personally i use one every 12-16 weeks depending on the training itself
@@SuperMario-dx3vn seasons are the same length, why are you wasting time in the gym not training for the 12-16 weeks, anyone worth 2 cents would know thats prime time to deload if they're actually training
@@druncle1977 try middle aged and stronger then most juice heads, thanks but i've got this better down pat then most "pros" (like the same idiots that try and judge strongmen competitors like as if they're lifting anywhere near that level)
@@user-strength10 if you train very intense AND go to the gym very often the deload is required every 4-6 weeks not 12-16 weeks If you deload every 12-16 weeks it just means #1 you don't train hard enough or #2 you do train hard enough but don't go to the gym very often
If the participants are new to training, then I'm guessing the results will be that it isn't required. But that is primarily because they just don't require a deload nearly as often or as much as more experienced serious lifers do. 4:19 - Yea.
I think it's very evident that deloads are required for advanced strength sport athletes. For muscle mass, to me, not really necessary unless you're lifting very heavy and your CNS is almost fried. Surprised this video never mentioned about CNS.
I don't usually deload, but about three weeks ago I fell ill for a few days and decided to deload incidentally. After I came back, I noticed that, while the weights I was handling were a bit lower than usual, I recovered faster and even hit a few PRs afterwards. So... it might be the place o effect, but it has had some benefits as far as I know.
I'm so stupid that I have seen my progress regress for months on end, my lifts went down 50%, and my running speed went from 4:30 min/km to 8:30... I overtrained so bad that I'm always sick. My joints hurt, emotionally numb... I'm taking my one week off and waiting to see what happens...
you will naturally deload whenever you get sick, travel or any other "life happens" type of situation occurs. i hate when this happens though, because i literally have no idea what to expect from my body in terms of performance - picking up same weight i used 2 weeks ago only to fail bench without spotter 🥴
I deload when my body tells me too. Depends on the 12 week routine I am running if I deload at week 13, don't deload at all, or if I deload somewhere in the middle.
0:15🏋 Deloading involves reducing training volume or intensity after a period of intense training to aid recovery. 1:23🔬 A recent study examined the effectiveness of a 1-week deload in resistance-trained individuals. 2:53📈 The study found that deloading did not improve muscle growth, power, or endurance compared to continuous training but may worsen strength gains. 3:33⚠ However, the study's findings don't discredit deloading entirely, as other factors like training duration and intensity weren't considered. 5:05📉 While the study challenges the conventional wisdom on deloading, it suggests that gains are likely preserved even with occasional breaks from training. 5:39💡 An intuitive approach to deloading, rather than strictly planned deload weeks, may be more effective until further research is conducted.
Were the programs volume-equated? Because both interventions lasted nominally for 9 weeks, but the so-called traditional group effectively trained 1 week more than the deload group. If that amounted to additional volume between groups, that might be the confounder that explains the discrepancy in strength.
I don't trust that study at all. A 10lb 1rm difference by the end of those 9 weeks, because one group took a week off? Something is wrong with that. I take a rest week every 4th week. By the 3rd week i can feel that i'm piling up fatigue and i can see that my lifts are going down and i even skip half my routine because i'm so fatigued. By the end of my deload i come back refreshed and stronger than before. I will always recommend a deload week every few weeks, at least until we get more studies on it, and studies that actually make sense, because again, there's no way the two groups had a 10lb difference by the end of 9 weeks, unless both groups were complete newbies, in which case, this study is garbage because newbies don't need deload weeks like intermediate or advanced lifters do.
Yeah true After a week of deload I feel weaker and struggle with going back to my main weight after deloading at 50% of main weight, for about a week, after I’m coming stronger lol
Well I think that deload+maintance calories makes a lot of sense in competetive environement where the fatigue peaks its unbelievable highs, for casuals not so sure
It also depends how the Traditional Group trained different then the other. Did the traditional group go to maximum muscle failure during exercises or not? Maybe Group 2 trained more intense? What were the strength differences between the 2 Groups? Did the 2 Groups ever train before consistently or just "noobies", if you're a noob you won't need a deload too soon because you are lifting light weight. Big factor
The problem with these studies they don't take in consideration if the people in the study are beginners or advance trainers, cause that makes a difference cause someone who have years and decades of experience in training the deload will work just fine compared to a beginner who just started training a few months ago might not need a deload. Rest and recovery are always important for training and making progress.
Fuck that study. We don't even know if the subjects in that study trained hard enough. Deload is only necessary to people who train really hard. I train 3x a week full body for 3-4hrs, 6sets of 2-5 reps for major lifts like squats, bp, dl, and ohp. Then 8 to 12 reps for other exercises. I do 3 to 4 exercises per muscle part. I deload once every 2 months when I feel like I hit a plateau. After 1 week of deload I always hit new pr. Usually I gain 20lbs increase on major lifts. Now I can bp 560lbs for 3 reps, dl 720lbs, squat 610lbs in a 5'7 160lbs body.
I believe reloading after maybe 8 weeks is better. And not stopping completely. As an armwrestler, it is important to manage inflammation and pains. Having a week of high reps and letting the body heal seems like a good idea according to me.
I deload to take a rest, not to get higher gains. After a while of working out and working I start getting fatigued, no amount of sleep is enough and I start not being able to think as fast, efficiently and overall can't think well.
@@badass6300 all natty? No protein powders or weird shakes, power bars? I’m asking because it seems weird you would have a harder time with concentration
@@Odieodius I take a multivitamin pill, half a magnesium pill and a zinc pill every day. And I have to say I have feeling, so it's not concrete or objectively true, but magnesium helps with thinking. Now I do eat home cooked meals I make for myself, but outside of late spring to early autumn(may to september), vegetables are awful, because it's not their season after all, so it's hard to get the micro-nutrients without barfing. And thus I supplement my micro nutritions with supplements for half of the year.
But this wasn't a deload per say... But a week off? Isn't a deload halve weight for the first half and then the next half volume? I feel the word deload needed a better definition??
I mean how big was the sample size? Were the participants new to lifting or did they have experience? And anyways I think deloads after 4 weeks is super early… and well like you said 1 study is not nearly enough.
Come on. For those who Taking a one-week break can lead to a significant decrease in motor muscle recruitment. It feels as though your coordination diminishes, and you almost forget how to maintain stability during certain exercises. This discomfort is especially noticeable when you engage in progressive overload, incrementally increasing the strain on your muscles week after week. You finish a week with nearly every set at 0 or 1, or even reaching the last rep of each exercise at negative RIR (Reps in Reserve), with a volume of 16, 20, or perhaps even more. Your muscles are insanly worked in every aspect, and then suddenly, you introduce a week-long "sleep" period for them. In my experience, after such a break, it takes two weeks through progressive overload (PO) to return to the performance level of the previous third week, and it’s likely not as comfortable as before. It’s only in the third week of PO that I can regain that level of comfort and even exceed the previous third week’s PO performance. However, these setbacks are significantly reduced when I implement an active deload.
The study didnt measure the fatigue levels of the participants and if they were training close enough to failure to accumulate enough fatigue to benefit from a deload. Imo it just showed the already proven effects of more volume = more gains under similar fatigue levels
I mean, very few deloads every 4 weeks, and I sure wouldn't recomend deloading that often. Even the most supportive of deloaders say 6-8 weeks of hard progressive overload and then a deload. This study really doesn't tell us much.
Incorporating deloads into your training regimen can be beneficial for maximizing gains in your games. Deloads involve reducing the intensity, volume, or frequency of your training for a period of time to allow your body to recover and adapt to previous training stressors. This can help prevent overtraining, reduce the risk of injury, and promote long-term progress. During a deload period, you might decrease the weight lifted, reduce the number of sets or reps performed, or take extra rest days. This allows your muscles, joints, and nervous system to recover fully, which can lead to improved performance when you return to regular training. It's important to listen to your body and incorporate deloads based on your individual needs and training intensity. Some athletes may benefit from deloading every few weeks, while others may require less frequent deloads depending on factors such as training volume, intensity, recovery capacity, and overall fitness level. By strategically incorporating deloads into your training program, you can help ensure that you're consistently performing at your best and minimizing the risk of burnout or injury. 👌💪👍 Thanks! 🙏
sorry but...deloading without a need to do so makes no sense 😂 Deloads should reduce fatigue, without it deloads have no effect xD This study does not really have much to say 😂
They should make a study in the same terms but instead of making it for 9 weeks, they should make it for 21 weeks, with a deload week in the middle to see if doing a deload week every 10 weeks will lead to better gains than every 4 weeks.
Here’s an idea. Are you more tired than usual? gym performance down? Unable to progress on your lifts? Waking up in the morning exhausted? Feel excess soreness or pains? Experiencing brain fog? Excessive hunger and not in a caloric deficit? Have extra life stressors than normal? If you answered yes to at least 3 of these, you may need to deload. More than 3 and you definitely need to back off.
Oh boy! ANOTHER garbage study telling us to not do the thing that's been done by the greats for 100 years! Where do I start? Garbage beginner sample (requirements were to train 3x per week on most weeks with atleast one session being legs. No mention of average strength) Garbage routine for not enough time (3 sets of 8-12 1rm with 2 minutes rest for 4 weeks. Seriously who thought up this routine) Garbage deload. Full training cessation for a week? REALLY? You mean to say not squatting for a week makes you not squat good? Duuuh Garbage results. NO ONE in this study had a 3 plate 1rm squat btw. Both before the study OR after the study. Just showing what type of sample they had. And your gonna make them do a 1rm after 4 weeks of nothing but 8-12? WHAT?! Look, in all other aspects of life I'm a science based man. I read lots of studies and work at a university. But my god exercise science churns out the most Garbage studies in order to stay relevant. They also usually have HUGE statistical errors or misinterpretation of data. Or straight up bad study design. The meat head vs nerd stereotype is REAL 😂. I really dont know if we'll ever get any good studies due to how many factors you need to account for and have control of. My advice, if you want to get big and strong, follow old training styles. You can incorporate new methods and exercises but what I'm trying to say is: if I had to recommend a youtube channel to a newbie to get them as strong as possible, it'd be someone like Alex Bromley not Jeff Nippard
You said everything I was planning to say. It's disappointing this channel even bothered referring to this useless study at all. The study seems as though it was designed specifically to "demonstrate" that deloads are unnecessary, rather than starting with a neutral viewpoint and assessing real data from a legitimate study.
M first question is - what intensity is the training? How close to failure? If they both trained the same but both didn't train to near failure none of the results mean anything imo. Also as someone else said below, injury risk? Joint and tendon strain? You wouldn't just "take a deload" on a whim, it should be programmed at a point in the meso where you've trained to the absolute balls to the wall limit the week prior. Not just when you feel fine at week 3.
I think deloads are fine for the proper purpose. NOT for recovery management, but for stress managament. If you're having a tumultuous life, sleep poorly, going through a family tragedy, working over hours or going through an exam period, that's when you deload. Because all of those stressors can impact OVERALL recovery (not just in the gym) and gym performance. And you're better off managing the stressors that you can control (going to the gym) than the stressors that you can't (getting through your exam period). Other than that, deloads may just work if you're feeling mentally worn down by working out. And taking a break may be a decent placebo to clear your head. But for the purpose of periodizing your training to manage fatigue, I do think they're highly overrated. One exception I may make is for localized, systemic over-reaching Let's say, you've poorly programmed your quad training and you've overreached on quads beyond the point of normal recovery. I would suggest just deloading your quads, figure out your programming, and train the rest of your body as usual. This is a general take though. The incredibly rare trainee who does overtrain may benefit from a deload. But these types are rare. All that said, yes that study is bad.
One interpretation, rather than 'deloads are not beneficial', might be 'don’t deload if you don’t need to (yet)'. After a vacation, I can usually train 7-9 weeks before I need to take a deload since I’m well rested. But after a couple of blocks of training in a row (separated by deloads), I usually need to deload after 4-6 weeks. Hence, deloading too early might actually make you miss out on gains (as this study would then show). Related to this, a beginner will probably have no use of a deload for their first 6-12 months of training, for example. Also, we should not forget the psychological benefits of taking a deload. Sometimes you simply need to get away from the gym a little bit.
Just listen to your body.. Speak with your muscles, hell, give them names. Care for them, love them, but be tough on them, they are lazy bitches after all.. A rigid program is not optimal. We're all different, with different programs, different pain tolerances, and live entirely different lives. Following a ridged program for de-loading is suboptimal in my opinion.
This study is bulsh… Simply because the protein that leads to muscle hypertrophy and gets unsensitive over long training periods only do so after *8 weeks* ! The study doesn’t even last that long ! Ofc if they take 1 week rest where they gain no muscle they’ll have less performing results. And anyways 1 week isn’t enough to resensitive your hypertrophy protein. To fully make it work you gotta wait 10 days total. (Don’t worry you usually start losing muscles after 15 days without any training) so definitely this study has no credibility cause it didn’t even respected a deloading sessions as it should be.
Would also probably depend on the intensity. For the average casual gym person, probably not or very seldom. For those trying to compete in body building or power lifting where pushing their muscles to the breaking point, a deload is a must or risk injury.
Had to come to this video after i just had my one week deload which i normally do after 12 or 16 weeks. I come back feeling recovered and ready to lift again 💪. Ita highly recommended even if you dont 'feel like it' because your CNS needs it as well!
The one study with a “deload” should be thrown out considering there wasn’t a deload involved. A deload includes still training, and it’s pretty evident even in the literature doing it correctly like with a taper/peak improves strength
You don't deload to "maximize gains"; you deload to "avoid burnout/injury." If you're pushing hard enough in the active period, you're going to need to back off periodically, unless you have elite genetics and/or are pharmacologically enhanced.
I don't see the necessity of taking planned deloads, even in your context. I myself had plenty of times where i'd go on vacation or would be too busy to workout at the gym, and so i just don't go during those times.
I think generally if you train 4 days a week, then you wouldn't need to deload after 4 weeks. I train 5 days a week and generally deload after 6(sometimes 5) weeks
That study was flawed in almost every possible way. I do not find it the least bit interesting that this study "showed" that a deload was unnecessary. What would be useful is a study showing the benefits of doing a deload after many weeks of intense training by experienced lifters performing a large number of highly taxing exercises.
I've always looked a deloads as a way to manage fatigue.
Right? Conceptually, deloading is just listening to your body. If your body is tired, give it rest. Otherwise you'll get hurt and getting hurt ruins your gains for an even longer stretch of time.
Same.
I always try to go to the gym 4 times per week , and after 2 - 3 months I really feel that my muscles aren't too happy anymore.
Because of circumstances in my life, there sometimes is a week in which I barely have time to go to the gym and on average I have one such a week every 2 - 3 months or so, so that's great coincidental timing!
After such a week I am shocked at how much more iron I suddenly can pump at the gym!
(Side note; I'm 49 years old.)
That’s exactly what it is haha, what else?
@@pandajohn5911 For some people it's a once a month thing you do because daddy mike told them hypertrophy, gains, bla bla blal... They don't know how to train, they don't listen to their body, the just grind away, and bitch slap themselves if their body starts to give out, 'cause mike mc juice said this and that..
Nobody asked
the best deloads are week long rest periods... after those I just get so much stronger when I come back.
week long easy workouts are better. Going to the gym is a habit. 1 week breaks may lead to 1 year breaks.
@@Borzogo If you're not disciplined then sure I guess.
For me, I deload once every two or three months. Not because I plan it, but I feel my body saying, "I need to rest and recover", so I do. Active recovery, of course. More cardio, a LOT more mobility work, but lifting is scaled back. I just do that because it feels right and it works for me.
But if you're sleeping properly eating properly it shouldn't matter how hard you're working out your body shouldn't be telling you to scale back or do less if that's happening that means you're not resting enough or your diet s***or both that coupled with the fact that you're probably overtraining because again if you are because you're supposed to be sleeping properly and eating a good diet balance there's no reason why your body would be telling you to stop or deload that makes no sense
@@jeremyalvarado2883 the answer to that is the lack of rest. As a grad student, I hardly have time to do anything outside of class and work. I don't have a prayer of getting perfect sleep for awhile, but I'm doing the best I can, given my circumstances.
Same. I will deload only if my performance suddenly get stuck. When I get back, my performance goes up.
Well everyone is different. I have a hard job, lifting a lot of heavy things in small spaces. It puts a lot of load on my lower back. I damaged a disc 2 years ago. Have to be very careful now. If I'm tired and I push, I will pull a muscle or cause inflammation which hurts like a mfer. So I need to manage stress and fatigue very carefully and also change a lot of the exercises I do. @@jeremyalvarado2883
but isn't deloading suppose to give your joints and tendons enough time to heal too?
Yep.
Yeah this study is silly, focus too much on young people lol
Yea I do recovery workouts focusing on joint and tendons, low loads high rep work in my deload weeks. spend as much time in the gym as normal but don't really get fatigued, SNS gets a rest and joints feel better when I get back to workouts after a week.
I don't schedule them just do it when my joints starts aching too much during and after hard workouts. I'd guess probably 3-4 times a year.
I'd guess up to a 6 month basis you'd still get better gains with no deload, but I'm not in this for just 6 months, on the long term scale I know from experience that going "harder than last time" every week is eventually gonna get you injured, so once in a while you have to give it a rest.
isn't it better to address joint related issues through exercise? realistically they get stronger when you lift as you progress slowly. knees take most abuse and there're great exercises to help with pain through strengthening. also doing higher rep ranges will help - you don't want to squat for only 6 reps if your knees are weak and in pain
This study length (9 weeks) seems rushed and faulty by that alone, especially when the participants are really young. I'm 45 and have been lifting for 25 years. It would be interesting to see how this study would look with lifters 30+ years old, and for an entire Macrocycle (4 months). At my age, I know that I absolutely need my deload weeks.
Agreed. Just did a full write up comment on why this study is poo and irrelevant 😂 Good intuition to doubt this study
@@samj8932 I read your comment and it's pretty spot on. It's unfortunate that we live in a time where we have forgone tried and true fitness science that's existed for years. Now we have lazy science and social media personalities trying to reinvent the wheel for the sake of creating daily/weekly content. Thank you for making the comment you did and explaining why.
49-year old here. because of circumstances in my life I have unplanned deload weeks every 2 - 3 months or so and I can lift much heavier weights after such a week. Making progress like crazy!
I often see it as something that doctoral students do to get their doctor's degree.
Over the past few decades I have seen so many stupid studies, studies that contradict each other, rushed studies etc.
Yoghurt causes cancer!
Yoghurt helps to prevent cancer!
Going to church causes cancer because of the insence and bad ventilation there! (Well, I personally won't be in danger then.)
Coffee from certain very popular machines will block your arteries!
Peanut butter causes cancer!
Going to the gym keeps you young!
Going to the gym causes you to age much faster! (Because of accelerated energy usage which causes free radicals and cell division which unravels your DNA)
etc etc etc.
@@johnnykarate_SweepLeg
I was going to say the same thing. 44yo, I bounce back so much slower now.
I already do 11 month deloads Feb to Dec
😂😂😂 that's to long
The importance of DEload is connected to the wave of OVERload before deloading. You have to bring yourself into the hardest possible training and then deload to start the cycle again, closest to 1-0 RIR, more sets…then deload to something extra light/cardio/mobility. And it feels really different.
If you “just train” and then “just deload”, then it’s “just rest”.
My deloads were when I caught a cold or went on vacation.
Usually, on vacations, was just a reduction.
I have been lifting heavy for 30+ years.
Sometimes I feel run down from stress, poor sleep, or maybe not enough nutrition, and when my strength is not recovered, a deload week where I cut all weights down as a kind of active extended recovery - really helps me.
Even if it makes no difference, being a bit lazy without punishment is an absolute win for me.
deloads are awesome, time to recover with tons of food and booze for a week lol... jokes aside deloads are definitely useful to help reset the nervous system, personally i use one every 12-16 weeks depending on the training itself
12-16 weeks!?! You're either young and muscular, or train only once a week..
12-16 weeks, boi you rarely hit the gem I can tell
@@SuperMario-dx3vn seasons are the same length, why are you wasting time in the gym not training for the 12-16 weeks, anyone worth 2 cents would know thats prime time to deload if they're actually training
@@druncle1977 try middle aged and stronger then most juice heads, thanks but i've got this better down pat then most "pros" (like the same idiots that try and judge strongmen competitors like as if they're lifting anywhere near that level)
@@user-strength10 if you train very intense AND go to the gym very often the deload is required every 4-6 weeks not 12-16 weeks
If you deload every 12-16 weeks it just means #1 you don't train hard enough or #2 you do train hard enough but don't go to the gym very often
If the participants are new to training, then I'm guessing the results will be that it isn't required. But that is primarily because they just don't require a deload nearly as often or as much as more experienced serious lifers do.
4:19 - Yea.
I think it's very evident that deloads are required for advanced strength sport athletes. For muscle mass, to me, not really necessary unless you're lifting very heavy and your CNS is almost fried. Surprised this video never mentioned about CNS.
I don't usually deload, but about three weeks ago I fell ill for a few days and decided to deload incidentally.
After I came back, I noticed that, while the weights I was handling were a bit lower than usual, I recovered faster and even hit a few PRs afterwards.
So... it might be the place o effect, but it has had some benefits as far as I know.
I'm so stupid that I have seen my progress regress for months on end, my lifts went down 50%, and my running speed went from 4:30 min/km to 8:30...
I overtrained so bad that I'm always sick. My joints hurt, emotionally numb...
I'm taking my one week off and waiting to see what happens...
you will naturally deload whenever you get sick, travel or any other "life happens" type of situation occurs.
i hate when this happens though, because i literally have no idea what to expect from my body in terms of performance - picking up same weight i used 2 weeks ago only to fail bench without spotter 🥴
My elbow hurts and bench press has been going down for 2 seasons. Deload week, extra cardio.
I deload when my body tells me too. Depends on the 12 week routine I am running if I deload at week 13, don't deload at all, or if I deload somewhere in the middle.
0:15🏋 Deloading involves reducing training volume or intensity after a period of intense training to aid recovery.
1:23🔬 A recent study examined the effectiveness of a 1-week deload in resistance-trained individuals.
2:53📈 The study found that deloading did not improve muscle growth, power, or endurance compared to continuous training but may worsen strength gains.
3:33⚠ However, the study's findings don't discredit deloading entirely, as other factors like training duration and intensity weren't considered.
5:05📉 While the study challenges the conventional wisdom on deloading, it suggests that gains are likely preserved even with occasional breaks from training.
5:39💡 An intuitive approach to deloading, rather than strictly planned deload weeks, may be more effective until further research is conducted.
never heard of deloading until i saw ur video
Were the programs volume-equated? Because both interventions lasted nominally for 9 weeks, but the so-called traditional group effectively trained 1 week more than the deload group. If that amounted to additional volume between groups, that might be the confounder that explains the discrepancy in strength.
I don't trust that study at all.
A 10lb 1rm difference by the end of those 9 weeks, because one group took a week off? Something is wrong with that.
I take a rest week every 4th week. By the 3rd week i can feel that i'm piling up fatigue and i can see that my lifts are going down and i even skip half my routine because i'm so fatigued. By the end of my deload i come back refreshed and stronger than before.
I will always recommend a deload week every few weeks, at least until we get more studies on it, and studies that actually make sense, because again, there's no way the two groups had a 10lb difference by the end of 9 weeks, unless both groups were complete newbies, in which case, this study is garbage because newbies don't need deload weeks like intermediate or advanced lifters do.
Agreed. Just did a full write up comment on why this study is poo and irrelevant 😂 Good intuition to doubt this study
Yeah true
After a week of deload I feel weaker and struggle with going back to my main weight after deloading at 50% of main weight, for about a week, after I’m coming stronger lol
Could never deload, felt weird to go gym for light session but I do try take a week off once or twice a year, seems to work for me
Well I think that deload+maintance calories makes a lot of sense in competetive environement where the fatigue peaks its unbelievable highs, for casuals not so sure
It also depends how the Traditional Group trained different then the other. Did the traditional group go to maximum muscle failure during exercises or not?
Maybe Group 2 trained more intense? What were the strength differences between the 2 Groups?
Did the 2 Groups ever train before consistently or just "noobies", if you're a noob you won't need a deload too soon because you are lifting light weight.
Big factor
The problem with these studies they don't take in consideration if the people in the study are beginners or advance trainers, cause that makes a difference cause someone who have years and decades of experience in training the deload will work just fine compared to a beginner who just started training a few months ago might not need a deload. Rest and recovery are always important for training and making progress.
Should have adjusted intensities between the deload and the straight 9 week group
Fuck that study. We don't even know if the subjects in that study trained hard enough. Deload is only necessary to people who train really hard.
I train 3x a week full body for 3-4hrs, 6sets of 2-5 reps for major lifts like squats, bp, dl, and ohp. Then 8 to 12 reps for other exercises. I do 3 to 4 exercises per muscle part.
I deload once every 2 months when I feel like I hit a plateau.
After 1 week of deload I always hit new pr. Usually I gain 20lbs increase on major lifts. Now I can bp 560lbs for 3 reps, dl 720lbs, squat 610lbs in a 5'7 160lbs body.
I think of deload as preparing for my NEXT workout series by allowing a little fat build up
I believe reloading after maybe 8 weeks is better. And not stopping completely. As an armwrestler, it is important to manage inflammation and pains. Having a week of high reps and letting the body heal seems like a good idea according to me.
Always thought deloads were more for injury prevention.
I deload to take a rest, not to get higher gains. After a while of working out and working I start getting fatigued, no amount of sleep is enough and I start not being able to think as fast, efficiently and overall can't think well.
Probably you’re reacting to a supplement
@@Odieodius No supplements here. I deload once every three months for a week and it helps a lot.
@@badass6300 all natty? No protein powders or weird shakes, power bars? I’m asking because it seems weird you would have a harder time with concentration
@@Odieodius I take a multivitamin pill, half a magnesium pill and a zinc pill every day.
And I have to say I have feeling, so it's not concrete or objectively true, but magnesium helps with thinking.
Now I do eat home cooked meals I make for myself, but outside of late spring to early autumn(may to september), vegetables are awful, because it's not their season after all, so it's hard to get the micro-nutrients without barfing. And thus I supplement my micro nutritions with supplements for half of the year.
I train 4 times a week so plenty recovery already
If you don't need deloads you're not training hard enough.
But this wasn't a deload per say... But a week off? Isn't a deload halve weight for the first half and then the next half volume? I feel the word deload needed a better definition??
Where are calories set for Deload?
I mean how big was the sample size? Were the participants new to lifting or did they have experience? And anyways I think deloads after 4 weeks is super early… and well like you said 1 study is not nearly enough.
Im currently on my deload for 5 month and i got no gains whatsoever, no wonder this research results are incorrect
Come on. For those who Taking a one-week break can lead to a significant decrease in motor muscle recruitment. It feels as though your coordination diminishes, and you almost forget how to maintain stability during certain exercises. This discomfort is especially noticeable when you engage in progressive overload, incrementally increasing the strain on your muscles week after week. You finish a week with nearly every set at 0 or 1, or even reaching the last rep of each exercise at negative RIR (Reps in Reserve), with a volume of 16, 20, or perhaps even more. Your muscles are insanly worked in every aspect, and then suddenly, you introduce a week-long "sleep" period for them.
In my experience, after such a break, it takes two weeks through progressive overload (PO) to return to the performance level of the previous third week, and it’s likely not as comfortable as before. It’s only in the third week of PO that I can regain that level of comfort and even exceed the previous third week’s PO performance. However, these setbacks are significantly reduced when I implement an active deload.
If they said they don't need a break after 9 weeks then they weren't training hard enough to build up fatigue
I deload two weeks every year and a week at Christmas.
deloads are essential when training for strength, my joints can't handle full throttle for months on end
Listen to your body.. it will tell you when to deload or rest..
The study didnt measure the fatigue levels of the participants and if they were training close enough to failure to accumulate enough fatigue to benefit from a deload. Imo it just showed the already proven effects of more volume = more gains under similar fatigue levels
4 weeks on a new program doesn't seem anywhere near long enough to accumulate enough fatigue to necessitate a deload week
My squat numbers suck too
A week in 9 is too much deload to load ratio. I'd be more interested in 1 deload week per 3 months.
Dr Mike would like to have a word with you
If I CAN get the same muscle growth with 1 week less of training, that is pretty good I think.
I mean, very few deloads every 4 weeks, and I sure wouldn't recomend deloading that often. Even the most supportive of deloaders say 6-8 weeks of hard progressive overload and then a deload. This study really doesn't tell us much.
I deaload about every 8 weeks and I don't notice any bad effect. On the contrary... To each his own I guess...
A week is too long - 4 days off after 6 weeks or so of hard training. Repair the joints and fully recover,
I guess I never paid attention until now, but the whole tongue movement thing with your animation is seriously creeping me out.
Common sense dictates deloads are more useful for experienced lifters, not 39 overgrown children.
no one deloads on a 4 week block. Maybe 3 month block.
I deload like once a year, when I'm on vacation lol
Incorporating deloads into your training regimen can be beneficial for maximizing gains in your games. Deloads involve reducing the intensity, volume, or frequency of your training for a period of time to allow your body to recover and adapt to previous training stressors. This can help prevent overtraining, reduce the risk of injury, and promote long-term progress.
During a deload period, you might decrease the weight lifted, reduce the number of sets or reps performed, or take extra rest days. This allows your muscles, joints, and nervous system to recover fully, which can lead to improved performance when you return to regular training.
It's important to listen to your body and incorporate deloads based on your individual needs and training intensity. Some athletes may benefit from deloading every few weeks, while others may require less frequent deloads depending on factors such as training volume, intensity, recovery capacity, and overall fitness level.
By strategically incorporating deloads into your training program, you can help ensure that you're consistently performing at your best and minimizing the risk of burnout or injury. 👌💪👍
Thanks! 🙏
De-loads are for vacations for me.
Deload just after 9 week 🤣🤣🤣 wtf , deload atleast after 1 year and then examine the results
I deloade every morning.
They surely didn't eat their protein during that deload. Study closed.
A
First time got here early
I’ve always taken the last 10 days leading up to a competition completely off and find it benefits me greatly.
👌💯🔝🔥💪🇧🇪
sorry but...deloading without a need to do so makes no sense 😂 Deloads should reduce fatigue, without it deloads have no effect xD This study does not really have much to say 😂
What doesn't kills you make you stronger
S.A.I.D PRINCIPLE
This is such a dumb study
first
They should make a study in the same terms but instead of making it for 9 weeks, they should make it for 21 weeks, with a deload week in the middle to see if doing a deload week every 10 weeks will lead to better gains than every 4 weeks.
Here’s an idea. Are you more tired than usual? gym performance down? Unable to progress on your lifts? Waking up in the morning exhausted? Feel excess soreness or pains? Experiencing brain fog? Excessive hunger and not in a caloric deficit? Have extra life stressors than normal?
If you answered yes to at least 3 of these, you may need to deload. More than 3 and you definitely need to back off.
If you start feeling overly fatigued and start losing strength in the gym and feel burnt out then take some time off. If not just keep going
If you've reached that point, you should have de-loaded a while ago imho..
Oh boy! ANOTHER garbage study telling us to not do the thing that's been done by the greats for 100 years!
Where do I start?
Garbage beginner sample (requirements were to train 3x per week on most weeks with atleast one session being legs. No mention of average strength)
Garbage routine for not enough time (3 sets of 8-12 1rm with 2 minutes rest for 4 weeks. Seriously who thought up this routine)
Garbage deload. Full training cessation for a week? REALLY? You mean to say not squatting for a week makes you not squat good? Duuuh
Garbage results. NO ONE in this study had a 3 plate 1rm squat btw. Both before the study OR after the study. Just showing what type of sample they had. And your gonna make them do a 1rm after 4 weeks of nothing but 8-12? WHAT?!
Look, in all other aspects of life I'm a science based man. I read lots of studies and work at a university. But my god exercise science churns out the most Garbage studies in order to stay relevant. They also usually have HUGE statistical errors or misinterpretation of data. Or straight up bad study design. The meat head vs nerd stereotype is REAL 😂. I really dont know if we'll ever get any good studies due to how many factors you need to account for and have control of.
My advice, if you want to get big and strong, follow old training styles. You can incorporate new methods and exercises but what I'm trying to say is: if I had to recommend a youtube channel to a newbie to get them as strong as possible, it'd be someone like Alex Bromley not Jeff Nippard
You said everything I was planning to say. It's disappointing this channel even bothered referring to this useless study at all.
The study seems as though it was designed specifically to "demonstrate"
that deloads are unnecessary, rather than starting with a neutral viewpoint and assessing real data from a legitimate study.
M first question is - what intensity is the training? How close to failure? If they both trained the same but both didn't train to near failure none of the results mean anything imo. Also as someone else said below, injury risk? Joint and tendon strain?
You wouldn't just "take a deload" on a whim, it should be programmed at a point in the meso where you've trained to the absolute balls to the wall limit the week prior. Not just when you feel fine at week 3.
I think deloads are fine for the proper purpose. NOT for recovery management, but for stress managament.
If you're having a tumultuous life, sleep poorly, going through a family tragedy, working over hours or going through an exam period, that's when you deload. Because all of those stressors can impact OVERALL recovery (not just in the gym) and gym performance. And you're better off managing the stressors that you can control (going to the gym) than the stressors that you can't (getting through your exam period).
Other than that, deloads may just work if you're feeling mentally worn down by working out. And taking a break may be a decent placebo to clear your head. But for the purpose of periodizing your training to manage fatigue, I do think they're highly overrated.
One exception I may make is for localized, systemic over-reaching Let's say, you've poorly programmed your quad training and you've overreached on quads beyond the point of normal recovery. I would suggest just deloading your quads, figure out your programming, and train the rest of your body as usual.
This is a general take though. The incredibly rare trainee who does overtrain may benefit from a deload. But these types are rare.
All that said, yes that study is bad.
Great info, thx❤
Bull... 9 weeks is way too lottle
Day 32 of asking for a video on peptides and bcp 157
One interpretation, rather than 'deloads are not beneficial', might be 'don’t deload if you don’t need to (yet)'. After a vacation, I can usually train 7-9 weeks before I need to take a deload since I’m well rested. But after a couple of blocks of training in a row (separated by deloads), I usually need to deload after 4-6 weeks. Hence, deloading too early might actually make you miss out on gains (as this study would then show). Related to this, a beginner will probably have no use of a deload for their first 6-12 months of training, for example.
Also, we should not forget the psychological benefits of taking a deload. Sometimes you simply need to get away from the gym a little bit.
A week of deload works for me
Good info
Deload is for kucks
Just listen to your body.. Speak with your muscles, hell, give them names. Care for them, love them, but be tough on them, they are lazy bitches after all.. A rigid program is not optimal. We're all different, with different programs, different pain tolerances, and live entirely different lives. Following a ridged program for de-loading is suboptimal in my opinion.
This study is bulsh… Simply because the protein that leads to muscle hypertrophy and gets unsensitive over long training periods only do so after *8 weeks* ! The study doesn’t even last that long ! Ofc if they take 1 week rest where they gain no muscle they’ll have less performing results. And anyways 1 week isn’t enough to resensitive your hypertrophy protein. To fully make it work you gotta wait 10 days total. (Don’t worry you usually start losing muscles after 15 days without any training) so definitely this study has no credibility cause it didn’t even respected a deloading sessions as it should be.
My hypothesis: 4 weeks isn't long enough between de-loads. I'd argue 9 - 12 weeks are where the majority of individuals would see more effects.
With 39 participants in an experiment one could find smoking is good for marathons.
Would also probably depend on the intensity. For the average casual gym person, probably not or very seldom. For those trying to compete in body building or power lifting where pushing their muscles to the breaking point, a deload is a must or risk injury.
Had to come to this video after i just had my one week deload which i normally do after 12 or 16 weeks. I come back feeling recovered and ready to lift again 💪. Ita highly recommended even if you dont 'feel like it' because your CNS needs it as well!
Dude, ur videos never conclude 😂😂😂
It's always a "might be"
Id love to see a video that instead of a correlation, is a direct cause and proven
Bro is doing 100 push up 100squats 100situps 50 pull ups for two days and 1 day of rest is good for building strength
If you get similar gains in muscle growth I'd say it's still a positive if that's your goal, you get some extra free time once in a while
Well, I'm feeling kind of worn out so I'm going to cut back for a few days.
The one study with a “deload” should be thrown out considering there wasn’t a deload involved. A deload includes still training, and it’s pretty evident even in the literature doing it correctly like with a taper/peak improves strength
You don't deload to "maximize gains"; you deload to "avoid burnout/injury." If you're pushing hard enough in the active period, you're going to need to back off periodically, unless you have elite genetics and/or are pharmacologically enhanced.
I don't see the necessity of taking planned deloads, even in your context. I myself had plenty of times where i'd go on vacation or would be too busy to workout at the gym, and so i just don't go during those times.
Deloads are very important for experienced lifters especially for connective tissue to fully recover
I would imagine deloading are more effectivd on heavy low reps not nessarily high reps
I think generally if you train 4 days a week, then you wouldn't need to deload after 4 weeks. I train 5 days a week and generally deload after 6(sometimes 5) weeks
That study was flawed in almost every possible way. I do not find it the least bit interesting that this study "showed" that a deload was unnecessary.
What would be useful is a study showing the benefits of doing a deload after many weeks of intense training by experienced lifters performing a large number of highly taxing exercises.
I was just thinking about it , thanks alot 🫡❤️