Deload week: when and how to deload
Reviewed by Aaron Parry, strength and conditioning coach for RAF Rugby and Peterborough Rugby
Updated 26 October 2026
A deload is a planned lighter period, usually a week, where you cut training stress so fatigue clears and you come back ready to push. Most experienced lifters keep training but cut their sets by about half, take some weight off and stop further from failure. Surveyed strength and physique athletes deload about every 5 to 6 weeks, but research suggests deloading when you need it beats a fixed calendar.
What a deload is
An international panel of strength and physique coaches agreed this definition: "Deloading is a period of reduced training stress designed to mitigate physiological and psychological fatigue, promote recovery, and enhance preparedness for subsequent training" (Bell et al., 2023). It is not a week off. You still train, just less.
How experienced lifters deload
A 2024 survey of 246 competitive strength and physique athletes, with an average of 8 years of training, found that every one of them used deloads (Rogerson et al., 2024). Their typical approach:
| Question | What the athletes reported |
|---|---|
| How often | Every 5.6 weeks on average (give or take 2.3 weeks) |
| How long | About 6 days (6.4 on average) |
| Volume | Fewer sets and fewer reps per set |
| Weight | Lighter |
| Effort | Further from failure (more reps in reserve) |
| Frequency and exercises | Usually unchanged: same days, same lifts |
| Why | Mainly to manage energy and fatigue |
| Trigger | Pre-planned, or when performance stalled, soreness built up or joints ached |
This is what coaches and athletes do, not a controlled trial of what works best. It is still a useful starting point.
What the research says about time off
Direct trials are few, and they tested stopping completely rather than training lighter:
- In a 9-week study of trained lifters, a group that took a full week off training in the middle grew the same amount of muscle as a group that trained straight through, but gained less strength (Coleman et al., 2024).
- In a 24-week study of untrained men on the bench press, a group that trained in 6-week blocks with 3 weeks off in between ended with similar muscle and strength gains to a group that trained throughout (Ogasawara et al., 2013).
Two practical takeaways. First, a break does not cost you muscle, so there is no reason to fear a lighter week. Second, stopping completely may cost a little strength in the short term, which supports reducing training rather than stopping, and not taking breaks you do not need.
How often should you deload?
There is no evidence for a single best schedule. Sensible options:
- Beginners: rarely need planned deloads. Missed sessions and holidays do the job. Deload when progress stalls for two or three sessions in a row.
- Intermediate and advanced lifters: every 4 to 8 weeks of hard training, or when the signs below appear. Many programmes build it in; 5/3/1 uses every fourth week.
- Before a test or competition: a 1 to 2 week taper, where volume drops a lot but the weights stay heavy.
Signs you need a deload
- Weights you normally handle feel unusually heavy for two or more sessions.
- You miss reps you hit easily a week or two ago.
- Joints ache rather than muscles.
- You dread training, or sleep worse than usual.
- Work, a new baby or illness has cut your recovery for a while.
Pain that is sharp, gets worse during a set or lasts more than a few days is different: get it looked at by a physiotherapist or doctor rather than training through it.
How to run a deload week
| Lever | Normal week | Deload week |
|---|---|---|
| Sets | 4 x 6 on squat | 2 x 6 (about half) |
| Weight | 120 kg | About 105 to 110 kg (roughly 10% lighter) |
| Effort | RPE 8 to 9 | RPE 6 to 7: stop with 3 or 4 reps left |
| Days | 4 | 4 (keep the routine) |
| Accessories | 4 or 5 exercises | Drop some, or do 1 easy set each |
Cutting sets matters more than cutting weight, because volume is what drives most of the fatigue. Keep the same lifts so your technique stays sharp. If your joints are the problem, swap the movement that hurts for a kinder version for the week, for example a safety bar squat or a dumbbell press.
Afterwards, start back at the weights you were using before, not heavier. Most lifters find the first session back feels noticeably better.
Common deload mistakes
- Turning it into a test week. Lighter weights feel easy, so people chase PRs. Save that for after.
- Deloading every 3 weeks by habit. If you are still progressing and feel fine, keep going.
- Doing nothing at all. A full week off is fine now and then, but a lighter week keeps the habit and the skill.
- Only cutting weight. 4 x 8 at 90% of your usual weight is still a hard week.
How Lift Proven handles lighter weeks
In Lift Proven, lighter weeks are earned, not put on a calendar. The coach watches your sessions: when you fall short on enough of your lifts, it starts a lighter week, at least 3 weeks after the last one. If you go 8 weeks without one, it adds one anyway, unless you are in a heavier phase building to a peak. You can also ask for one and say why: if you are tired it drops the accessories, and if your joints ache it swaps in joint-friendlier exercises. During a lighter week you do about half the sets at about 10% less weight, then the next block starts.
Lighter weeks when you need them, not on a calendar
Lift Proven spots when your sessions start falling short and plans a lighter week for you, or you can ask for one. Then it builds you back up.
Questions
- What is a deload week?
- A planned week of lighter training, usually about half the sets, a little less weight and further from failure, so fatigue clears and you are ready to push again. You keep training rather than stopping.
- How often should you deload?
- There is no single best schedule. Surveyed strength athletes deload about every 5 to 6 weeks. Many coaches now deload when performance stalls rather than on a fixed calendar. Beginners rarely need planned deloads.
- Will I lose muscle on a deload week?
- No. Even a full week off in the middle of a 9-week programme did not reduce muscle growth in trained lifters. A lighter week of training is even safer.
- Should I take a week off or deload?
- A lighter week is usually better. In one study a full week off cost a little strength compared with training straight through. Taking a week off now and then, for a holiday or illness, is fine.
- How much should I reduce weight on a deload?
- About 10% is common, but cutting sets by about half matters more. Stop each set with 3 or 4 reps left.
- Do beginners need deload weeks?
- Rarely. Beginners recover quickly and progress almost every session. Take a lighter week when you stall for two or three sessions running, or when life gets in the way.
References
- Bell L et al. Integrating deloading into strength and physique sports training programmes: an international Delphi consensus approach. Sports Medicine - Open, 2023. doi:10.1186/s40798-023-00633-0
- Rogerson D et al. Deloading practices in strength and physique sports: a cross-sectional survey. Sports Medicine - Open, 2024. doi:10.1186/s40798-024-00691-y
- Coleman M et al. Gaining more from doing less? The effects of a one-week deload period during supervised resistance training on muscular adaptations. PeerJ, 2024. doi:10.7717/peerj.16777
- Ogasawara R et al. Comparison of muscle hypertrophy following 6-month of continuous and periodic strength training. European Journal of Applied Physiology, 2013. doi:10.1007/s00421-012-2511-9