Deloads: when and how to back off training

A deload is a short, planned easier spell to shed fatigue. Coaches use them widely, but the research is thin, so here is what is known and what is opinion.

A deload is a short period of easier training. You keep going to the gym, but you do less, or lift lighter, or both. The idea is to let fatigue fade so you come back ready to push again. Deloads are very common in strength and physique sports. The honest truth, though, is that there is little direct research on them, and most advice comes from coaching experience ^[1].

What a deload is

An international panel of strength and physique coaches agreed on this definition: a period of reduced training stress designed to reduce physical and mental fatigue, promote recovery and improve readiness for the training that follows ^[1].

That is different from a holiday or a full break. Most deloads keep the same exercises and roughly the same weekly routine, with less work in each session ^[2].

What the evidence says (and does not)

The research base is small, and you should know that before following any rule.

• Expert consensus. The same coach panel agreed unanimously that there are limited scientific studies on deloading, and that current approaches are mainly based on coaches' experience ^[1].
• What lifters do. A 2024 survey of 246 competitive strength and physique athletes found they deloaded on average every 5 to 6 weeks, for about 6 to 7 days ^[2]. Most did it mainly to reduce fatigue ^[2].
• The first controlled trial. In a 2024 study of 39 trained young adults over 9 weeks, one group took a full week off training halfway through, while the other kept training. Muscle growth was similar. The group that kept training gained slightly more lower-body strength ^[3].

Two things are worth noting about that trial. The "deload" was complete rest, not lighter training, and it ran for only 9 weeks ^[3]. So it tells us a week off does not cost muscle in the short term, but it does not show that deloads improve results. Whether lighter weeks help over longer training periods is still unknown.

How a deload usually looks

The coach panel described deloads as usually taken every 4 to 6 weeks for about 7 days, though some last from a single session up to 2 weeks ^[1]. They agreed that volume can be cut by doing fewer sets, fewer reps per set, or fewer sessions ^[1]. Intensity can go up or down, and can stay the same only if volume is reduced ^[1].

In the athlete survey, the most common changes were ^[2]:

• Fewer weekly sets (about 79% did this).
• Lighter loads on multi-joint lifts (about 84%).
• Stopping sets further from failure (about 85%).
• Keeping the same multi-joint exercises (about 70%) and the same number of weekly sessions (about 63%).

A simple version based on these patterns:

1. Keep your normal exercises and training days.
2. Cut the number of sets.
3. Use lighter weights and finish every set with several reps clearly left in the tank. See sets, reps and effort for how reps in reserve works ^[4].
4. Go back to normal training the following week.

Planned or reactive?

There are two main ways to schedule a deload, and coaches agreed both are valid, alone or combined ^[1].

In the survey, about 47% of athletes used planned deloads, 39% a mix, and 13% purely reactive ones ^[2]. Beginners making steady progress often do not need frequent deloads. A mix tends to suit most people: plan one into your programme, and bring it forward if you are clearly run down.

Signs you might need one

The coach panel agreed that a deload can be taken whenever someone feels physically and mentally fatigued, whatever week of the block it is ^[1]. Practical warning signs include:

• Performance dropping across several sessions, not just one bad day.
• Weights that normally feel easy feeling heavy.
• Lingering soreness or achy joints.
• Low motivation, poor mood or poor sleep.

Short dips in performance that recover after a few days to weeks of lighter training are a normal part of hard training ^[5]. If performance keeps falling for weeks to months, with ongoing fatigue and low mood, that suggests something more serious ^[5]. An expert consensus on overtraining stresses ruling out medical causes, such as anaemia, iron deficiency, infections and thyroid problems ^[5]. In that case, see a doctor rather than just taking another easy week, and read about overtraining. Pain from an injury that does not improve also needs proper assessment: see lifting injuries.

Tracking it in ETS

ETS programmes can include deload weeks, so a planned deload is already in your schedule. Your log of sets, reps and kg, along with personal bests and estimated 1RM, shows whether performance is genuinely sliding. Sleep, resting heart rate and HRV from your watch feed a daily readiness score, which can be one extra clue when deciding whether to bring a deload forward. See resting heart rate and HRV for how to read those numbers.

Sources

1. Bell L, Strafford B, Coleman M, Korakakis PA, Nolan D. Integrating deloading into strength and physique sports training programmes: an international Delphi consensus approach. Sports Medicine - Open, 2023. Full text (PDF)
2. Rogerson D, Nolan D, Korakakis PA, Immonen V, Wolf M, Bell L. Deloading practices in strength and physique sports: a cross-sectional survey. Sports Medicine - Open, 2024. Full text (PDF)
3. 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. PeerJ
4. Helms ER, Cronin J, Storey A, Zourdos MC. Application of the repetitions in reserve-based rating of perceived exertion scale for resistance training. Strength and Conditioning Journal, 2016. AUT repository
5. Meeusen R, Duclos M, Foster C, et al. Prevention, diagnosis, and treatment of the overtraining syndrome: joint consensus statement of the ECSS and ACSM. Medicine & Science in Sports & Exercise, 2013. Full text (PDF)

More on training

Last reviewed 7 October 2026. General information, not medical advice. Found a mistake? Email [email protected].