Deloading is an extremely important part of a strength training program. A deload is not only a way to recover from the previous week(s) work but also can be used to push through plateaus. In the strength training community, the deload is often done incorrectly , here is how to do this correctly.
How to DELOAD
Deloading is performed ONLY on strength training sessions. Things like handbalancing and locomotion will NOT be deloaded but if there is fatigue you can cut down or completely eliminate a session. DO NOT MAKE THIS A HABIT.
Every 3rd session of its kind you will perform the DELOAD. Meaning if your schedule is something like this;
| Sunday | Bent Arm Strength |
| Monday | Lower Body Strength |
| Tuesday | Straight Arm Strength |
| Wednesday | Handbalancing |
| Thursday | Bent Arm Strength |
| Friday | Lower Body Strength |
| Saturday | Straight arm Strength |
You can see that you have two strength training sessions for each group (bent arm, straight arm and lower body). So the next session in your next week(3rd session) you will perform the deload for these strength sessions.
To perform the deload you will only perform 40% of the volume of your session. Although you do cut the volume this is your chance to play with the complexity or intensity as you only have to do only a few sets of the movements. Here is what this looks like in action;
| Normal Schedule | Deload Schedule |
| A1. Chinups x3-5reps A2. HSPUs x3-5reps Repeat for 7sets B1. Ring Rows x8-10reps B2. Ring Dips x6-8reps Repeat for 5sets C1. Unliateral Cuban rotations x6-8reps Repeat for 3sets | A1. Chinups x3-5reps A2. HSPUs x3-5reps Repeat for 3sets B1. Ring Rows x8-10reps B2. Ring Dips x6-8reps Repeat for 2sets C1. Unliateral Cuban rotations x6-8reps Repeat for 1set |
As you can see the movements and reps can stay the same while the total sets are cut down by 40%. This allows for good recovery, ability to try a higher complexity or weight and more time to play after the session.
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