Deload, Pivot, Transition week, there are a lot of names these days for rest and yes each one is done differently but at the end of the day the idea is the same. Reduction in volume and a reduction in intensity. How do you know what the right amount is and should you do anything differently on these weeks are questions I get all the time. I'll do my best to give you some concepts to think about when planning out your own.
Should I do anything differently during a rest week? The answer to this is 9 times out of 10 no, the idea of the rest week is to allow your body to recover and reduce fatigue accumulation so I highly recommend keeping your diet the exact same as if it was a normal training week. Your body needs those calories to help restore some energy and it's nice mentally to know food stays high. Most of the time my clients maintain or drop weight doing this because of all the cortisol drop that occurs during this week. Sleep should stay the same, you can't make up for poor sleep in a week and you don't want to throw off your current sleep schedule, now this may be a good week to dial in a sleep schedule if you don't have one. Your body craves routine and does better when you have one. You can add in some extra recovery modalities but I think the reduction in training will do the trick and save those for when training picks back up again and you really need a little extra help to finish off the macrocycle.
The next thing you want to look at is how you do it and there are some many variables that go into this that it just depends on the situation. I will say this though, if you are in a volume phase it may be better to drop volume during this week and keep intensity kind of high since volume is probably the biggest driver to fatigue. If it is a strength phase it may be a good idea to cut volume in half and intensity by 25%. Lastly if it is peaking cut volume a lot maybe 2/3's if you feel the need and keep intensity fairly high. These are just general guidelines but always do what feels best for you and in that specific situation.
9-22-19
Pause BP- 315lbs x3, 345lbs x3
Football Bar BP- 275lbs for 2 sets of 5 reps
Chest Supported Rows- 90lbs for 2 sets of 8 reps
High Face Pulls- 3x15
s/s
Cable Pushdowns- 3x15
9-24-19
Squats- 465lbs for 2 sets of 2 reps
Pause Squats- 325lbs for 2 sets of 3 reps
GHR- 2x8
s/s
GHR Sit Ups- 2x12
Mag Grip Lat Pulls- 2x10
9-26-19
Pause BP- 275lbs for 2 sets of 3 reps
CG Spoto BP- 225lbs for 2 sets of 3 reps
Cable Flys- 2x15
s/s
Scarecrows- 2x12
DB Side Raises- 2x15
s/s
Blast Strap Tri Ext- 2x12
9-27-19
Deadlifts- 405lbs for 2 sets of 3 reps
GHR- 2x10
s/s
Band Abs- 2x20
Lat Pulls- 3x10
