When to deload has been a question since man started lifting rocks. Ok, so that's a bit hyperbolic. I'm actually pretty sure when I started lifting nearly four decades ago, deloading wasn't even a thing.
However, not everything from the good ol' days is better. Just powering through when you feel like sh!t is not the answer. Do you know what's better than recovering when you feel like sh!t? Never feeling like sh!t in the first place.
I am a big believer in active recovery. I eat right, sleep well, stretch, work on soft tissue, use contrast showers, etc. However, I can still feel pretty run down. There's a pretty good reason for it. I train really, REALLY hard!
When I was competing on a high level I deloaded every fourth week without fail. I was able to accomplish a lot of lofty goals during that time. Nowadays without competing my deloading has been less consistent.
Fortunately, I have been helping out with programming for one of my best homies Rob. We were training partners back in the day. After taking nearly 20 years off from the platform he's making his triumphant return and killing it.
Rob trains very hard so I impressed upon him the importance of deloading every fourth week. I told him it's better to never feel like you need one because when you feel like you need one, you're kind of too late. He's been loving them and coming back even stronger the week after.
I swear I learn more from teaching other people than any studying I do for myself. To my detriment, I have pushed off deloading a lot in recent years. I just figured I'd be able to squeeze more training in when ultimately it just sets me behind.
Chances are if you come here to Elitefts and especially if you read my log, you must train your ass off. If that's the case make deloading a regular part of your programming. It doesn't have to be every fourth week, you can stretch it out to the sixth depending on your age and time under the bar. But remember, if you feel totally beat by stretching it out to six weeks go to four. The goal is to never feel that torn up.
