I don't really like deloading. So I have just been keeping my 5's week for deload. I just don't do any extra set (fsl) work. That and I cut assistance to just a little band work. However, this kind of caught up with me this week. For incline day I just stuck with the first percentage weight and never went up. My pecs felt pretty beat up. This Friday my pecs still felt beat up and I just suffered through my sets.
Come squat and deadlift day I thought I'd make a change. I kept the 5's week percentages the same, but I did not perform 5 reps for all three sets. Instead I did the 65% set for 5, the 75% set for 3, and the 85% set for 1. I really focused on form for all the sets. The weight was not so light as a normal deload where form is irrelevant and it was not heavy enough to beat me up. The experiment worked out well. I felt like I got some really good form work. This is great for me especially considering my form has had to evolve with my body and leverage changes.
I will definitely run this every fourth week now. If I feel really fresh I could always do some extra volume or additional assistance. I also think I need more recovery work. I have been doing a ton of rehab work for my hip and back which are feeling great, but that's not recovery. Contrast showers, extra sleep, and at least bi-weekly deep tissue massage.
Here's last week's training:
MONDAY - CONDITIONING
Treadmill 40 minutes
TUESDAY – INCLINE BENCH
Warm-up
Close grip incline 240 5x5
Pullups 3x5
Band pullaparts 3x20
WEDNESDAY - CONDITIONING
Treadmill 60 minutes
THURSDAY - CONDITIONING
Treadmill 60 minutes
FRIDAY – BENCH
Warm up
Bench 280/325/365x5
Band pushdowns 3x20
Band pullaparts 3x20
SATURDAY - CONDITIONING
Treadmill 70 minutes
Kettlebell tabata 4 minutes
SUNDAY – SQUAT/DEADLIFT
Trap bar deadlift 280x5, 325x3, 365x1
Safety squat bar squat 275x5, 315x3, 360x1
Band GM's 3x20
Band curls 3x20