Training Breaks and Deloads

A common question in the fitness and training circles is one of training breaks and/or deload weeks. When should I take a break? How often should I take one? I recently packed my possessions and relocated to Sofia, Bulgaria. During what was a major change in my life, I averaged two training sessions per week, over a two-week period. I noticed no real degradation in my physique or in my performance. This prompted me to examine how one might think about training breaks and deload weeks.

The Rationale for Training Breaks

When I refer to ‘training breaks’, this could be interpreted as a full 1-2 weeks off training, or as a ‘deload’, where one reduces their training volume/ intensity to 50-70% of the usual, for a set period of time. I will use the term break to refer to the former and deload to refer to the latter.

The rationale for either is to allow the body an additional period of time for recovery and to circumvent the law of diminishing returns. The same could also be said for diet breaks.

The rationale for a deload, is the same, but these would more typically be seen in the performance lifting spheres such as powerlifting and sometimes bodybuilding.

Both are useful, but in my experience, both will naturally happen due to life, and unless you live an extremely sheltered, disciplined life, neither needs to be explicitly planned.

My Experience

I work a full-time job, in addition to two side hustles. Getting in 4-5 training sessions per week is absolutely doable, so long as my routine is somewhat stable. I am a firm believer that no matter one’s work/business schedule, that one can and should make time for regular training.

However, there are some weeks where 4-5 training sessions per week are not the wisest use of my time. For example, with my day job, I work with an international organization where I am on the road for conferences maybe 4-6 times per year. In those weeks, my spare time could be spent in the gym, or it could be spent in the bar building relationships with people who can open huge doors for me when it comes to my career, and even my side hustles.

In that respect, training takes a back seat. During those weeks, I aim for two training sessions. Three if I am extremely efficient with my time and careful with my alcohol consumption. (I rarely make it to three per week!)

Now here is the real kicker. I am unknowingly getting in a deload, and perhaps a small training break if there are 3-4 days in between sessions. This does my body the world of good, same for my career, and same for the stress levels. When I get back to full-time training, I have even more motivation, and see better results in the weeks that follow. Having my wine, and drinking it too.

Ultimately, this approach comes down to one of the wisest sayings we have all heard at some point. Religious or not, I am sure you have heard the serenity prayer at some point:

[God] Grant me the serenity to accept the things I cannot change,
courage to change the things I can,
and wisdom to know the difference

An Alternative Approach

My approach won’t cut it in some circumstances. Some have different personality types, where they derive the most value in life from adhering to strict routines, and maybe have a very predictable work schedule. In this case, training breaks / deloads should be planned. It is tempting to keep training, even when it is counterproductive, but it is not wise to do so. \

For a beginner trainee, you might want to work in a deload / break every 12 weeks. You are more adaptive to training, so the law of diminishing returns will not be an issue until at least the 12-week mark. If you are an advanced trainee, how competes in say powerlifting, you might actually follow an approach of 3 weeks of intense training, followed by a 1-week deload. There are some folks where this is absolutely necessary, given the level of intensity that they train at. However, this is probably relegated to about 1% of the population, and certainly not me.

If you are planning a diet/training break, probably one of the most efficient ways to do it is to line it up with a vacation or upcoming trip to a new city. You absolutely can maximize your life gains, and your lifting gains if you are smart about it.

A Final Thought

As with most things I write about, what’s good for the goose, is not necessarily good for the gander. If a deload/break approach seems forced and doesn’t align with the rest of your life, chances are, you’re not going to stick to it. Consistency will always trump perfection when it comes to anything related to fitness and nutrition.