Deload Week: What It Is, How to Do One and How Often

Deload week at a glance

A deload week changes one thing on purpose and leaves the rest alone. The default is to keep every lift, set and rep and cut the weight. The table shows what moves and what stays.

What is a deload week?

A deload week is a planned week of lighter training that ends a block of hard weeks. You still go to the gym and still do your main lifts. The weight, the sets or both are cut so your body can catch up.

Hard training builds fitness and fatigue at the same time. Fatigue hides fitness, so after five hard weeks your lifts feel heavier than they should. A light week lets the fatigue drop while the fitness stays, and the next week the bar moves faster.

A deload week is not a week off. A full week of rest loses technique and rhythm, and coming back cold makes the first week back feel worse. Lighter lifting keeps the pattern sharp and the joints moving.

Deload week example: a 4-day week at 60%

Take the top weight you used last week on each lift and multiply it by 0.6. A 315 lb (143 kg) squat becomes 190 lb (85 kg). A 225 lb (102 kg) bench becomes 135 lb (61 kg), and a 135 lb (61 kg) press becomes 80 lb (36 kg).

Every set should feel easy and fast. Rest as long as you like, walk on the off days, and go home early. If a set feels hard at 60%, the fatigue is real and the week is doing its job.

How to do a deload week

There are three ways to do a deload week. All three keep the main lifts. They differ in what gets cut.

• Cut the weight to 60% and keep every set. The default, and the one in the example above.
• Keep the weight and cut the sets in half. Suits lifters who lose the feel of heavy weight fast.
• Cut both a little: about 80% of the weight and two thirds of the sets.

1. Step 1: Pick the week

   Put the deload on the calendar at the end of a block, 4 to 6 weeks after the last one. A planned week beats a forced one. If you run 5/3/1, week 4 of every cycle is already the deload.

2. Step 2: Cut the weight to 60%

   Multiply last week's top weight on each main lift by 0.6 and round down to the nearest plate. Lifting heavy "just to see" is the fastest way to waste the week.

3. Step 3: Keep the lifts, sets and reps

   Do the same squat, bench, deadlift and press, in the same order, for the same 3×5 or 5×5. Skip any last-set push for max reps. The pattern stays and the strain goes.

4. Step 4: Trim the accessories

   Keep one accessory per day at two easy sets, or drop them for the week. Accessories add the most soreness for the least strength, so they are the first thing to go.

5. Step 5: Sleep and eat as normal

   Do not cut calories because the week is easy. The point is to recover, and recovery needs food and eight hours of sleep. Easy walks, mobility work and stretching are all fine.

6. Step 6: Return to full weight next week

   Go back to your program at the planned weights, often a small step up. The first session back should feel light and fast. If it still feels heavy, look at sleep, food and total training load before you blame the program.

How often should you do a deload week?

Every 4 to 6 weeks is the default for most lifters. Heavier programs, older lifters and anyone training to failure lean toward every 4 weeks. Beginners on light weights can often run 8 weeks or more before the first one.

The schedule is the plan, and the signs below are the override. If two or three show up at once, take the deload now instead of waiting for the calendar.

• Your working sets feel a rep or two harder at the same weight.
• A lift has stalled or gone down for two weeks in a row.
• Joints ache in a way that does not clear between sessions.
• You sleep badly, wake tired, or dread the next session.
• Your resting heart rate is up and your appetite is down.

The chart shows a block of five hard weeks and one deload week. Sets climb every week, then drop by about half. The next block starts where the last one began, at a slightly heavier weight.

Deload week on 5/3/1

5/3/1 builds the deload into every cycle. Week 4 is 5 reps at 40, 50 and 60% of your Training Max on each main lift, with no last-set push. The 5/3/1 percentages article lists exactly what to do and skip that week.

Common deload week mistakes

• Skipping the deload because you feel fine. Fatigue builds quietly, and by the time you feel it you are two weeks late.
• Going heavy on Thursday because Monday felt easy. Easy is the point. Stay at 60% all week.
• Taking a full week off instead. Light lifting keeps technique and joints moving; a week on the couch does not.
• Deloading every 2 weeks. That is half your training time at low load, and progress stalls.
• Cutting food along with the weight. Recovery needs calories; eat as you do on a hard week.