Deload: a step back, or a deload week?
A deload is a planned cut in training stress, to let fatigue clear. How often, how much and for how long is far less settled than gym wisdom suggests. For one stalled lift, a single step back is a reasonable default.
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What a deload is
A panel of coaches and researchers defined it in 2023: a period of reduced training stress, meant to reduce fatigue, help recovery and prepare you for the training that follows1. Less weight, fewer sets, fewer sessions, or a mix. The same panel also said what rarely gets said: deloading is everywhere and barely researched, and how best to fit it into a programme is unknown.
The deload week
The best-known form is a lighter week every four to six weeks. That figure comes from practice, not from trials: it is what coaches report doing2, and a survey of 246 strength and physique athletes found deloads about every five to six weeks3. Neither tells you that it works better than anything else.
The one controlled trial is sobering. Trained lifters who stopped training for a week in the middle of a programme came out behind on lower-body strength, with no difference in muscle growth, power or endurance4. That deload was a full week off, not a lighter week, so it does not settle the question. It does show that a deload is no shortcut to gains.
One step back on one lift
There is a smaller kind of deload: not a week for everything, but a step back on the one lift that has stalled. That is real practice too: in the same survey, athletes reported deloading when their performance stalled, not only by the calendar3. You take the weight down far enough that your reps land in the range again, then climb with double progression.
How far? No study gives a number. Around 10 % is a common choice: clearly more than one small step, yet close enough that the way back up is short. Treat it as a reasonable default, not a finding.
When you do not need one
If your lifts are still climbing, there is no evidence that a scheduled deload adds anything. If one lift stalls, step that lift back and leave the rest alone. If everything stalls at once and you feel run down, a lighter week is a sensible thing to try; just do not expect it to make you stronger on its own.
Common questions
How often should you deload?
There is no evidence-based schedule. Coaches commonly plan one every four to six weeks, and athletes report about every five to six, but that is practice, not proof. Deloading when a lift stalls is just as common.
Is a deload week the same as a week off?
No. A deload week means lighter training; a week off means none. In the one trial of a full week off, lifters lost some of their lower-body strength gains and nothing else changed. A week off is fine when life demands it.
How much weight should I take off for a deload?
No study fixes a number. Around 10 % off the working weight is a common reset for a single lift; for a deload week, coaches cut the weight, the sets or both.
Sources
- Bell L, Strafford BW, Coleman M, Androulakis Korakakis P, et al. (2023). Integrating Deloading into Strength and Physique Sports Training Programmes: An International Delphi Consensus Approach. Sports Medicine – Open 9(1), 87. doi.org/10.1186/s40798-023-00633-0
- Bell L, Nolan D, Immonen V, Helms E, et al. (2022). "You can't shoot another bullet until you've reloaded the gun": Coaches' perceptions, practices and experiences of deloading in strength and physique sports. Frontiers in Sports and Active Living 4, 1073223. doi.org/10.3389/fspor.2022.1073223
- Rogerson D, Nolan D, Androulakis Korakakis P, Immonen V, et al. (2024). Deloading Practices in Strength and Physique Sports: A Cross-sectional Survey. Sports Medicine – Open 10(1), 26. doi.org/10.1186/s40798-024-00691-y
- Coleman M, Burke R, Augustin F, Piñero A, et al. (2024). Gaining more from doing less? The effects of a one-week deload period during supervised resistance training on muscular adaptations. PeerJ 12, e16777. doi.org/10.7717/peerj.16777
The guide
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How StackUp applies this
StackUp suggests a deload for each weighted exercise on its own: after three sessions in a row under your range, it sets that lift back to about 90 % of the last weight, rounded to your step. The 90 % is StackUp's own rule, not a number from a study.