WHAT IS A DELOAD? DO I NEED TO DELOAD AFTER A CHALLENGE?
You may hear the term ‘deload’ being thrown around in the training, dieting and physique world, it can mean different things depending on the context and purpose. For us a deload is a planned period of decreased training intensity, and volume, for less hours, and not as hard for a short period of time.
For this challenge break, if you are joining us for my next challenge, I recommend having a two week minimum deload period, but a deload can last longer than this if needed.
BENEFITS OF COMPLETING A DELOAD PERIOD:
1. PHYSICAL RECOVERY: After a period of intense training, (and restricted calories for many of you) deloading will mean your body’s energy output decreases a little. The purpose of the extra fuel you are consuming will go towards repair and recovery. Bringing your body back to a state of full health, and vitality, which can sometimes be diminished during intense training or dieting periods.
2. MENTAL RECOVERY: For many, the program will have been quite a challenge! We know that pushing ourselves in the direction of our goals is just as much of a mental game as a physical one. The physical stress of following an intense training and nutrition plan will have a strong impact on your mental and physical state. In order to keep progressing, you may need a break from the pressure your training and diet can place your body and mind under. This deload will give you the opportunity to review your progress from the last 6 weeks, look at what you did well, what you plan to work on in the future, and assess your journey so far.
3. INJURY PREVENTION: Pushing our bodies over a long period of time can take its toll. This is a challenge of training that doesn’t get enough exposure. I take pre-emptive measures to ensure injuries don’t cripple my progress. I am always conscious of the presence of little niggles or pains, my fatigue levels, and overall energy. One of the key benefits of a deload phase is to prevent overuse injuries. We know an important strategy for injury prevention is to optimise recovery, so it may help to think of a deload as an extended recovery period.
4. BEATING A PLATEAU: By changing your training volume, and intensity you will be decreasing the physical stress on your body. This can do wonders for your body, particularly if you might have hit a plateau. If your body is not changing and you feel your progress has hit a standstill, a deload may be for you. It may not seem to make sense, but sometimes a deload can be just the thing to hit reboot on your body! If you plan your deload carefully, you may even be able to skip the plateau all together.
Our muscles and energy systems adapt to a training routine quickly, meaning, we need to progressively train harder to have the same impact.
Deloading can combat this! Taking this tactical break may even result in improved results when you do get back to your full training load.
Ok so that the training sorted, but what about our nutrition?
How to Deload?
DECREASE YOUR TRAINING FREQUENCY: If you were training 6 days a week during the program, during your deload drop 1-2 days of training per week for a period of 1-2 weeks. Start being intuitive with your body, and recognise when your full functioning levels return.
DECREASE YOUR TRAINING INTENSITY: Training intensity can very simply be measured in your perceived exertion throughout the session. For example, many of the workouts in the final weeks of the program will have had you giving close to 100%, so for the next 1-2 weeks aim to do sessions that don’t exceed 60-75% of your maximum effort.
FOCUS ON TECHNIQUE: Continue on with your challenge workouts, and even repeat some of your favourite exercises or sessions, but decrease the weight you are lifting so you can really dial in your technique. During your sessions take things a little slower, decrease your sets and reps, and concentrate on that mind muscle connection to assess your form. Better yet, see if you can enlist a friend, or trainer to give you some feedback on how you can improve. Another option is to film yourself, and assess your form after each set
DIET BREAKS
Throughout the program, you would have been following a nutrition plan that suited your goals. For many of you this would have encompassed a calorie deficit. Prolonged energy restriction can be both physically, and psychologically exhausting. In a calorie deficit we can experience depleted energy levels, irritability and decreased immune function. Sitting in this “deficit zone” our bodies make adaptations in order to combat this. Some of the ways our bodies react to reduced calories include:
increase food seeking behaviours
overall reduction in movement
increased hunger and hunger signals
changes in mood and sleep
changes to metabolism and metabolic rate
The longer you remain in a calorie deficit, or the more drastic the deficit is, the more dramatic the above adaptations will become. This response to dieting is well-documented, and completely normal. This is the body’s way of protecting itself, and keeping you operating at optimum performance, despite the decline of fuel availability.
Ill BE reaching out to all challengers this week to recap on the after challenge approach for the above.
Cheers, Channy!