• Skip to primary navigation
  • Skip to main content
  • Skip to primary sidebar
Generation Iron

Generation Iron Fitness & Strength Sports Network

  • Movies
  • Original Content
  • Reviews
    • Supplements
      • Pre-Workout
      • Fat Burners
      • Testosterone Boosters
      • Creatine
      • Protein
      • BCAAs
      • Multivitamins
      • Omega-3
      • Joint Supplements
      • Super Greens
      • Meal Replacement
    • Recovery
      • Best Cold Plunges
      • Best Saunas
      • Best Foam Rollers
      • Best Massage Guns
    • Programs
      • Best Online Workout Programs
      • Best Workout Streaming Services
      • Best Home Workout Programs
  • Equipment
    • Cardio
      • Treadmills
      • Best Exercise Bikes
      • Best Stair Climbers
    • Fitness Accessories
      • Best Apparel
      • Best Gym Bags
      • Weightlifting Shoes
    • Strength
      • Best Dumbbells
      • Best Barbells
      • Best Kettlebells
      • Best Squat Racks
      • Best Weightlifting Belts
      • Best Home Gym Equipment
      • Complete Home Gyms
    • Training
      • Best Knee Sleeves
      • Best Wrist Wraps
      • Best Weightlifting Wraps
      • Best Weightlifting Gloves
  • More
    • About Us
      • Our Team
      • Our Experts
    • Advertise
    • Franchise With Us
    • Exercise Guides
    • Athlete Profiles
    • Podcasts
    • Power 30
    • Bodybuilding Awards
    • Supplement Awards
  • Shop
Bodybuilding

When Should You Take a Deload Week?

by Terry Ramos Published on Aug 12, 2024

deload week benefits
This post may contain affiliate links (disclosure policy).

Take a break from lifting once in awhile.

While training is fun and chances are you want to lift more and more, taking a deload week can be beneficial for your workout progress. A deload week doesn’t necessarily mean you have to take off from the gym, but can be when you back off the intensity and volume you do when you work out. Deload weeks won’t take away from your gains, but instead will help you build muscle and is a form of active recovery.

The question is: How often should you take a deload week?

The Generation Iron team has broken down everything you need to know about a deload week, including what they are, when to take them, and insight from a professional bodybuilder.

Benefits of a Deload Week 

when to implement a deload week

It might be time to consider incorporating a deload week into your routine when:

  • You feel overly tired and sore
  • You are not getting any stronger
  • You are not seeing any changes in your physique

Not only does a deload week give your body a chance for active recovery, but it can also improve your overall workout performance (1). During this time frame, you reduce the intensity and volume of your workouts, allowing your body to rest and recuperate for one full workout week. The exercises will still be the same; the weight and volume you do are different (more on that later).

This break not only helps prevent injury but can also lead to increased strength and muscle growth. Remember, rest is as important as exercise to achieve your fitness goals.

Without proper rest, you’ll be at an increased risk of experiencing symptoms of overtraining, such as fatigue and muscle aches, leading to burnout and muscle growth stall-out. Overtraining stems from doing too much volume than your body can handle, whether too many days in the gym, too many exercises, or too many sets. It can also stem from too many weeks of working out at a high intensity – that’s where adding a deload week to your routine can help (2).

Contrary to the belief that doing this may improve your physique, as a natural lifter, often less is more. Some benefits you’ll experience from incorporating deload weeks include:

  • Gain strength and muscle
  • Faster recovery
  • Improve joint health
  • Reduce stress 

How and When Do You Implement Deload Weeks? 

Listening to your body is critical in determining the time to take a deload week. For example, if you’ve plateaued in the gym, are suffering from delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS), or are chronically tired, it may be time to back off your workload and intensity. 

Furthermore, the higher your intensity and volume are, the more often you’ll want to take a deload week. For example, if you lift weights five to six days a week, you’ll want to include more deload weeks than only strength training two to three days a week. In addition, if you’re performing six to eight exercises and doing four to five sets, you’ll also want to take a deload week more often than doing four to five exercises for two to three sets. Because lifting weights less and doing fewer exercises and sets will allocate more time to recovery.

Although, a good general rule of thumb is to add them to your routine at least once every 12 weeks.

To practice deload weeks, you’ll want to back off the volume you do, combined with doing workouts at a lower intensity. Unfortunately, there’s no carved-in-stone way to do this. However, we recommend axing each set by 1-2 per exercise and using a weight of 40-60% of what you would typically lift. 

Here’s an example of how that may look for a chest and triceps workout:

Normal Chest and Triceps Workout

  • Barbell Bench Press 3 sets x 8 reps
  • Dumbbell Incline Bench Press 3 sets x 10 reps
  • Cable Flyes 2 sets x 12 reps
  • Cable Triceps Extension 3 sets x 12 reps
  • Dumbbell Triceps Extension 2 sets x 12 reps

Deload Week Chest and Triceps Workout

  • Barbell Bench Press 2 sets x 8 reps
  • Dumbbell Incline Bench Press 2 sets x 10 reps
  • Cable Flyes 1 sets x 12 reps
  • Cable Triceps Extension 2 sets x 12 reps
  • Dumbbell Triceps Extension 1 sets x 12 reps

As you can see, the exercises and reps are the same; however, the number of sets performed during the deload week is one less. In addition, you’ll want to reduce the weight to 40-60%, as mentioned above. So, for example, if a lifter is doing three sets of eight reps with 200 pounds on bench press during a normal lifting week, they’ll want to reduce the weight to about 115 pounds for their deload week.

This may seem counterproductive, but using lighter weights will give your muscles a break and allow them a chance to recover. Furthermore, using lighter weights will keep your muscles working without taking a break from lifting altogether. And it’ll give you the chance to work on your technique. After a week of doing a deload week, you should return feeling refreshed and stronger the following week.

A Natural Bodybuilder’s Perspective on Deloads

International Natural Bodybuilding Association (INBA)/Professional Natural Bodybuilding Association (PNBA) natural bodybuilder Michael Boyle shares his experience on when you should reduce your workout intensity and volume. 

Michael Boyle is a 2x British natural bodybuilding champion. And he earned a bronze medal in the Men’s Bodybuilding Masters division at 2021 Natural Olympia – he plans to win it all! 

Boyle shared his perspective on social media regarding the best time to take a deload week. According to Michael Boyle:

“There is no rules when to take a deload week. I’m finding it’s every 3rd week for me. Listen to your body. Talk to your coach. Find what works for you.”

Boyle acknowledged that he just hit a new personal best on deadlifts after coming off a deload week. You can see Boyle deadlifting below:

 

View this post on Instagram

 

A post shared by Mick Boyle-Body and Prep Coach (@mickb_pnba_pro)

Michael Boyle has found that taking a deload week every third week works best for him. Of course, as he acknowledges, this may not be the case for everyone. Some people will only want to once every 6-12 weeks. Remember, he is a professional bodybuilder, so his training volume and adaptation to the volume are much higher than most. 

As a professional bodybuilder like Boyle, he’ll train with high-intensity and high-volume workouts, so he benefits from taking a deload week often. On the other hand, a regular everyday gym-goer may not need to deload as often because their volume and intensity will be lower than a top natural bodybuilder’s training regimen. 

Naturals Vs. Enhanced Lifters

Natural bodybuilders can’t exploit steroids unless they want to be banned from competing. Their bodies can’t do as much volume and intensity as consistently as enhanced lifters. That’s because drugs such as steroids allow your body to do more than it can alone. Steroid users won’t need as much rest as a natural lifter. Therefore, as a natural lifter, it’ll be even more imperative that you incorporate deload weeks into your weightlifting routine.

The Best Supplement for Recovering

MUTANT GEAAR

MUTANT GEAAR

MUTANT GEAAR

MUTANT GEAAR is one of the better amino acid supplements on the market. Not only do they contain all 9 essential amino acids that your body can’t produce on its own, but they also have arginine, which is critical to include to optimize muscle-building and recovery which is great because of how it plays an important role in the metabolism of an organism.

Shop MUTANT

MUTANT GEAAR is a superior amino acid product on the market, as it contains literally everything you need in an amino acid supplement. It has the 9 essential amino acids, plus arginine and 4g of leucine, designed to pack massive amounts of muscle on your frame — with no synthetic colors or flavors. 

Check out the full review of MUTANT GEAAR here.

Wrap Up

Deload weeks can help you hit new records on lifts and help your body recover. Unfortunately, there is no standard time to add a deload week. It’s best to listen to your body and do them periodically. Although, we recommend incorporating them at least once every 12 weeks. 

Follow us on Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter for more workout tips and bodybuilders’ fitness insights!

References

  1. Vann, C. G., Haun, C. T., Osburn, S. C., Romero, M. A., Roberson, P. A., Mumford, P. W., Mobley, C. B., Holmes, H. M., Fox, C. D., Young, K. C., & Roberts, M. D. (2021). Molecular Differences in Skeletal Muscle After 1 Week of Active vs. Passive Recovery From High-Volume Resistance Training. Journal of strength and conditioning research, 35(8), 2102–2113. https://doi.org/10.1519/JSC.0000000000004071
  2. Kreher J. B. (2016). Diagnosis and prevention of overtraining syndrome: an opinion on education strategies. Open access journal of sports medicine, 7, 115–122. https://doi.org/10.2147/OAJSM.S91657

About Terry Ramos

As a personal trainer and writer, Terry loves changing lives through coaching and the written word. Terry has a B.S. in Kinesiology and is an ACSM Certified Personal Trainer and ISSA Certified Strength and Conditioning Specialist. He enjoys playing music, reading, and watching films when he's not writing or training.

View All Articles

Primary Sidebar

Get the Latest

Stay informed with the latest news, product reviews, & expert advice.

Popular Reviews

  • best protein powders

    The Best Protein Powder Supplements of 2025 (Tried and Tested)

  • Best Creatine Supplements For Bulking & Muscle Growth of 2025 (Personally Tested)

  • top x pre workout

    The 14 Best Pre-Workout Supplements of 2025 (MD Reviewed)

  • Performance Lab SPORT BCAA

    The Best BCAA For Bodybuilding Health & Performance Goals

Trending Articles

  • female fitness models

    18 Best Butts On The Internet (Updated 2024)

  • ronnie coleman the king workout

    Ronnie “The King” Coleman’s Complete Bodybuilding Workout

  • The Ultimate Mike Mentzer Workout and Diet

  • Chris bumstead's 2024 workout and diet plan

    Chris Bumstead’s 2025 Complete Bodybuilding Workout & Diet Plan

Popular Now

  • best protein powders

    The Best Protein Powder Supplements of 2025 (Tried and Tested)

  • Best Creatine Supplements For Bulking & Muscle Growth of 2025 (Personally Tested)

  • top x pre workout

    The 14 Best Pre-Workout Supplements of 2025 (MD Reviewed)

  • female fitness models

    18 Best Butts On The Internet (Updated 2024)

  • best citrulline supplements

    The Best Citrulline Malate Supplements for Performance and Pump

  • ronnie coleman the king workout

    Ronnie “The King” Coleman’s Complete Bodybuilding Workout

Generation Iron

Generation Iron is the first and only digital network delivering health, fitness, bodybuilding, and strength sports content. We deliver premium content with the biggest names in fitness and provide expert coverage, reviews on top brands, workout tips and trends in the worlds of fitness, health and strength sports.

Strongman Corporation
Vladar

Sections

  • Trending News
  • Original Movies
  • Original Content
  • Supplement Reviews
  • Equipment Reviews
  • Exercise Guides
  • Nutrition Guides
  • Athlete Profiles

More

  • About Us
  • Our Team
  • Our Experts
  • Advertise
  • Franchise With Us
  • Podcasts
  • Power 30
  • Shop

CONTACT

Generation Iron Brands LLC
134 West 29th Street Suite 902
New York, NY 10001
Email: [email protected]

Follow

  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • X / Twitter
  • YouTube

© 2025 · Generation Iron · Disclaimers · Privacy Policy · Accessibility