When you find a consistent fitness schedule, it can be difficult to take a break for fears it will turn into a full stop. You may also worry you’ll lose the gains you have already built.
However, taking a break is actually a pivotal part of any fitness journey, particularly what many fitness experts have begun to call a “deload” week.
A “deload” week, or taking time away from the gym every six to eight weeks, helps the body adjust to your fitness schedule and maintain intensity as the weeks pass. To take a proper deload week, you can either heavily decrease the intensity of your workouts or you can take a complete break from the gym.
“Deloading is a period of reduced training stress designed to mitigate physiological and psychological fatigue, promote recovery, and enhance preparedness for subsequent training,” according to a study published in the journal Sports Medicine-Open.
There are multiple negative effects intense workouts with no breaks can have on the body.
High volumes of intense training with no breaks can lead to damage in the muscle tissues that are unable to recover, Daniel Brayson, a lecturer in life sciences at the University of Westminster, wrote for CNN. Allowing the muscles to recover sets them up for success, and a deloading week is a good way to get your mind and body fully recouped, Brayson added.
Should you take a deload week? There are a few telltale signs your body is ready for that break.
Mental fatigue in the gym
If you are feeling mental fatigue going to the gym, and particularly if it is hard to get ready for each workout, your body might be ready for a deload week.
“Deload weeks can help rebuild not only physical performance, but also mental fatigue,” fitness instructor Tunde Oyeneyin told Peloton. “Deloading may serve as a shake up in the routine, even feeling like a ‘win’ compared to your normal lifting cycle.”
Burnout from an intense fitness schedule can lead to a general lack of energy that will permeate other parts of your life.
A rut in your fitness journey
If you feel you aren’t making gains in your fitness journey, it might be time for a deload week.
“If you actually just take one step back and lighten the intensity for a short period of time, you are then going to be able to increase faster,” fitness specialist Schuyler Archambault told Peloton, saying you should think of it as one step back and two steps forward.
Overtraining
When you are overtraining, your body will tell you, often through fatigue, small injuries and decreased intensity. If you feel this happening to you, it might be time for a deload week.
Giving your body this break will allow your muscles and joints to recover, according to Peloton, and will stop these aches and pains from becoming full-blown injuries.
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