Chris Vann

Simply, a deload week should involve a notable decrease in training volume and intensity, with the specifics being determined by the nature of training in the weeks prior. Practically, volume and intensity, or perceived effort, should be decreased by ~50%, on average, and training should resemble what many would refer to as “active recovery”. Similar movement patterns should occur so that blood flow distribution is specific to the tissues needing it the most. I am actively researching deloading strategies from a study involving extreme volumes of resistance training in young men hopefully to be published soon. Preliminary data indicate that deloading is a powerful fatigue management tool and can augment adaptations to training.

The pursuit of a great physique or increased strength involves many factors that affect the eventual outcome. Nutrition is one of the most important influential factors in this process and, in particular, energy or calorie balance. Calorie balance can be defined as the result of calories consumed vs calories expended over the course of a 24 hour period. A calorie is a unit of heat energy. A calorie (i.e., technically a kilocalorie, but referred to as a calorie herein) is defined as the amount of heat energy required to raise the temperature of 1 gram of water 1 degree Celsius.