Deload week: what it means, how often to deload and how to do it

How long a deload lasts, how often to deload and how much to cut

A deload is a planned period of lighter strength training, usually a week, that reduces physical and mental fatigue so you start the next block rested (Bell et al. 2023). In training periodization, a deload usually closes a mesocycle, a block of several weeks of work toward one goal.

Who needs a deload week and when

A deload doesn't build muscle or strength; it clears fatigue so you start the next block rested. In studies, neither a lighter week (Pancar et al. 2026) nor even a full week off (Coleman et al. 2024) took away muscle growth. Why performance goes up only after the lighter week is explained by the fitness-fatigue model, covered with supercompensation.

You often read that skipping deloads leads to overtraining. In strength training, studies rarely confirm it, and the only reliable sign is performance that keeps dropping for a long time (Grandou et al. 2020). How often you deload depends on how hard the block is (Bell et al. 2022).

You can count each muscle group's sets in your week with the weekly volume calculator.

Signs you need a deload

You take a deload on demand when fatigue arrives before the end of the block.

How to deload, step by step

A deload is the same plan with fewer sets and more reps in reserve in every set.

1. Plan the deload for the last week of the block, after 3-7 weeks of work.
2. In each exercise keep part of the working sets: of 4 keep 2, of 3 keep 2, of 2 keep 1.
3. Keep the weights from the last week, and on machines the same pin and the same seat setting.
4. End every set with 4 reps in reserve, that is at RIR 4.
5. Train on the same days, with the same exercises, the same rest periods and the same warm-up sets.
6. Accessory exercises such as the dumbbell lateral raise can drop to 1 set, and drop sets, rest-pause and sets to failure go out for this week.

About 60% of the sets stay in the week, and at RIR 4 each one has 2-3 fewer reps, so the total reps fall by roughly half, the upper end of the 30-50% range in the table above. That's what most coaches and athletes do (Bell et al. 2022, Rogerson et al. 2024). It's a good week for technique: film a set of bench presses, for example, and check the bar path (Bell et al. 2023).

If you'd rather keep the reps and cut the weight by about 10%, with dumbbells that's usually one step down the rack, e.g. on the seated dumbbell shoulder press from 22 kg to 20 kg; with a barbell, from 80 kg to 72.5 kg. You can work out the weight for a different RIR in the RIR/RPE calculator.

With sets of 1-5 reps, the same weight at RIR 4 would leave only 1-3 reps per set. In that case go back to the weight from week 1 of the block, usually 10-15% lower, and do 2 sets, e.g. 2 × 5 at 75% 1RM after 4 × 4 at 85%, as in a strength block.

How to come back after a deload

After the deload you start the next block from the weights of the last regular week, and you don't compare your results with the light deload sets. If you restart the plan from the beginning, work out the weight for its first week (the calibration week) from your last hard week with the 1RM calculator in plan weight mode. After a full week off, the first workout can feel heavy: according to the study authors, participants often said they felt out of rhythm rather than rested (Coleman et al. 2024).

Deload week example in kg

This is week 8, the deload, in the free 4-day upper/lower plan for intermediates: the first five exercises of the Upper A day for someone who benches 80 kg in week 7.

At the same weight, reps in reserve go up by as much as the reps go down: 8 reps at RIR 2 means 10 at most, so at RIR 4 you stop at 6. The Upper A day shrinks from about 50 to about 30 minutes. In our plans the deload sits in week 8 because weeks 2-7 are the same and fatigue builds up slowly.

During the deload, back drops from the MAV zone to MEV, and chest stays in MEV. The beginner plans have no deload week: you end sets at RIR 2, the weights are still light, and when fatigue builds up a few days off are enough.

Deload vs week off, taper and off-season

A deload, a week off, a taper and an off-season differ in whether you train at all, for how long and why.

If strength matters to you, a lighter week is safer than a week off; for muscle, both came out about the same. In block periodization, a taper is the realization block before a test or a meet.

Common deload mistakes

1. A vacation and a deload back to back. A week away followed by a deload means two weeks without full training; arrange the block so the vacation falls where the deload would be.
2. New exercises during the deload. An unfamiliar movement easily leaves you sore, and this week is meant to reduce fatigue (Bell et al. 2022). Bring in new exercises in the first week of the next block.
3. Deloading for the sake of it. Most athletes in the survey believed they would progress without deloads too (Rogerson et al. 2024). If your numbers are still going up in the last week of the block and your joints don't hurt, repeat week 7 and deload a week later, or skip the deload, because in our plans the next block starts with an easier calibration week anyway, with a target RIR 1 higher.
4. A deload instead of a diagnosis. If performance has been dropping for several weeks despite a lighter week, check your sleep and food, and if you feel unwell, see a doctor: overtraining syndrome is diagnosed only after ruling out illness, undereating or iron deficiency (Meeusen et al. 2013).

What the research says about deloading

There is little research on deloading: two short experiments, while the "how often" and "how much" numbers come from interviews and surveys. The certainty ratings in the claims table are our assessment.

It's unknown whether regular deloads give more muscle or strength over longer periods than training without them: both experiments lasted about two months.

How to plan a deload in SmartWorkout

You plan a deload in SmartWorkout as a regular week in the plan creator, with fewer sets and RIR 4; the app has no separate deload feature.

1. On the Workout tab, in “My Plans”, open the plan and choose “Edit” from the menu.
2. Press and hold the tab of the last regular week, e.g. “Week 7”, and choose “Clone”. The copy goes to the end of the block as the next week.
3. In the new week, delete some of the working sets in each exercise; keep the warm-up sets.
4. Set RIR 4 on every working set and save the plan.

If the deload comes before the end of the block, you don't need to change the plan: in the workout, do fewer sets and end each one at RIR 4.

In our free plans for intermediates, week 8 is already a deload. That week, don't add weight or reps even when a set feels easy: that's the point.

With Premium, you see each muscle group's sets in every week of the plan against the volume zones, so the deload shows up right away as a drop, e.g. from MAV to MEV.

If your plan lives in your notes or comes from a coach, add the deload week to it and paste the whole thing through plan import (Workout > My Plans > “+” > “Import plan”). Import costs 10 AI credits, so the welcome credits cover it. This is how the first five exercises of the Upper A day look in the deload week:

DAY: Upper A (deload)- Barbell Bench Press | WU 2x5 | 2x6-10 RIR 4 | TEMPO 20X0 | REST 180- Barbell Bent Over Row | 2x6-10 RIR 4 | TEMPO 2010 | REST 150- Seated Dumbbell Shoulder Press | 2x8-12 RIR 4 | TEMPO 2010 | REST 120- Cable Lat Pulldown | 2x8-12 RIR 4 | TEMPO 2011 | REST 120- Cable Middle Chest Fly | 1x10-15 RIR 4 | TEMPO 2011 | REST 60