How to The three reasons to include a deload week in your training

Within traditional periodization models, unloading weeks are a very present concept. However, they are usually programmed from a basic wrong perspective: They are scheduled in advance from time to time, that is, every 8 weeks of training, for example. They anticipate fixed reductions in the volume and intensity of training, that is, they assume by default that there will be a reduction of, for example, 50% of the usual work volume. It is necessary to include weeks of unloading or pivot, as they are also known, in training, but not in advance, but rather when the athlete needs them. In addition, as we will see in this article, each person may need individual doses of stimulation to dissipate fatigue on the one hand, but also to maintain fitness on the other. That being said, unloading or pivot weeks are included when and where they are needed based on the individual athlete's response to training. It can be someone under our command or ourselves. Having said all this, in this article we explain the reasons that justify including a week of unloading in your training schedule. Reduce the fatigue we have accumulated, This is probably the main reason every trainer would agree and think about when talking about weeks of unloading. The fact of training causes fatigue and although the time that passes between one training session and another helps us to be ready to carry out a new training session, the truth is that as the weeks go by, we generate a certain amount of debt. We must not only recover our muscles but also joints, tendons, and nervous and adrenal systems. Therefore, when performance begins to drop progressively, or we begin to experience joint discomfort, it is a good time to include a week of unloading. Each person must discover what are the appropriate reductions in volume and intensity that they need to maintain their fitness. We must move away from stipulated reductions that everyone can take advantage of. In the end, we must bear in mind that dissipating fatigue is important, but maintaining the shape we had achieved is also important. Reset our tolerance to the stimulus This is the second reason, which seems angular to me. The scientific literature tells us that when we are systematically exposed to a stimulus, at a certain point we stop responding to it, or at least we stop responding to the same magnitude that we did at the beginning. This phenomenon is known as the repeated bout effect, and every person will be affected by it at one time or another. In this way, there are people who take longer or people who take less, but the average is between 6 and 8 weeks. So a reload week is a great time to do things we weren't used to doing during the last training block. It is ideal to include variations of the exercises that we have been doing, as well as different series and repetition protocols. Be more versatile and complete athletes Reducing the workload and becoming more sensitive to stimulus are two objectives that are directly related to what we have been doing and what we are about to start doing. However, the download weeks can and should also be used to train aspects that we don't usually train. In this sense, we refer to including unilateral exercises, core exercises, stretching, mobility, cardio, or in general activities, exercises, and movements that we never usually practice, either because we do not need them directly in our usual training or because we do not have time to practice them. This can help us to work on weak points, and other energy systems, and ultimately to be more complete as athletes and enjoy a 360-degree physical condition.