So I am thinking of deloading this week as I have been plateauing on my lifts, especially the pulling ones, and definitely feeling a bit fatigued, recovery times don’t seem to be great either, especially on legs, however I also have been feeling under the weather lately, and my finals are approaching as well, so I am a bit busy as well, so I was wondering whether a one week deload will be effective under these conditions, or maybe should i extend it to two, or even take some extra rest days (which I don’t like tbh, the gym kinda keeps the rhythm).
Take the deload/more rest days. Are you prepping for any sort of upcoming competition? If you are not, deloading for a week will not affect your long term gains. Rest more and recover properly to come back stronger. All the best for your finals!
I am not prepping for any comp, So will a one week deload be more than enough? Ik it’s probably best to see myself if I am recovered, but I don’t want to get only partially recovered and then start training heavily again, so I am kinda trying to find a rough time frame, or some sort of cue of how to know I am fully recovered, one week seems to be the general rule, but like I described, there are a quite a bit of extra factors here
Thanks a lot!
Edit: I am actually a relatively new lifter if that is of any help
If it’s a matter of illness like a cold or the flu, definitely stay out of the gym till that gets better. Else take the 1 week deload, then you can either continue your program, or switch out your training block to a different periodization phase.
https://exrx.net/Sports/Periodization
You can also introduce variations to your lifts e.g more tempo squats or paused squats to work on your weaknesses or your form.
Don’t forget to hydrate, sleep and eat well!