Instead of scheduling in deloads for your training , look at your life . Look at the calendar and see if life will give you that deload . It may even happen unexpectedly , and that's what I wanna talk about today . Welcome to the Whits and Weights podcast . I'm your host , phillip Pape , and this twice a week podcast is dedicated to helping you achieve physical self-mastery by getting stronger , optimizing your nutrition and upgrading your body composition . We'll uncover science-backed strategies for movement , metabolism , muscle and mindset , with a skeptical eye on the fitness industry , so you can look and feel your absolute best . Let's dive right in .
Speaker 1When it comes to your strength training schedule , many programs have what's called a deload programmed in or suggested at a certain point . A deload is simply a week where you reduce the intensity of your training . Let's say you train four days a week . On a deload , you might only train two or three and you might cut out half of the movements or reduce the intensity a little bit on the main lifts . That's just an example . Now some programs will say go ahead and take a deload every fifth week , or if you feel like a deload is needed after six , eight , 10 weeks , go ahead and take it . Other programs might say don't even take a deload unless you absolutely need it . Now , there's not really a right or wrong answer . It really comes down to your level of built up fatigue and stress . But here's what I want you to consider Life will often give you those deloads without you needing to program in , whether those are vacations , illnesses , holidays . There are all sorts of reasons where , if you look at your calendar ahead for the next six months , you may be able to intelligently structure your programming calendar so that that week is a deload .
Speaker 1And the reason I bring this up is because people often stress about what to do if they're gonna go on vacation for a week . Should I go find a gym ? Do I bring my bands ? Often the easiest answer is just don't train , just take a break , just relax . If you're really into it and you wanna find a gym and you wanna go there and it's not gonna interfere with your plans for the vacation . And I've done that once or twice where my brother , my father , we all went to the gym together . It was a fun experience and it didn't really take away from the vacation because we were doing it together .
Speaker 1But if you're out , hold away on your own in a gym when you could be enjoying the local sites , the sounds , social experiences with your friends and family . That might not be a trade-off you want . So look at that week as an opportunity to just not train . Are you gonna detrain significantly ? Of course not . You're probably not gonna lose any strength and muscle at all , to be honest , for just a week and then you can get back to it .
Speaker 1The other cool thing about doing it that way is taking a break lets you learn about your body and whether certain things were beating you up . You know your squats and your deadlifts . Maybe they were giving you low back fatigue that wasn't going away , and now that it has , you get that information and when you get back to your training you can see if that was a thing . So life gives you deloads . Look at your calendar , train smart and make it work for you , and that's the essence of sustainable living . Thank you for tuning in to another episode of Wits and Weights . If you found value in today's episode and know someone else who's looking to level up their Wits or weights , please take a moment to share this episode with them and make sure to hit the follow button in your podcast platform right now to catch the next episode . Until then , stay strong .