Deload Week: When and How to Deload (With Weights)

A deload week is a planned easy week. You still go to the gym, you do the same exercises, but you do less: fewer sets, lighter weights, or both. The point is to shed fatigue so the next block of hard training starts fresh.

The short answer: A deload is 5–7 days of easier training, usually every 4–8 weeks of hard work, or sooner when your lifts start going backwards. Pick one: (1) same weights, a third to half fewer sets, (2) same sets and reps at about 80% of your normal weights, or (3) half the sets at about 70%. Every set should feel easy. Then go back to your normal weights the week after, not a step below them.

Below: what a deload actually is (and isn't), how to tell if you need one from your own log, three ways to run one with exact weights for a sample week, a deload weight chart in lb and kg, how often to deload, and deload vs a week off. Every number here comes from a script.

What is a deload week?

A 2023 consensus study of strength and physique coaches (Bell and colleagues, Sports Medicine – Open) defined it as "a period of reduced training stress" meant to cut physical and mental fatigue and prepare you for the training that follows. The panel agreed you can reduce training stress in several ways: fewer sets, fewer reps, fewer training days, lighter loads, or stopping sets further from failure.

A deload is not:

• A week off. You keep training, just easier. (More on the difference below.)
• A taper. A taper is a short drop in volume before a meet or a max test, keeping the weights heavy. A deload is for recovery in the middle of normal training.
• A punishment for a bad week. One bad session after a short night isn't a reason to deload.

How common is it? A 2024 survey of 246 competitive strength and physique athletes (Rogerson and colleagues, Sports Medicine – Open) found every one of them deloaded. Their typical deload lasted 6.4 days and came every 5.6 weeks on average. Most cut both reps and sets, used lighter weights, left more reps in reserve, and kept the same exercises and the same number of training days.

Do you need a deload? Check your log

The clearest sign is in your numbers: your lifts start going backwards on more than one exercise, for more than one session, while you're sleeping and eating normally.

The weight on the bar can hide this. Use your estimated max (weight × (1 + reps ÷ 30), the Epley formula), which turns any set into a single number. Here's one lifter's top bench set over seven weeks:

Weeks 1–4 are normal progress. Weeks 5–7 are three drops in a row, and by week 7 the estimated max is below where it started. If the squat and row look the same, that's a good time for an easy week.

Other signs coaches look for (rules of thumb, not tests):

• Joints or tendons that ache, not just sore muscles.
• Warm-ups feel heavy and the bar moves slower than usual.
• You dread training sessions you normally enjoy.
• You've had 6–8 weeks of hard training and can't remember your last easy week.

If you're a beginner still adding weight most sessions, you probably don't need planned deloads yet. When a lift stalls, a smaller jump or a few more reps usually fixes it first; see how to break a bench press plateau.

How to deload: 3 ways, with weights

Take a sample week: bench 3 × 5 at 185 lb, squat 3 × 5 at 225 lb, barbell row 3 × 8 at 135 lb, each with about 2 reps left in the tank. Here's what each kind of deload looks like. The percentages are our choice for the example, not a rule; weights are rounded down to the nearest 5 lb.

A: Fewer sets, same weight. Cut a third to half of your sets and keep the weights. This keeps you used to heavy loads and is the best fit if you lift heavy singles or have a meet coming. Each set is still hard-ish, so keep the reps the same and don't add any.

B: Same sets, lighter weight. Keep the structure and drop the weights to about 80%. It feels like a normal session, just light. This is the easiest to follow if you run a program and don't want to rewrite it.

C: Both. Half the sets at about 70%. This is the biggest drop in training stress and suits a week when you're also short on sleep, travelling or ill-ish.

How easy is "easy"? Using the same formula, if 185 × 5 left about 2 reps in reserve, your estimated max is about 228 lb. At 80% (145 lb) you could do about 17 reps, so a set of 5 leaves about 12 in the tank. At 70% (125 lb), about 20. A deload set should feel like a warm-up. If a set leaves fewer than 4 reps in the tank (harder than RPE 6), it's too heavy; see RPE vs RIR.

Deload weight chart (lb and kg)

Take your normal working weight for the lift and read across. Weights rounded down to 5 lb or 2.5 kg.

90% with fewer sets is a light "volume" deload. 80% is the usual middle ground. 60–70% is for a week when everything hurts. For dumbbells and machines, just go a step or two lighter and stop well short of failure.

How often should you deload?

There's no single right number. Common rules of thumb:

• Beginners (first 6–12 months): often no planned deload. Take an easy week when progress stalls on several lifts at once.
• Intermediate lifters: every 4–8 weeks of hard training, or when your log shows the slide above.
• Advanced or high-volume lifters: often every 4–6 weeks.

The coaches in the 2023 consensus study agreed deloads can be planned ahead, triggered by how you feel and perform, or both. A simple way to combine them: plan one every 6 weeks, and take it early if your estimated max drops two or three sessions in a row.

Here's what different schedules cost you over a year:

A deload every 4 weeks means one week in five is easy. That's a lot of lighter training for someone who isn't very beaten up, which is why most lifters land somewhere in the 5–8 week range.

Deload week vs a week off

Both reduce fatigue. The difference is what happens to your strength.

A 2024 trial (Coleman and colleagues, PeerJ) had trained lifters take one full week off in the middle of a 9-week program, against a group that trained straight through. Muscle growth, power and endurance in the legs ended up similar, but the group that kept training gained more lower-body strength. In a 2026 study on untrained men (Pancar and colleagues, Scientific Reports), cutting each exercise to 2 sets once a week in weeks 4 and 8 gave similar muscle growth and 10-rep-max gains to training straight through.

Two small studies don't settle it, but they line up with what coaches do: if you want to get stronger, a light week usually beats no lifting at all. Take a full week off when life forces it (illness, travel, an injury that needs rest). One week off won't undo months of training, and a week of lighter sessions is a good way to come back.

What to do the week after

Go straight back to your normal weights, the ones you used before you got tired, not the ones from the bad week. For the bench lifter above, that means back to 190, not 185.

If the deload worked, the first week back should feel easier than week 7 did. Say they hit 190 × 6 again: that's an estimated 228.0 lb, back to their best, and the slide is gone. If you still feel flat after a week back, look at sleep, food and stress before blaming the program.

How to deload in Liftly

• Spot the slide. Every set you log feeds an estimated max (the same Epley formula as above) and the Estimated 1RM progression chart on Insights. Three drops in a row on two lifts is your cue.
• Log the deload anyway. Easy sets still count as training. Your estimated max will dip that week (150 × 5 is a 175 lb estimate); that's expected, not lost strength.
• Your ranks stay put. Liftly Pro's muscle ranks use your best set for each exercise, so a light week doesn't drop your chest or legs rank.
• Change the weight back the week after. Opening an exercise fills in last session's weight, which after a deload is the light one. Type your normal working weight back in for the first week back.

If you're new to tracking, how to track progressive overload covers the basics, and how to calculate your 1RM explains the formula and where it drifts.

FAQ

What is a deload week in the gym?

A planned week of easier training: the same exercises with fewer sets, lighter weights, or both. It lets fatigue drop so you can train hard again the next week. It's not a week off.

How do I deload properly?

Pick one change and keep it simple. Either cut a third to half of your sets at the same weights, or keep your sets and reps and use about 80% of your normal weights. Every set should leave 4 or more reps in the tank. Keep your usual exercises and training days, then go back to normal weights the week after.

How long should a deload last?

Usually 5–7 days. Some lifters only need 2–3 easy sessions; it rarely needs to be longer than a week. In the 2024 survey of competitive lifters, the average was 6.4 days.

How often should you deload?

Commonly every 4–8 weeks of hard training, or sooner if your lifts drop for two or three sessions in a row. Beginners still adding weight every week often don't need planned deloads at all.

Is a deload week the same as a week off?

No. In a deload you keep lifting at lower effort. In one 2024 study, lifters who took a full week off gained less leg strength over 9 weeks than lifters who kept training, though muscle growth was similar. A light week is usually the better choice when you can train.

Will I lose muscle during a deload?

One easy week isn't long enough to lose muscle in any meaningful way. In both studies above, muscle growth was similar with or without the break. Keep eating enough protein and training the same muscles.

Should I deload for hypertrophy?

Yes, the same way: fewer sets or lighter weights for a week when fatigue piles up. Keep the same exercises so the muscles you're growing still get trained, just with less work.

What should a deload week workout look like?

Your normal workout with fewer sets or less weight. Example: bench 3 × 5 at 185 lb becomes 2 × 5 at 185 or 3 × 5 at 145 (85 kg × 5 becomes 67.5 kg). Same exercises, same days, shorter sessions, nothing close to failure.