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NPC Heavyweight
Join Date: Dec 2007
Location: Illinois
Posts: 318
Rep Power: 7 
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This is a good post from someone else about deloading
Between 5x5, Westside, Smolov, and now DC, the concept of cruising/deloading is becoming quite "popular" among some of the more advanced trainees, and as a result, tons of questions are popping into my inbox...again.
Hopefully this will explain the need for the periodic deload/cruise for many advanced trainees, and it can even be a good intro for someone who is at the intermediate stage and can no longer simply pile weight on, workout after workout.
It all hinges around what is known as "dual factor" training theory.
We have to define a few terms first as they relate specifically to this subject.
Fitness - the resultant physical ability of the body to adapt and respond positively to external stress
Fatigue - The decreased capacity or complete inability of an individual or a bodypart to function normally because of excessive stimulation or prolonged exertion - note fatigue can be very temporary as a result of acute stimulii (i.e. biceps get fatigued from a set of curls) or fatigue can be sytemic and cumulative (i.e. the body and its systems are fatigued from hard training over a period of weeks/months)
Performance - the degree of excellence resulting from physical activity, i.e. your ability to bench/squat/dead/chin/row, etc (remember, we're talking SPECIFIC to weight training here) or, for bodybuilders, the body's ability to demonstrate muscularity
Overtraining - The act of training too often/too heavy/too long, which causes the body's recuperative systems to become overwhelmed so that you can no longer recover from training. Performance is DRASTICALLY reduced, as a result, as the body cannot combat the excessive and chronic fatigue.
Overreaching - the planned process of inducing mild systemic overtraining followed by a planned period of systemic fatigue reduction, with the purpose of dramatically increasing performance
Now then, onward and forward...
Dual factor theory, simply put, involves planning your workouts with the knowledge that fatigue and fitness both affect performance. As you train, you build up your fitness level. Imagine if you were Wolverine...you could train several times a day, everyday, and get stronger and faster constantly. Your fitness level increases, and for some time, your performance level increases as well. You are more energetic, you don't get sore as often, you become stronger/leaner/faster/more muscular, etc. Life is good!
However, we AREN'T like Wolverine, and fatigue reduces our ability to train at peak performance. As a result, we train for a period of perhaps 1-2 hours, then we take a day (or more) to rest before training again. The purpose of the break is to reduce fatigue to a level which allows us to train again at (or near) peak performance (be it the ability to bench 5 more lbs or the resultant ability to demonstrate muscularity)
Over the course of weeks (and possibly, for beginners/intermediates/genetic misfits [Hola, I'm talking to you here!] months) your training results in an increase in fitness, but it also results in the systemic accumulation of fatigue. Anyone with experience who has trained for a period of time and then begins sufferieng from the symptoms of "overtraining" can attest to this. After 10 weeks of hard, intense, consistent training, most people begin to suffer the classic symptoms of overtraining, i.e. loss of appetite, weakness, achy joints, extreme fatigue, problem sleeping, etc.
You are overtraining. Sounds pretty bad, doesn't it? Except, overtraining is a BEAUTIFUL thing...why?
An easy correlation can be made to a guy who runs
if dude runs 5 days per week, 10 miles per day for several weeks, he is going to become extremely fit, but he will get tired due to what we call overtraining. For awhile, he was able to train this way and continue to get faster (increase in fitness accompanied by an increase in performance). However, after several weeks of this, he simply cannot recover from his running, and he gets slower (fitness has increased, but has been overwhelmed by fatigue, resulting in REDUCED performance).
Now, imagine if, after 4-6 weeks of doing 50 miles per week running, he cut back to 3 runs per week at 5 miles per day. Essentially, he just went from 50 miles weekly to 15 miles weekly.
He's still running, and one could argue that, because he's running only 5 miles every other day during the week, he's probably running a lot faster than he was if he was still doing 10 miles. He lowered his overall volume and workload (miles ran) and frequency (days running per week) but upped the intensity (his running speed during the 5 mile is faster than his running speed during the 10 mile)
Because he spent weeks accumulating tons of fitness from his hard workouts, these 15-mile weeks where he runs 3x per week are like a walk (or cruise!) in the park for him. His fitness level was accustomed to handling 50 miles per week, but now he's only running 15 miles per week.
As a result, the fatigue that also accumulated during those 6 or so weeks of 50-mile running is now able to dissipate, even though he's still running each week. He cut back on volume and frequency, and now he sees increases in his athletic performance as fatigue dissipates and his fitness is allowed to "show through"
You can be in great shape, but if you're flippin' tired, you can't perform that well. Unfortunately, it takes ALOT OF HARD WORK to get in great shape, and that causes fatigue to accumulate.
As you exercise, your general fitness level increases, as does your fatigue accumulation. Unless you are a Mentzer-drone, you train more often than 2 or 3 times per month. As a result, fatigue WILL accumulate (and this is a GOOD thing!)
The harder you work, the more your fitness goes up, but the more fatigue that accumulates (Loading/accumulation phase). How you perform is not based SOLELY on your fitness level, but it is based on a (very non-mathematical, but rather theoretical) equation that basically states:
"Performance = Fitness - Fatigue"
Put simply, your performance will be dictated by your level of physical fitness, coupled with how tired you are.
Your FITNESS might dictate that you can PERFORM a bench of 300 lbs, but because you're FATIGUED (tired), you can only PERFORM a bench of 250
Eventually, you get to the point where you are thoroughly busting your ass and you are starting to see that fatigue overtakes you (overreaching/overtraining phase). So at this point, fatigue has "won" (albeit temporarily) so many trainers will just quit for awhile (a week, sometimes weeks, sometimes several months). This is the ultimate in "missed opportunities"
The thinking man's trainer decides to take advantage of this by PLANNING to do this, using "Dual Factor theory". He increases his fitness levels using increasing levels of volume and/or weight and/or frequency and once he reads that fatigue has overtaken his body's recovery ability, he drastically cuts back on his frequency and/or volume and/or intensity. This allows for an active rest, so fatigue dissipates. however, he is STILL TRAINING, and his fitness levels continue to climb (or at least stay the same) while he 'rests'.
After a period of time...perhaps a "cruise" of 1 or 2 weeks, or perhaps an "active deload" of 3 weeks, or a "strategic deconditioning" period of 10 days, you are still "in shape" because you've been training, but you are well-rested, and you are ready to attack the weights again.
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think it could be because of increased work hours and less sleep at night over period of time, that might be the cause. will definatly take time to have a deload period.
