Definition
A planned week of reduced training, usually 40 to 60% less volume or load, that clears fatigue while keeping the habit.
Keep the exercises and the frequency. Either halve the sets (a volume deload) or drop the loads to 60 to 70% (an intensity deload). Do not empty the week; a week off the gym detrains the habit more than the muscle.
Plan one every four to eight weeks, before a test, and after a week where life did the loading instead of the programme. Signs a client needs one early: two sessions without progress, sleep off, joints complaining, RPE creeping up for the same weights.
Most clients feel worse in the deload week and better the week after. Warn them.