Deload Calculator
What to lift during a deload week, how much work it actually removes, and how to tell you needed one.
A deload is a planned easy week, not a week off. Keep the movements and the schedule, drop the load and the sets. If it feels hard you have not deloaded.
Example: with a 100 kg max and 4 normal working sets, a deload week is 2 sets of 12 to 15 reps at about 65 kg, nothing above RPE 6.
How this is worked out
A deload drops four things at once: the weight goes to around 65 percent of your max, the reps go up to 12 to 15, the sets halve, and nothing is taken above a moderate effort. Changing only one of those is the most common way to run a deload that does not work.
The point is to keep the movement pattern while removing the fatigue. You are not resting, you are training at a load your body can repair from faster than it accumulates, which is what lets the adaptation from the previous weeks actually surface.
The checklist below is built from the published signs of accumulated fatigue and functional overreaching rather than from any internal threshold. That is deliberate: the honest signals are things you can observe in your own training log, and a number that claims more precision than that would be inventing it.
deload weight = one rep max x 0.65, for 12 to 15 reps, at half your normal sets
What a deload actually is
A planned light week. Same exercises, same days, much less load and much less volume. It is scheduled in advance rather than taken when you break, which is the difference between a deload and a forced layoff.
The reason it works is that adaptation happens during recovery, not during training. Weeks of hard work create a debt that the body pays down whenever you give it room. A deload is that room, taken deliberately before the debt starts showing up as stalled lifts.
It is also not a week off. Stopping entirely loses the movement practice and, for a lot of people, the habit. Training light keeps both, and the reduced load is what does the actual work.
What changes, exactly
A normal hard week against a deload week, for a 100 kg max.
All four rows move together. The weight drop alone would still leave you doing four hard sets; the set drop alone would leave you doing heavy singles. Together they cut the total work by well over half while keeping every movement in your week.
| What changes | Normal week | Deload week |
|---|---|---|
| Working weight | 80 kg (176 lb) | 65 kg (143 lb) |
| Reps | 5 | 12 to 15 |
| Sets per exercise | 4 | 2 |
| Effort cap | RPE 8 | RPE 6 |
For a 100 kg one rep max, against a normal hard set of five. Everything moves at once: the weight comes down, the reps go up, the sets halve and the effort is capped. Dropping only one of the four is the most common way to run a deload that does not work.
Deload weights for your lifts
Find your max down the left and read across. The right hand column is what you would normally be lifting for five, so the size of the drop is visible rather than abstract.
It will feel too light. That is the correct amount of light. A deload that leaves you satisfied was not a deload.
| One rep max | Deload weight | Deload reps | Normal working weight |
|---|---|---|---|
| 60 kg (132 lb) | 40 kg (88 lb) | 12 to 15 | 47.5 kg (105 lb) |
| 80 kg (176 lb) | 52.5 kg (116 lb) | 12 to 15 | 62.5 kg (138 lb) |
| 100 kg (221 lb) | 65 kg (143 lb) | 12 to 15 | 80 kg (176 lb) |
| 120 kg (265 lb) | 77.5 kg (171 lb) | 12 to 15 | 95 kg (209 lb) |
| 140 kg (309 lb) | 90 kg (198 lb) | 12 to 15 | 110 kg (243 lb) |
| 160 kg (353 lb) | 105 kg (232 lb) | 12 to 15 | 127.5 kg (281 lb) |
| 180 kg (397 lb) | 117.5 kg (259 lb) | 12 to 15 | 142.5 kg (314 lb) |
Deload working weights at 65 percent of your max, for higher reps. The last column is what you would normally be lifting for five, so you can see the size of the drop.
Signs you needed one last week
The reliable ones show up in your log rather than in how you feel. Weights that moved cleanly a month ago now grinding. The same prescribed sets costing noticeably more effort than they used to. Reps falling off across sets in a way they did not before.
The rest are worth noting but weaker on their own: sleep getting worse rather than better despite the training, motivation dropping off, soreness lingering into the next session for the same muscle, and small joints starting to complain.
One of these is noise. Three of them together, for a couple of weeks, is a deload you have already earned. The mistake almost nobody makes is deloading too often; the mistake nearly everybody makes is waiting until something hurts.
How often to take one
Every fourth to sixth block of hard training is the usual answer, though it depends far more on how hard those blocks were than on how many weeks passed. A lifter running close to their limit needs one sooner than someone training comfortably.
Beginners often need none at all for the first several months, because the loads are not yet heavy enough relative to their capacity to accumulate much fatigue. That changes quietly, and the first deload usually arrives later than it should.
The app schedules it
Workout With Me runs deloads on a cycle. A training cycle completes when all six muscle categories have been trained, however long that takes, and after four regular cycles the fifth is an automatic deload with the weights and rep ranges already dropped.
Tying it to cycles rather than to weeks matters, because a week where you trained twice and a week where you trained five times have not earned the same fatigue. Counting the actual work is the more honest clock.
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Key Takeaways
- A deload is a planned light week: same exercises, around 65 percent of your max, higher reps, half the sets.
- All four variables drop together. Changing only the weight or only the sets is why most deloads fail.
- It is not a week off. Training light keeps the movement practice and the habit while the fatigue clears.
- The reliable signs are in your log: weights grinding, effort creeping, reps falling off across sets.
- Every fourth to sixth hard block is typical, but how hard the blocks were matters more than how many weeks passed.
- The app runs a deload as the fifth cycle of every block, counting cycles of actual training rather than weeks.
What is a Deload?
A deload is a planned week of reduced training load and volume, taken to let accumulated fatigue clear so the adaptation from previous weeks can surface. Typically the working weight drops to around two thirds of your maximum, the reps rise, and the number of sets is roughly halved.
Because progressive overload accumulates fatigue alongside strength, every fourth to sixth hard block ends in a deload week, with deload weights worked out per lift at roughly 65 percent of max and half the usual sets.
Frequently Asked Questions
What weight should I use on a deload week?
Around 65 percent of your one rep max, for 12 to 15 reps, at about half your usual number of sets, with nothing taken close to failure. For a 100 kg max that is roughly 65 kg. It should feel distinctly easy. If it does not, you have run a normal week with slightly lighter weights, which is not a deload.
How often should I deload?
Every fourth to sixth block of hard training, adjusted for how hard those blocks actually were. Someone training close to their limit needs one sooner than someone training comfortably. Beginners often need none for the first several months, because their loads are not yet heavy enough relative to their capacity to accumulate much fatigue.
Should I skip the gym instead of deloading?
Usually not. Complete rest clears fatigue too, but it also loses the movement practice and, for many people, the habit, and coming back after a blank week often feels worse than coming back after a light one. Training light keeps both and does the same job.
Will I lose muscle during a deload week?
No. Muscle loss takes considerably longer than a week of reduced training, and a deload is not even zero training. What people notice is a temporary drop in fullness and pump, which is glycogen and fluid rather than tissue, and it returns within days of resuming normal work.
How do I know if I need a deload right now?
Look at your log rather than at how you feel. Weights that used to move cleanly now grinding, the same sets costing more effort than they did, reps falling off across sets, sleep getting worse despite the training. One of those is noise. Three together over a couple of weeks is a deload you have already earned.