What is a deload week and why do we integrate them into OsteoFit?

The central nervous system

Mrs Smith has been training consistently for six weeks now. Every week, she has been slowly increasing the weight of her lifts. She’s feeling stronger, more confident, and more capable. However, she’s halfway through her seventh week and something has changed. She feels off, sluggish, and more fatigued than usual. The weights she was using last week feel far too heavy for her this week, and she’s very tempted to skip her training session and leave it until next week.

Mrs Smith’s nervous system has been taxed repeatedly and now needs time to rest. This phenomenon is known as central nervous system overload. Every time we move, make a decision, speak, or lift weights, we use our central nervous system a little. It’s built to be used and adapts extremely well—but some things tax the system more than others. Exercises that use multiple joints and muscle groups, particularly those that incorporate the large postural paraspinal muscles that keep us upright and help us lift heavy loads, come with a higher central nervous system cost. However, they also produce the best results and mimic real-life movements. Therefore, we need to make sure they are included in our training programmes. These are movements that, if you’ve been following the Light or Intermediate OsteoFit programmes, you’ll have been doing plenty of: deadlifts, good mornings, and squat variations.

Tendons and special structures

Muscles are brilliant at adapting and growing. At the start of a programme, or when performing new movements, you may wake up with muscle soreness and a resulting reluctance to move—this is completely normal. It’s called delayed onset muscle soreness (DOMS) and is part of the hypertrophy process (the breakdown of muscle through strength training, followed by rebuilding to create adaptation).

You’ll notice that, over time, these movements and training intensity result in less or no DOMS. This is one reason why following a structured but varied programme like OsteoFit is so valuable. The body struggles to adapt when it’s continuously given the same four or five exercises repeated three times a week- it needs stimulus and variety.

However, structures such as tendons, bursae, and joint cartilage cannot heal and adapt at the same rate. Part of this is due to poor blood supply (vascular limitations), and part is due to inflammation. When these structures become inflamed, they can lead to swollen, painful joints with reduced function. Managing this often requires movement modification, anti-inflammatories, and rest.

What is a deload week and why it can solve both of these problems

By incorporating a deload week at the end of a training block, we reduce the impact of both of these major issues. The central nervous system is given time to recover. We often feel more emotionally in tune, gain more energy, experience increased motivation to train, find it easier to get up in the morning, and feel overall more revitalised. Importantly, we also become stronger.

Reducing training intensity for a full week allows us to maintain movement while giving the nervous system time to reset and operate at full capacity again. This is the same principle behind athletes tapering before major events like a marathon or the Olympics—they want to perform at their absolute peak.

The same applies to tendons and other joint structures. While they take longer than a week to fully heal, a deload allows them to “catch up,” reducing inflammation and preventing further unnecessary microtrauma.

How to structure a deload

At OsteoFit, we know it’s more effective to continue moving during a deload week rather than stopping completely. Instead, we reduce training to around 60% of normal volume and intensity.

This approach helps maintain mobility, keeps the body feeling confident, and reduces stiffness when returning to full training the following week. It also helps manage symptoms of conditions like osteoarthritis by increasing synovial fluid production, improving blood flow to the joints, and allowing you to explore your joint’s functional range of motion.

Final thoughts

If you’ve been following OsteoFit and have reached your deload week—well done. Staying consistent for a full training block is no small achievement, and this is where the real progress begins to show. Trust the process, embrace the lighter week, and get ready to come back stronger.

If you’re not currently part of OsteoFit, now is the perfect time to start. Our programmes are carefully structured to help you build strength safely, reduce pain, and stay consistent long-term, without burning out or breaking down.

Whether you’re just starting out or looking to take your training to the next level, OsteoFit is designed to guide you every step of the way.

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