RecoveryAnswer

WHEN SHOULD I TAKE A DELOAD WEEK?

By Anthony WalshRoadman CyclingUpdated 26 May 2026

WHO THIS IS FOR

IS THIS YOU?

The rider who never intentionally deloads

You train consistently but never plan easy weeks, and find performance stalling or dipping every few months.

The masters cyclist whose blocks feel heavier each week

You are over 45 and noticing the third or fourth week of a block feels significantly worse than the first two.

THE ROADMAN VIEW

The word 'deload' makes some cyclists anxious — it sounds like doing less, and doing less sounds like going backwards. Anthony's framing on the podcast is consistent: a deload week is not subtracted from your training. It is the mechanism that makes the training you have already done count. Fitness is built in the hard weeks; it is expressed in the deload.

The thing about planned deloads is that they prevent the unplanned ones. Riders who never build recovery into the structure eventually hit a forced rest — illness, an injury, a week where motivation is so low that the sessions happen but produce nothing. That forced rest is reactive, disorganised, and often accompanied by anxiety. A planned deload is the same physiological event managed properly.

For masters riders the frequency changes. After 45, the body's ability to buffer accumulated fatigue declines, and the 3-in-1 structure often shifts to 2-in-1. Two hard weeks, one easy week, repeat. It looks like less training on paper. In practice, it is more effective training because the hard weeks are actually hard rather than running on empty.

EXPERT EVIDENCE

WHAT THE EXPERTS SAY

Joe FrielAuthor of The Cyclist's Training Bible; coach to elite endurance athletes for over 40 years
Periodisation requires built-in recovery phases at every scale — within a week, within a month, within a season. The mesocycle deload (typically every 3–4 weeks) is the structural mechanism that allows progressive overload to continue without hitting a physiological ceiling.
Hear it: Joe Friel's Cycling Training Plan Structure | Roadman Cycling
Dan LorangHead of Performance, Red Bull–Bora–Hansgrohe
At the World Tour level, recovery weeks are locked into the plan before the first ride is logged. They are non-negotiable. Amateur riders who treat recovery weeks as something to earn by feeling tired are working from the wrong mental model.
Hear it: 13 Years Of Coaching Pros: What Amateurs Don't Know

PRACTICAL APPLICATION

DO THIS WEEK

Build the deload into the training calendar before the block starts
When planning a training block, mark week 4 (or week 3 if over 45) as a deload before a single session is logged. Treat it as immovable. The discipline is in the planning, not the execution — once it is in the calendar, the decision is already made.
Cut volume to 40–50% with no intensity targets
If your normal training week is 10 hours, a deload is 4–5 hours. All sessions stay at zone 1 or easy zone 2. No threshold, no VO2max, no 'just a quick effort on that climb'. The intensity removal is as important as the volume cut.
Use the deload to reinforce the basics
Sleep 8–9 hours. Eat full carbohydrates despite riding less. Do the mobility or strength maintenance work that gets dropped in hard weeks. The deload week is also a reset of the habits around training, not just training load itself.

COMMON MISTAKES

WHAT CYCLISTS GET WRONG

MISTAKEDoing deload weeks reactively — only when already broken.
FIXPlan them in advance every 3–4 weeks. Reactive deloads mean you have already been in deficit for 1–2 weeks before taking the rest. Planned deloads prevent that debt from accumulating.
MISTAKEDoing 70–80% volume with 'lighter intensity' and calling it a deload.
FIXA deload requires a real volume cut to 40–50% and full intensity removal. 80% volume with fewer intervals is just a medium week — fatigue does not clear meaningfully at that load.
MISTAKEPanicking at feeling flat or unmotivated during the deload.
FIXFeeling flat, heavy-legged, and low in motivation in the first 2–3 days of a deload is normal — it is fatigue surfacing with the load removed. By days 4–6 it should shift to feeling genuinely fresh. Trust the process.

FAQ

FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

Is a deload week the same as a recovery week?

The terms are often interchangeable. Some coaches distinguish them by degree: a recovery week is a modest reduction (60–70% volume), and a deload is a more aggressive cut (40–50%). What matters is that the reduction is large enough for fatigue to clear — the label is secondary.

Will I lose fitness in a deload week?

No. Aerobic fitness requires three or more weeks of significant inactivity to decline measurably. One week of reduced training clears fatigue without touching fitness. The first hard session after a proper deload almost always produces better numbers than the last hard session before it.

How do deload weeks change as I get older?

More frequent and more complete. After 45, most coaches recommend a 2:1 or 3:1 build-to-deload ratio rather than 3:1 or 4:1. The deload volume cut may also need to be deeper — down to 35–40% rather than 50% — for sufficient recovery effect.

Should I eat less during a deload week?

No. Keep carbohydrate intake at or close to normal training levels for the first 2–3 days to ensure glycogen is fully replenished. A modest calorie reduction by week's end is fine if the lighter load continues, but under-eating during a deload slows the recovery you are trying to accelerate.

Can I do strength training during a deload week?

One easy strength session of reduced volume is fine — it maintains the pattern without adding significant load. Skip any heavy or intense lifting during a deload week. If you normally do two strength sessions, do one at 60% volume.

RELATED EPISODES

HEAR THE CONVERSATIONS

Joe Friel's Cycling Training Plan Structure | Roadman Cycling

13 Years Of Coaching Pros: What Amateurs Don't Know

Roglic's Coach Builds A Training Plan For Amateur Riders | Dan Lorang