Last week and this week are Deload weeks for me- yippee!!

I do love going to the gym and lifting heavy things, but a break every couple of months is welcome as well. My body was craving for this break in terms of joint pain and heaviness in my muscles that was not going away over the weekend break. And the general malaise…the kind that tells me I need to do things differently and lightly with my body.

And so here I am. 

This is how my deload week went, and I plan to more-or-less replicate this pattern this week too, with maybe the days juggled up.

Monday

My son had an orthodontic appointment at 10. With this mid-morning engagement, I decided to skip the gym, and do a Low Intensity Steady State (LISS) walking on the treadmill at home. At the speed of 4-4.2 miles per hour, and an incline of 2, even the walking gets me all sweaty. 40 minutes total. And done for the day! 

Tuesday

Gym day…I got in some biggies but with lower weights- Barbell squats, Stiff leg Deadlifts, Leg Curls, Seated Shoulder Press, Dumbbell Rows, Rear Deltoid Flies and Upright Rows. The whole body felt worked, but not to the limits. And lower weight meant I could really focus on the form and slow it down for a big enough impact!

Wednesday

Went to the gym for some Sprint Interval Training- 5 sprint intervals of 20-40 seconds each. With a rest period of walking at 4 mph for 60-75 seconds. Done in 15 minutes, and COMPLETELY spent! Followed this up with some ab work, and cable kickbacks for some glute work. Also hip abduction  and adduction meant my bum felt like it had a good kick that day 🙂

Thursday

Yoga at home! (I wrote about it here). Definitely my favourite day of the deload week. I did a 45 minute class on Alo Moves that was constant movement of vinyasa style, and a whole lot of back bending. Which meant I felt super energized and open by the end of it. Also, all the arm work of pushups and downward dogs meant my upper body felt it!

Friday

Another gym day. This time my son joined since he was home for PA day. I did some Hip Thrusts, Single-Leg Leg Presses, and Leg Extensions for lower body followed by Incline Chest Press, Lat Pull Downs, and Lateral Raises for the upper body. Again the weight was at 70-80% of my usual level. I worked on my form, and got tired with controlling the tempo at the lower weight. 

Saturday and Sunday

The weekend just involved a lot of walking around the neighbourhood, and yoga- vinyasa one day and restorative the other. 30ish minutes each.

Overall, I loved the variety of exercises I was able to do this past week. I loved the lower weight and controlling of form, and just the mental break of knowing something different and a little bit easier was in store for me. I loved eating a little bit more than usual. 

And this week being my second (and last) deload week, I am really looking forward to it again. 

I am sure, I will be raring to go hard once next Sunday rolls around. But for now, taking it easy from 4 days of hard lifting is feeling like a gift that I am happy to have…