Deloading: The Stoic Art of Control

REFLECTIONS IN MOTION

Talking deload weeks through the lens of impact

A couple of newsletters ago, we talked about the importance of rest days. For most athletes, taking a day off isn’t a huge problem. It takes some discipline, but it gets done.

But mention a deload week, a week of deliberately dialing back intensity so your body can recover, and it gets harder.

I’ve been there. Because when you’re serious about progress, the idea of taking it easy feels like weakness. Like you’re sabotaging your progress.

Below, we’ll explore how cutting volume during a deload can backfire and why learning to train with less intensity is the harder, more effective choice. The irony? Backing off just enough is often what lets you break through…

Why should you care about deload weeks?

The Stoics knew this was a fine line.

You shouldn’t blindly follow your impulses, but that doesn’t mean ignoring your body either. If you never listen to it, you burn out. If you listen too much, you sabotage your progress.

The answer lies in Enkrateia. The Stoic virtue of self-mastery. You’re not shutting out the signals your body gives you. You’re interpreting them wisely. Your impulse might say, “Skip training, you're tired.” But self-mastery says, “Still show up, just lower the intensity.”

By reducing intensity instead of volume, you don’t give in to laziness, and you don’t run yourself into the ground. You train with control, not weakness.

Where taking deload weeks often goes wrong

When you take a rest or deload week, what do you do?

Do you train fewer days? Or do you keep the same schedule but lower the intensity of your training?

For most athletes, the default is training less. Maybe you normally train four days a week, and during a deload, you drop to two or three, keeping the same intensity in those sessions. On the surface, it feels like you’re doing the right thing. But in reality?

You’ve just stepped out of your rhythm. And once you're out, it’s much harder to get back in. That break in flow makes it harder to become consistent again. You’re also not giving your body the recovery it needs. Most athletes end up overcompensating during the few sessions they do keep, so you’re training harder, and that will impact your recovery badly.

Training less often feels like the easier road.
But the smarter path? That’s training the same number of days, just with a different intensity.

THIS WEEK’S STOIC INSIGHT

A moment this week that taught me something

Live from Eindhoven, Netherlands

This week, I found myself stuck.

Too many ideas. Too many directions pulling at me. I’d start one thing, then jump to the next. My attention was split across ten different tasks, each getting maybe 10% of me.

By the end of the day, I felt busy… but empty. Like I had done everything and nothing at the same time.

Then I read a line from Marcus Aurelius:

“If you seek tranquillity, do less. Or (more accurately) do what’s essential. Which brings a double satisfaction: to do less, better.”— Marcus Aurelius, Meditations 6.32

That hit.

It reminded me that real progress doesn’t come from chasing everything.
It comes from choosing what matters and giving it your full presence.

Simplify. Focus. Master the moment in front of you.

How to do deload weeks the right way

You will still do the same number of training sessions. You keep the training moments intact. You only fill in these sessions by using different exercises, reducing time, or doing fewer reps and sets. You’re still showing up.

You stay in the flow, but you also listen to your body. You don’t feel like you are taking it easy because you are still doing something. You’re still making small, forward steps. These sessions are also a great opportunity to have some time for yourself, work on mobility or coordination exercises that don’t need a lot of recovery.

You maintain your muscles, protect your rhythm, and when the rest is over... you’re ready to attack.

If I could only use one tactic during my deload week, it would be this

I use a universal tactic that’s applied across many sports to approach deload weeks. It follows three main rules that work together beautifully:

1. Take a deload week every 4 weeks.
During this week, you dial down the intensity of your workouts but keep the volume of sessions the same. You’re still training, just not pushing as hard.

2. Reduce the number of sets by 30 to 50%.
You can also switch up the exercises, but keep the intensity low. This way, you maintain your progress, which should be the goal of a deload week.

3. Reduce the number of reps per set by 2.
This helps lower the intensity within each exercise while still getting the movement pattern in.

Remember, this is just one approach. Your training sessions will take less time, so you can either cut them short or add in some mobility drills or stretching. These principles are mainly for strength training, but the percentage rule also works well for endurance sessions.

END ON PURPOSE

One question to ask yourself…

To what service am I committed?

It is good to ask yourself from time to time, or with making decisions, who am I serving? Am I serving myself? There is no right answer, but know who or what you are serving and are committed to. It will shine through in your actions, and people will feel it.

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