Strength training when you are sick
Do not plan deloads, they will provided for you
- Mike Boyle
I had a whole thing about deloads and how I was over due for one planned for this weeks training log, but then I went and got sick and missed 6-days of training!
I'm feeling better now, I managed to get a solid training session in yesterday, and I now feel quite well deloaded!
Using velocity based training to autoregulate training
When tracking velocity in the gym, you have the ability to not need planned deloads at all if you are strategic. This potentially allows you to train consistently all year round and accumulate more great training sessions and make even better progress.
I use velocity in my sessions to do what's called autoregulation providing mini-deloads within sessions only when I need them in response to low readiness. To do this I use the Trends stat in the metricVBT app and make adjustments based on if my warm-up sets are trending faster or slower compared to my 6-week average.
Looking at my performance chart all the big drops in velocity are where I had time away from lifting; Illness, vacations, things like that. The smaller dips in load lifted, they are the autoregulation moments. This is where I back off a little on that specific day in response to my strength levels being a little below what I expect.
These charts only show the autoregulation of my top weight lifted each sessions, but you can also autoregulate with reps, total sets, accessory exercises etc, but the idea is the same - don't skip workouts, just adjust them.
.png)