Training guide
What is a deload week?
A deload week is a planned period of lower training stress inside a training block. A 2023 expert consensus defines deloading as a period of reduced training stress designed to mitigate physiological and psychological fatigue, promote recovery and enhance preparedness for subsequent training.
The consensus comes from coaches in strength and physique sports. Endurance athletes use the same idea under names such as recovery week or down week.
What the research says
The 2023 paper used a three round Delphi study with expert strength and physique coaches. It describes deloading as common practice that is under researched. The authors write that deloading is generally done every 4 to 6 weeks for about 7 days, with some deloads as short as one session or as long as 2 weeks, and that coaches usually reduce volume by cutting reps, sets or sessions.
The paper also says it is currently unclear whether deloading is a necessary part of a program for avoiding the harm of nonfunctional overreaching or overtraining syndrome. It notes nonfunctional overreaching is uncommon in resistance trained people, even when researchers try to induce it. So the evidence is expert opinion, not proof of a best method.
Deload, taper and rest are different
A taper is reduced training before a competition, with the aim of peaking. A deload is placed inside the program, often at the end of a block, and the aim is lower fatigue and readiness for the next block. A rest day is a single day with no training.
What counts as reduced depends on the sport and the athlete: fewer sessions, shorter sessions, lower intensity, or a mix. Because that choice is individual, an athlete's AI and coach decide it together with the athlete's data.
What your AI can read in Memory.fit
Your AI can see the block you are in through get_workouts and get_training_load: hours per week, load as fitness, fatigue and form, and skipped sessions. It can also read HRV, resting heart rate and sleep against your usual range, with get_recovery and get_daily_metrics.
When you ask, your AI writes the lighter week into your plan with plan_session or set_week_intent, and Memory.fit sends structured sessions to your watch. Memory.fit does not decide when you need a deload.
In your AI
The AI you already use, with your data in Memory.fit.
- ChatGPTChatGPT plans your week, fuels your long sessions and writes it all back to Memory.fit.Set up ChatGPT
- ClaudeClaude writes your plans back to Memory.fit, and asks you before it replaces or removes something you have.Set up Claude
Grok BotGrok Bot plans and reviews from your real training, and can re-plan a week after a bad night's sleep.Set up Grok Bot
MuseMuse plans sessions from your real training and writes them into Memory.fit's Plan.Set up Muse
DotsOpenAI says a dot's background research uses your connected apps read only, so plans are written when you ask in the chat.Set up Dots- GeminiType @ in a Gemini chat and pick Memory.fit to ask about your training. Gemini asks you to allow each session it plans, and planning a whole week is not reliable yet.Set up Gemini
- GrokGrok reads your training, sleep and fuel, and can plan around them.Set up Grok
- Perplexity ComputerPerplexity Computer reads your training in Memory.fit. Whether it writes a plan back isn't checked yet.Set up Perplexity Computer
- Claude CodeClaude Code reads your training and writes the sessions it plans back to Memory.fit, asking before each change unless you allowed it.Set up Claude Code
CueYour Cue agents plan your week and write your fuel plans from your real training, sleep and recovery.Set up Cue
What to send
Copy one, send it to your AI.
“Look at the last 6 weeks of hours and training load in Memory.fit. How long since my last lighter week?”
Tools:
get_workoutsget_training_load“Plan a lighter week in Memory.fit by cutting session length by about a third, and show me the before and after hours.”
Tools:
plan_sessionset_week_intent“After my lighter week, compare my HRV, resting heart rate and sleep in Memory.fit with the two weeks before it.”
Tools:
get_recoveryget_daily_metrics“Build my next 8 weeks in Memory.fit as three build weeks and one lighter week, and send the sessions to my watch.”
Tools:
set_training_plansend_session_to_devices
Questions
In short.
The 2023 paper says deloads are generally done every 4 to 6 weeks, with wide variation. It is expert practice, not a proven rule.
Generally about 7 days, though some range from one session to 2 weeks.
Coaches in the paper usually reduce volume, for example reps, sets or sessions. Endurance athletes often shorten sessions or lower intensity.
No. A taper comes before a competition to peak. A deload sits inside the program to lower fatigue.
No. It shows your load and recovery numbers, and your AI plans the lighter week when you ask.
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