In general, the common signs you need a deload week are feeling constant muscle soreness, seeing your performance starts to decline in the gym, your joints start to ache, feeling unmotivated to go to the gym, and catching colds or getting sick more frequently.

Always having a high training intensity can cause your body to build up strain and fatigue.

If you want to progress further into your fitness journey, sometimes the best thing to do is to take a deload week and give your body, mind, and central nervous system some time for recovery.

Below, I’ll go over what exactly is a deload week, the signs you should be looking for, and how to implement deload weeks into your training plan.

What Is A Deload Week

A dead load week is where you take a week off from your normal training routine and reduce your training stimulus.

This can be done by completely not going to the gym, lifting any weight, or doing any intense physical activity for the entire deload period.

Or you can still have your regular training session with changes and adjustments to weight, sets, and reps. You’ll generally want to reduce training volume by reducing your weights, sets, and reps.

You can think of it as an active rest day. You can still practice your lifting technique, but you shouldn’t use the same weight. Your reps and sets should be reduced as well.

This is so you can catch up on adequate rest, promote recovery, and reduce fatigue that has accumulated throughout your training program.

7 Signs You Need A Deload Week

These seven signs are not listed in any particular order. There can be other subtle signs you may need a deload week, but these are the most significant signs you should be looking out for.

1. You Have A Build Up Of Muscle Soreness And Fatigue

One of the biggest signs that you need to take a break from hard training is if you continue to suffer from onset muscle soreness and fatigue week by week. (1)

Typically, you should have your muscles recovered by the next time you try to work out the same muscle group.

If you continue to train through soreness, your body can slowly accumulate fatigue and never get a chance to fully recover.

And doing this can lead to poor performance in the gym.

Which brings me to the next sign you should look for…

2. Your Performance Starts To Regress

Don’t get me wrong. It’s common to have off days and times where you just don’t perform the same in the gym.

But if you’ve noticed that there has been a decline in your performance week by week, then this may be a sign of overtraining, and you may benefit from taking a deload week to focus on recovery.

This is assuming nutrition and sleep quality have been optimal. (Keep in mind improper diet/nutrition and subpar sleep can have the same effects on your resistance training program)

But if you are getting proper sleep and eating right, then it most likely means you should take a few deload periods.

3. Still Feeling Tired After Plenty Of Sleep And Rest

As I’ve mentioned previously if you have been getting a good night’s sleep and eating properly and you still feel fatigued throughout the day.

This is most likely a sign of built-up fatigue within your body from high-intensity and high-volume exercise.

You’ll most likely benefit from taking a deload week.

4. Starting To Feel Aches And Pains Around Your Joints

Having sore muscles and slight fatigue is completely normal. You should be able to recover from a normal amount of training volume.

But if you are really pushing yourself, then your sore muscles and fatigue can slowly turn into aches and pains around your joints.

If you are starting to feel your joints aching, then this is a big indicator that you should reduce fatigue and take a deload week. You would probably benefit from completely taking a week or even two off of your training plan.

You may also consider restructuring your program design and trying a more effective training plan in order to avoid overtraining and getting to this point.

5. Feeling Unmotivated To Be At The Gym And Train

Sometimes, the signs of built-up fatigue and stress from training aren’t just physical issues.

Pushing your body and its central nervous system to its limits from high-intensity training can start to take a toll on the mind as well.

If you start to feel unmotivated to be at the gym, then it may be time to take some time off just to relax and reduce any built-up stress.

(Just make sure you are not just being lazy and using overtraining as an excuse)

6. Your Performance Plateaus And The Weight Feels Heavier

Another sign to look for is hitting a training plateau. Now, keep in mind not all plateaus mean you need a deload.

But if you’ve been on a plateau for several weeks and the same weight you used to lift starts to feel heavier and heavier.

Then this may be a sign that you should take a deload week or would benefit from one greatly.

7. Weaker Immune System And Getting Colds Frequently

Last but not least, if you’ve noticed, you are more susceptible to getting sick. This may be a sign your body is overworked and could use some rest and recovery.

I was hesitant to add this to my list because you could just be catching a bug going around, and it could have nothing to do with needing to take a deload.

However, an overworked body built up with stress and fatigue can lower your immune system and make you more susceptible to catching colds.

Benefits Of Deload Weeks

The obvious benefit of deload weeks is giving your body a break from the high-intensity training and allowing it to recover from built-up stress and fatigue.

This can allow muscles to recover and perform better during your next mesocycle.

How To Implement Deload Weeks Into Your Training Programs

In general you want to be scheduling regular deload weeks within your training program.

I personally like to do a 5-week training block following a 1-week deload period.

This training schedule allows me to maintain progressive overload every month while giving my body time for recovery.

This week allows any built-up fatigue to go away and also gives me a little mental recovery!

Now let’s talk about how to actually perform a deload week…

Lower Your Training Volume

The main idea is to lower training intensity as well as volume to give your body a break and some time to catch up on recovery.

You can achieve this by either no training at all for an entire week.

Another method is to reduce your weights and cut back on the amount of reps and sets you do during your workouts.

Final Thoughts On Deloads And Signs You Should Look For

This concludes my post on the signs you should keep an eye on to know whether or not you should be doing a deload week.

I believe an effective training plan will have regular deload weeks programmed into its schedule already.

But if, for some reason, you haven’t started incorporating a deload week into your training schedule, then you should really reconsider.

This is especially true if you have noticed any of the signs I listed above, which might mean your body is due for some recovery time.

I hope I was able to answer any questions you had about this, and I wish you the best in your fitness journey!

The post When To Start Deloading: Signs You Need A Deload Week first appeared on RFKN Fit.

In general, bodybuilders make the majority of their money through multiple income streams. They can earn competition prize money, get sponsorships from supplement companies or other brands, and sell personal training, but the most lucrative is building a brand and selling products.

There are other ways a bodybuilder makes money, and down below I’ll discuss the 7 most popular ways to make money with bodybuilding.

Most people will think entering and winning competitions against professional bodybuilders is the only way to make it in this field…

But, you’ll be surprised to know that even an average bodybuilder or even someone just sharing their passion for the fitness industry can make money within this industry. (especially if you are using the 6th or 7th method from the list below)

7 Different Ways To Make Money As A Bodybuilder

According to Zippia, the earning potential of a bodybuilder can be anywhere between $19,000 to over 7 figures a year. And the median salary is around $32,000. (1)

You can see that there’s a huge difference between what the best bodybuilders make and what other bodybuilders are making…

And you’ll be surprised that the “best bodybuilders” who are making the “big bucks” aren’t doing so with traditional monetizing methods like winning competitions.

Instead, they focus on building their own brand and following within the fitness industry…

We’ll talk more about this later on in this post, but that’s the secret if you really want to earn money through bodybuilding.

Now, let’s talk about the 7 ways you can earn money through bodybuilding…

1. Winning Fitness Competition Prize Money

Going into the fitness industry and trying to compete in bodybuilding shows and competitions is probably the first thing that comes to mind when you think about how to make money as a bodybuilder.

This is completely valid. But, the prize money you earn is honestly not enough money to make a living usually…

First off, you won’t make money doing small amateur shows. You usually do these shows to earn your pro card, build a name for yourself, and possibly pick up endorsement deals or sponsorships.

It’s typical for prize money to be given out only to professional shows.

The real prize money earned is through big shows like the Mr. Olympia competition, where winners can receive anywhere from $20,000 to 6-figure checks.

And you need to be the best in the world or the top of your class in order to get one of those prizes.

2. Getting Sponsorships Within The Fitness Industry

Getting endorsements, brand deals, or sponsorships is like the holy grail for most bodybuilders.

But there are different types of sponsorships within the fitness industry, and usually, how much a bodybuilder makes from a sponsorship comes down to how much of a social media presence they have…

There are different business models when it comes to brand deals, sponsorships, etc.

Here are just a few examples…

Some companies will give you a unique code, and you just make a percentage of the sales you generate. This is low risk for them since they aren’t paying you unless you are able to generate sales.

Or if you have an established social media presence, then you may get sponsorships where they’ll pay you to post on your profiles, do shoutouts, talk about their products, etc.

Lastly, you can have a full-on sponsorship where they pay you a salary and possibly get free products, but you have certain quotas you need to hit.

These can be quotas on how many products you push for their company, how often you post about their products, appearing at events, or a combination of everything.

Each company has its own way of doing sponsorships and brand deals, so you will never know the terms until you talk with one another.

3. Selling Your Services As A Personal Trainer

Another way to make money with your passion for bodybuilding is to do personal training.

I know a few bodybuilders at my local gym that do this as their full-time job while they continue to build some of the other streams of income I’ve listed in this post.

Now, you can go out and become one of the personal trainers at your gym. But in the world of the internet, online personal training has become all the rage, and lots of bodybuilding professionals tend to go with the online personal training method.

4. Start Selling Your Own Merchandise And Supplements

This is where lots of bodybuilders can start to make money that changes the trajectory of their lives.

And it’s common to see this being done…

Lots of bodybuilders will make a big following or get recognized worldwide and then create physical products like clothing and supplements to start selling.

And you don’t have to be Mr. Olympia to do this.

You just need to be able to build a following on social media or other platforms to start selling your own merchandise.

5. Create And Sell Digital Products

If you don’t want to be trading time for money like you would with personal training. Another option is to make and sell your own digital products.

People buy digital guides all the time on topics like muscle growth, eating the right food, proper nutrition, the best diet for weight loss, etc.

You can easily put your knowledge of bodybuilding into different digital info products and sell them online.

6. Creating A Following On Social Media As An Influencer

If you’ve noticed, many doors open when you are an “influencer”…

In my opinion, building your following online is where the real money is if you really want to turn your passion for body building into a career…

Having a following opens up opportunities for sponsorship deals, making and selling your own products, and even online coaching opportunities.

Even if you didn’t want to sell anything, you could just share free information online and get paid through ad revenue like plenty of YouTubers do…

You can use these platforms to build the following:

• YouTube
• Facebook
• Instagram
• TikTok
• X
• And any other social media site really

7. Building Your Own Brand With A Bodybuilding Blog

Last but not least is building your very own website or blog…

I think if you are focused on building a brand for yourself, you definitely need one.

A blog is something you own…

Unlike social media, where they can ban you if you don’t play by their rules, a blog is your own digital property that you control.

You can build helpful resources to share with others, have people find you through Google, have a place to cross-promote all your social media channels, and have a hub to sell different services or products.

You can even sell advertising space on your blog to be able to make money passively if you want to.

And this is just the tip of the iceberg…

So many different options open up, and it can be possible if you have your own website!

Final Thoughts On How To Make Money As A Bodybuilder

This wraps up my post on how bodybuilders can make money.

But remember, everything revolves around being able to build a following and get the attention of people within the fitness industry.

This is the true asset and what you really get paid for…

If you can get attention, lots of different businesses will want to work with you, and you have the option to build and sell your own products, too!

I’m sure there are other unconventional methods to make money through bodybuilding, but these are the 7 most popular ways.

And building your blog and social media presence is what can really start bringing in the bacon.

I hope you enjoyed this post and it was able to answer your questions!

The post Monetizing Bodybuilding: How Do Bodybuilders Make Money first appeared on RFKN Fit.