Suppose you are bulking and you eat slightly (10-20%) above your maintenance level. Should you maintain that calorie surplus during a deload?

NUTRITION AND RECOVERY

The answer is: no. The main purpose of a deload is to recover after a longer period of bulking or cutting. In addition to rest, sufficient nutrition is also required for recovery. Viewed in this way, a calorie surplus during deload seems like a good option. You can then be sure that your body can recover optimally.

FAT STORAGE

However, realize that during a deload you have little or no training stimulus. And no growth potential means that extra calories are unnecessary and are therefore mainly stored as fat. If you continue to eat at maintenance level, you will have sufficient nutrition for your recovery, without gaining fat.

If you deload during a cut, eat at a maintenance level during that deload and therefore not with a calorie deficit.

ADVICE

The advice for a deload is therefore: eat at maintenance level, both in the bulk and in the cut. Eat enough protein (2 grams per kilogram of body weight per day) to protect your hard-earned muscle mass.