Table 2.

Reasons for deloading

	Responses (n = 246)
“Do you think you could progress without deloads?”
Yes	160 (65.0%)
No	86 (35.0%)
“Why do you use deloads?”
Decrease fatigue	227 (92.3%)
Prepare for a change in training (e.g., between training blocks)	159 (64.6%)
Improve performance	147 (59.8%)
To prepare for a competition	126 (51.2%)
Psychological reasons	119 (48.4%)
Injury prevention	119 (48.4%)
Injury management	80 (32.5%)
Maintain performance and/or muscle mass	52 (21.1%)
To preserve energy for other things (e.g., non-training life stressors)	46 (18.7%)
Sleep disruption	25 (10.2%)
Increase muscle mass	19 (7.7%)