Deloading is widespread, but its application is often inconsistent and undervalued. That gap caught Lee Bell’s attention after discovering there was no consensus definition. Bell is a Senior Lecturer at Sheffield Hallam University who focuses on the deloading, overtraining, and overreaching spectrum. He explains how overtraining and overreaching are sometimes used synonymously. That confusion is compounded further by associations with overtraining syndrome (OTS). Instead, Bell frames overreaching as a “window of opportunity” when used intentionally. For example, a planned overreach can be functional or non-functional based on recovery. Bell also examines opportunities and tradeoffs in modern periodization models. He contrasts flexible and fluid approaches with more traditional, rigid programming; each approach has implications for athlete trust and recovery. Looking ahead, Bell envisions a collaborative approach to sport science driven by coaching needs. He reflects on recent coaching survey data and the key themes that emerged for the future. Hear his perspective on next steps in velocity-based training, individualized periodization, and variability.

Reach out to Lee via Instagram: @lee3ell and LinkedIn: @lee-bell| Find Eric on Instagram: @ericmcmahoncscs and LinkedIn: @ericmcmahoncscs  

→ Read the SCJ article co-authored by Lee Bell referenced in this episode: A Practical Approach to Deloading: Recommendations and Considerations for Strength and Physique Sports.

“For me, coming from a coaching background, there will never be a one size fits all. I would love there to be. And I think when I started my PhD, I had quite a reductionist view on this. There will be this perfect, golden microcycle that we can implement with all of our strength athletes, and they will all get stronger, and they will all get bigger. The problem is that […] you have to treat the individual athlete as a human being, so what I mean by that is all of the things that we know as coaches about their training gauge, their likes and dislikes, their individual goals, but also what's happening in the periphery as well.” 16:40

“You've got training stress. You've got exam stress. It's the same way as if someone's got like a big workload, a lot of hours at work, they're doing overtime and things like that. It's all about understanding how the psychology can impact the physiology of training.” 17:45

“If we use our experience as a Coach, […] Your jump scores are down. Your sleep scores are not where they should be. You're reporting muscle soreness, like lots of different things that we can triangulate rather than making that decision of, oh no, you've got another two weeks left or, yes, you're going to have a deload week. Why not just have a lighter session? The deload doesn't have to be-- and we always call it a deload week. But it doesn't have to be a week.” 25:30