Principles of Periodization

1
Principles of Periodization

• University of Massachusetts Boston
• Timothy R. Morgan, D.C.

2
Periodization

• Periodization systematic variation of training
  specificity, intensity, and volume organized into
  planned periods or cycles within an overall
  program
• Training programs need to be varied in order to
  continually presenting the athlete with new
  demands and challenges
• Training variation helps to avoid plateauing of
  physical adaptations and psychological
  adjustments
• The positive outcome gained through a successful
  training program cannot continue indefinitely
  unless the training stimulus is constantly changed

3
General Adaptation Syndrome

• Alarm reaction - the body detects and prepares
  to mount a response to an external stimuli or
  training stress last days to weeks athlete may
  experience short term soreness, stiffness and a
  drop in performance
• Adaptation - the body protectively responds and
  adapts to the training stress neurological,
  structural and biochemical adaptations occur
  supercompensation occurs in this stage
• Exhaustion - Failure of the body to fully adapt
  to the stress can occur as a result of
  sub-optimal training variety or when training
  stress is too great monotony, overtraining and
  other training maladaptations may occur
  non-training stresses may also contribute to
  exhaustion

4
Supercompensation

• Supercompensation refers to the desired,
  beneficial training effect that occurs in direct
  response to the applied training stress, and
  following a recovery period
• Supercompensation is the return of the
  performance level from a point of reduced
  capacity that follows a training episode, beyond
  the pre-training level and to a new, higher
  performance baseline

5
Supercompensation Adaptation
Figure 1
Figure 2
Positive Adaptation
Negative Adaptation

• Figure 1 - note that the training effect brings
  the performance capacity back to a higher level
• Figure 2 - note the inadequate recovery stage and
  its effect on adaptation

6
Periodization Cycles
Macrocycle entire training period typically
one year but may last from months to 4
years Mesocycle lasts several weeks to months,
depending on the goals of training and/or number
of competitions within period Microcycle
typically 1 week long, possibly up to 4 weeks
focuses on daily and weekly training variations

• A Periodized training program is divided into a
  number of different specific time periods each
  with specific training goals and training
  emphasis

Macrocycle
Mesocycle
Mesocycle
Mesocycle
Mesocycle
Micro
Micro
Micro
Micro
Micro
Micro
Micro
Micro
7
Periodization Periods

• The planned implementation of the meso- and
  microcycles within an overall macrocycle is the
  basis for varying the training program design
• Training Intensity Volume are the most often
  manipulated variables
• To avoid overtraining and to optimize
  performance, the concept of periodization
  involves shifting training priorities
• Conventional Periodization models include four
  distinct periods

Non-sport-specific High Volume Low Intensity
Sport-specific Low Volume High Intensity

• Preparatory 1st Transition Competition
  2nd Transition

8
Preparatory Period

• The longest phase of the Macrocycle occurs
  during the non-competitive period of the
  athletes calendar
• Major emphasis of this period is establishing a
  base level of conditioning, increasing athletes
  tolerance to more intense training
• Low intensity / High Volume training
• High volume training requires extensive recovery
  sport specific skills are therefore not stressed,
  largely due to time requirements
• As the Preparatory period carries out, individual
  microcycles are designed to progressively
  increase resistance training loads and
  sport-conditioning intensity, decrease training
  volume and give more attention to sport-specific
  training
• Preparatory period is divided into three
  phases
• Hypertrophy / Endurance
• Basic Strength
• Strength / Power

9
Preparatory Period (cont.)

• Hypertrophy / Endurance Phase
• Early Preparatory Period from 1 to 6 weeks
• Low intensity / High Volume training
• Increase lean body mass
• Increase endurance
• Gradually increase sport specific training, but
  not a priority initially
• Endurance focus early, transitioning to more of a
  hypertrophy focus
• End of H / E phase may see the microcycle design
  switch to a recovery mode of decreased volume and
  intensity, preparing for the next Prep period
  phase, Basic Strength phase

Hypertrophy / Endurance Phase Very low to
moderate intensity (50-75 of the 1RM) and very
high to moderate volume (3-6 sets of 10-20
repetitions)
10
Preparatory Period (cont.)

• Basic Strength Phase
• Immediately follows the H / E phase, which may
  include a late phase recovery microcycle(s)
• Training goal is to increase strength of sport
  specific muscle groups
• Involves a gradual increase of training intensity
  and a gradual decrease of training volume
• Gradually increasing complexity of movement and
  exercise, moving to more sport specific training

Basic Strength Phase High intensity (80-90 of
the 1RM) Moderate volume (3-5 sets of 4-8
repetitions)
11
Preparatory Period (cont.)

• Strength / Power Phase
• Involves increasing sport-specific training
• Incorporates sport-specific plyometrics
• Explosive Power drills at high loads and low
  volumes

Strength / Power Phase High intensity (75-95 of
the 1RM, depending on the exercise) and low
volume (3-5 sets of 2-5 repetitions)
12
First Transition Period

• Scheduled between the Preparatory Period and the
  Competition Period
• Represents a break between high volume training
  and high intensity training

13
Competition Period

• The goal of this period is to peak strength and
  power through further increases in training
  intensity with additional decreases in training
  volume
• Significant increase in sport specific skill and
  strategy training
• Less time is spent on physical conditioning
• Competitions may be incorporated as training
  sessions
• The duration of the competition period is sport
  dependent, therefore microcycles need to be
  manipulated due to seasonal demands
• With a short season, the goal is to peak strength
  and power for the competitive period
• Longer seasons (some professional sport seasons
  may span 6-9 months) require a conditioning
  preservation goal preserving strength/power/perfo
  rmance over the length of the competitive period
  moderate volume, moderate intensity maintenance
  program

Peaking very high intensity 93 1RM -- very
low volume 1-3 sets of 1-3 reps Maintenance
moderate volume 2-3 sets of 6-8 reps
14
2nd Transition Period

• Also known as Active Rest or Restoration
  Period
• Scheduled to follow the prolonged, intense
  competition period
• The duration of this period will differ depending
  on the length of the other macrocycle periods,
  but typically lasts for 1-4 weeks
• The 2nd Transition allows the athlete to
  physically and psychologically rest and recover
  from the competition period prior to entering
  into the preparatory period of the next
  macrocycle
• Rather than inactivity, this period is marked by
  unstructured, non-sport-specific exercise
• Low intensity / low volume, non-aggressive
  training
• Light recreational activities (i.e. recreational
  swimming, volleyball, very light resistance
  training, yoga, etc.)
• The concept of active rest can also be used as
  a 1-week break between other training phases or
  mesocycle periods. Active rest used in this
  capacity can be termed an unloading week, and
  attempts to prepare the athletes body for the
  increased demands of the next phase of training
• Unloading weeks help to minimize the cumulative
  stress that continuous training places on the
  athletes body and may help prevent overtraining
  syndrome

15
Applying Sport Seasons to Periodization

• Off-Season period between the competitive
  season and the pre-season
• Most of the Preparatory period occurs during the
  off-season
• Depending on the length of the off-season
  (dictated by the length of the competitive
  season), the SC professional can break up this
  season into separate preparatory mesocycles. i.e.
  athlete may rotate through two or more cycles of
  endurance/hypertrophy, basic strength and
  strength/power phases, depending on
  sport-specific needs
• Preseason leads up to the 1st contest of the
  season
• Varies in length depending on sport, but is
  usually less than 6 weeks
• The preseason typically contains the late phases
  of the Preparatory period and the 1st transition
  period

16
References

• Baechle, TR. Earle, RW. Essentials of Strength
  Training and Conditioning, 2nd Ed. 2000. Human
  Kinetics.