Periodisation training involves purposefully adjusting training variables to enhance performance during competitions, avoid overtraining, and improve overall performance. Variables include load, duration, volume, and frequency, which are planned over a specific time to achieve training objectives.
Periodisation is the structuring of training to maximise performance results. It is ordinarily cyclical, meaning the program repeats itself; the manipulation of resistance training variables is designed to ensure the individual achieves peak performance at a specific time of year.
For example, a powerlifter will create a periodised training plan that peaks them for a Powerlifting Meet on a particular date.
There are three types of periodisation:
Linear Periodisation
Undulating Periodization
Block Periodization (sometimes referred to as phase instead of block)
Periodisation programs will be structured in three cycles to ensure the consistency and accuracy of year-round training.
Three Types of Cycles
In Periodization, the usual terminology refers to cycles instead of weeks, months, and years. Cycles are an essential part of the planning process when developing periodization strategies.
Macrocycle
The macrocycle cycle is the longest of the three cycles; its duration is usually annually, but it can be as little as four months in some programs and as long as four years in others. Macrocycles are the long-term goal – it usually refers to the season as a whole. It's the big picture with long-term goals and uses other cycles to work towards it. Within the macrocycle, you'll have phases that could be made up of 1-2 mesocycles.
It can vary from sport to sport. An Olympic athlete would have four macrocycles. Pro-athletes like football, basketball, and baseball players will have a 12-month macrocycle. A bodybuilder's macrocycle usually lasts 12 months, including an off-season and on-season training plan. Six to nine months of bulking add mass and size, followed by three to six months of cutting to develop a shredded, aesthetic, and symmetric physique. A Powerlifter macrocycle might be just 16 weeks.
A seasoned athlete's Macrocycle might look something like the below:
Prep/pre-season phase: general conditioning, fitness, agility, and speed, with three mesocycles focusing on conditioning, strength, power and then agility.
Competition phase: During the in-season, one phase for maintaining fitness levels and strategies, skills, and techniques.
Transition Phase: Postseason, taking type off, which usually includes two mesocycles involving recovery, fundamental strength, endurance, and maintenance.
A powerlifter will have three phases to the macrocycle, which could last from 7 to 12 months, depending on the individual lifter:
Hypertrophy Phase
Strength
Peaking/Tapering
These phases will usually be repeated cyclically throughout the macrocycle. Two hypertrophy, three strength, and two peak/tapering phases might exist.
Mesocycle (Phase)
Mesocycles work towards medium-term goals that all work towards the primary long-term goal. A mesocycle is typically four weeks long and comprises four microcycles, but it can range from 3 to 6 microcycles (weeks) depending on the program.
During the macrocycle, you will have multiple mesocycles. A single mesocycle will focus on one training quality or target, generally referred to as a phase: explosive strength, maximal strength, endurance, agility, hypertrophy or conditioning.
The usual structure is a four-week mesocycle comprised of four microcycles. The body is progressively overloaded during these cycles, and the fourth microcycle, Deload Week, focuses on recovery. Usually, each microcycle sees a slight increase in the overall amount of stress, and each training session increases the amount of work demanded until the Deload week, which focuses on recovery.
An example of an 18-week macrocycle comprising five mesocycles ranging from 3-4 weeks in duration.
Mesocycle 1:
Week 1: Endurance
Week 2: Endurance
Week 3: Deload
Mesocycle 2:
Week 4: Hypertrophy
Week 5: Hypertrophy
Week 6: Hypertrophy
Week 7: Deload
Mesocycle 3:
Week 8: Explosive Strength
Week 9: Explosive Strength
Week 10: Explosive Strength
Week 11: Deload
Mesocycle 4:
Week 12: Maximal Strength
Week 13: Maximal Strength
Week 14: Maximal Strength
Week 15: Deload
Mesocycle 5:
Week 16: Peak
Week 17: Taper
Week 18 Deload
Microcycle
The Microcycle is short-term and focuses typically on daily or weekly segments, but most often, it's simply a weekly training plan for a mesocycle. The Microcycle is the shortest training cycle of the three and the most important because if one cannot progress past it, one won't complete the meso or macrocycle unless the microcycle is completed.
A mesocycle is a batch of Microcycles. Each Microcycle has its own short-term goal, and each Microcycle within a mesocycle works towards the goal of the mesocycle. A microcycle comprises a series of scheduled training sessions and recovery days.
The goal of a microcycle is to create a focused training block, such as a few days of intense training followed by an equal amount of recovery time. For example, if a mesocycle were four weeks long and focused on increasing the training intensity load, it would look like this:
Microcycle 1: Base (70-85% 1RM)
Microcycle 2: Increase Load (85-95% 1RM)
Microcycle 3: Peak (95-100% 1RM)
Microcycle 4: Deload (50% of 1RM)
Another example (seen below) would be whereby each individual training session (day) has specific training objectives such as hypertrophy (muscle growth), maximal strength, and explosive power (focusing on speed and force production in the shortest period). Other days are focused on recovery and rest; no exercise is required.
Monday: Hypertrophy (increase volume) - 4x10
Tuesday: Recovery
Wednesday: Maximal Strength (increase intensity) - 4x3
Thursday: Recovery
Friday: Explosive Power: 8x3 (reduce intensity and rest intervals)
Saturday: Recovery
Sunday: Recovery
Three Types of Periodization
Linear Periodisation (LP)
Linear refers to the sequential progression in the training program, and periodization refers to how the sequential progression takes place in a specific block of time. LP was initially designed in the 50s and 60s by the Soviets and would typically last one year. However, the Olympic athletes would implement LP training over a four-year macrocycle. It can be applied to more short-term macrocycles up to 8-12 weeks, generally with two mesocycles.
Linear periodization is a very simple programming method: gradually increasing intensity relative to the lifter's one-repetition maximum (1RM) while reducing the training volume.
The increase in intensity could be throughout one or multiple Microcycles or Mesocycles. It's the simplest way to progress an exercise over time, starting with high volume and low intensity and transitioning over some time to low volume and high intensity.
Linear periodisation is generally defined by starting with lighter loads and more volume, then gradually overloading the load each session or microcycle and decreasing the volume (repetitions), possibly increasing rest periods between sessions. The most common linear powerlifting programs are Jim Wendler 5/3/1, the Starting Strength 5x5 program, and nSuns 5/3/1.
The simplicity of LP is its selling point. The training protocol is simple: start with high volume and low intensity and then progress to low volume and high intensity by progressively overloading each training session or microcycle.
The Progressive overload (PO) increment must be sensible, fixed, logical, and consistent. It must be by a fixed load, for example, 5 lbs or 10 lbs each training session, or by a fixed percentage if you're using %1RM training, such as 5 or 10% each session.
LP was introduced in the late 1950s by Russian professor Lev Matveev and is also referred to as traditional periodization (TP) in the literature (Kok, Hamer & Bishop 2009; Bartolomei et al. 2014).
In theory, the initial high-volume phases are focused on hypertrophic adaptations, and the later phase is focused more on strength and power with higher intensity/heavy loads that challenge neural mechanisms rather than just skeletal muscles.
LP is an approach adopted by novices because the point of resistance in the progress curve usually experienced by advanced athletes hasn't yet been reached, meaning a simple linear program can yield significant results in optimal performance for novice lifters. These big results are called 'Newbie Gains' whereby simple periodisation programs can produce significant results on your PR, allowing the lifter to overload every microcycle or individual training session progressively. Examples of Linear Periodization routines are:
Example 1: Linear Program - 20 Week Duration with Five Mesocycles:
Example 2: Linear Program - 18 Week Four Mesocycle Program
The above program is linear; however, each mesocycle has a training phase and an objective. For example, Meso 1 is dedicated to hypertrophy, two is for maximal strength, and 3 is a continuation of Maximal Strength but with heavier loads and lower reps. Then, Meso 4 is peaking for a new PR (personal record) training session or a meet/competition event.
Undulating Periodisation (Non-linear)
This method is adopted by more intermediate-advanced lifters and alternates between high-volume/low intensity and high-intensity/low volume daily (each training session) or weekly. Undulating Periodisation (UP) training organises sessions so that volume and intensity vary daily (individual training sessions) or weekly (microcycles), and programs can be either Weekly Undulated Periodisation (WUP) or Daily Undulated Periodisation (DUP).
By frequently changing the training variables in UP, the body is challenged differently, and the training stress is varied. Therefore, ensuring the lifter reduces the risks of plateaus in training, improves performance, and creates a more engaging and stimulating training protocol.
Weekly Undulating Periodization (WUP) changes the volume and intensity week by week, and daily undulating periodization (DUP) adjusts the volume and intensity daily between each training session. Regardless of WUP or DUP, the primary purpose of UP programs is for the lifter to avoid the ‘repeated bout effect,’ which is the theory that the more one exposes oneself to a stimulus, the less of an impact it has.
Whereas Linear periodisation follows a consistent incremental increase in intensity or volume to create stress on the body, it's a fixed increment, whether a 5-10% increase in load intensity each session for the lift and reducing the sets or reps to adjust for that intensity increase. For example, five sets of five reps for all main lifts (bench press, squat, deadlift), adding 10% or 5-10lbs every training session for that lift. Or you can increase the training volume for each session by a fixed amount. For example, you add one set to each training session, starting week one with 3x5, week two with 4x5, week three with 5x5, and so on.
UP’s formation and implementation are due to the principle in lifting that the more you advance, the slower the progress is compared to a novice (noob) lifter. You’ll hear the expression “newbie gains” thrown around to summarize this phenomenon.
UP leads to sustainable progression. A more advanced lifter will generally opt for WUP, while a more novice lifter will benefit from a DUP. Because UP incorporates more than one training adaptation (hypertrophy, strength, power), you can improve in all these areas over the course of a mesocycle and the overall macrocycle. In addition, all three of these qualities are synergists; therefore, improving one will help with the other, making a more well-rounded lifter!
As mentioned, both forms of UP are highly beneficial due to their adaption of specificity to the lifter's intended sport or goal. They are highly adjustable session-by-session to help the lifter achieve peak performance for their sport or goal.
For example, a bodybuilder will focus more on volume and medium intensity but still incorporate strength sessions sporadically throughout the macrocycle. A powerlifter will focus more on power and strength sessions, centring around lower volume and higher intensity to challenge the neural mechanism and Fast twitch muscle fibres.
Three UP Training Adaptations
Although UP isn't exclusive to strength training and weightlifting athletes, it seems most applicable and effective for strength athletes in powerlifting, Olympic weightlifting, strongman, etc. It can still be applied to bodybuilding or other cardiovascular sports, but the following three adaptations are more specific to powerlifters, power builders, or strength athletes.
Explosive Strength
Explosive strength training focuses on the rate of force development (RFD), which is applying maximal force in the shortest duration of time. Explosive strength is about how fast a lifter or athlete can develop force, which is the speed at which the contractile elements of the muscle can develop force.
Vladimir M. Zatsiorsky, a professor of kinesiology at Penn State University, described explosive strength by dividing the maximum force by the time it takes to produce this level of force—Tidow (1990) defined explosive strength as the ability to increase force rapidly.
Explosive strength training aims to improve force development and explosive strength faster. Explosive strength can only be trained at high velocity, whereby velocity is defined as the speed of something in a given direction, which is why lifters use submaximal loads (between 40-60% 1RM) with maximal speed.
Advanced lifters will accommodate resistance by using resistance bands and chains that teach one to accelerate and reduce bar deceleration. The bands and chains account for 25-35%, depending on band tension or chain size. You use lighter weights to control this with perfect form.
Explosive strength training focuses on the concentric part of the movement rather than the eccentric. This is because we can lift more eccentrically than concentrically. During the concentric phase, lifters must apply maximal force to move loads. Speed is essential, and maximal force production is required during this lift phase.
For benching, use 40-50% of a 1RM with a method of accommodating resistance, i.e. bands or chains. For squatting, use 50- 60% with a method of accommodating resistance. Bands or chains must always be used to greatly reduce the deceleration phase. You can stand up for a long time with a weight at the top of the squat; however with a large bar load made up of mostly band tension, you are being pulled back down, causing a force exceeding gravity.
or explosive strength, the reps can be up to eight per set. Forty-eight lifts per workout would be maximal, 36 would be optimal and 24 minimal.
Speed Strength
- Maximal Contractile strength/Overload
this can get confused with power day; however, the rep ranges are higher and the intensity is sub-maximal to maximal, moderate to high intensity loads. The overall volume is higher as its objective is to build overall strength.
The rep range is moderate to low between 4-6 reps for 3-4 sets, the intensity is 70-85% of 1RM, the tempo is to be explosive and you will build in longer rest periods between 3-5 minutes. You wouldn’t perform more than 2 sessions per week, and no more than 1-3 strength exercises per muscle group, typically focus on compound movements.
- Hypertrophy/Base Building
Hypertrophy day focuses on lighter loads with more volume focusing on the Slow Twitch and Fast Twitch type IIa muscle fibers to create muscle growth and endurance. The primary objective is to maximize muscular development and growth, increase protein synthesis, improve strength, and body composition.
The rep range is normally between 6-12 repetitions with 65-75% of 1RM performing 3-5 sets with lower rest periods between sets under 60 seconds to create a metabolic effect. Moderate tempo is applied usually 2/0/2 with 2-4 exercises per muscle group.
You’ll also see this referred to as ‘Base Building’ this means that its creating the foundations for the future phases, accustoming the body to future higher intensity loads, prepping the body, and creating the founding pillars for the long term goal of your training.
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