Workout-X Guide To Periodization
01. Introduction
03. History and Current Use of Periodization
04. Advantages and Disadvantages of Periodization
08. Planning Workout for Periodization
09. Achieving Goals with Periodization
10. Periodization in Bodybuilding
11. Periodization for Athletes
12. Conclusion
Introductions
Periodization is a popular training method these days. If you have been around gyms or team sports locker rooms very much, you have probably heard the word. It is an intriguing concept for people who would like to try a different and effective type of training for competitions or for everyday fitness. It can be used by everyone from the office worker to the Olympian.
Yet, it might not be a good idea to get the story of periodization from just anyone. You might find that people who do not have the slightest idea of what periodization is will waste your valuable time with their misinformed notions. In the end, you might not know who to believe. It can all be very confusing for someone who does not have the real facts about the training method.
The basic ideas of periodization are not difficult to grasp, yet many people do not take the time or bother to learn all about periodization before they attempt a periodization program on their own. They are setting themselves up for failure, and possibly even injury. Training is unlikely to succeed without a plan or system of achieving goals. It is best not to follow the lead of such shortsighted people.
It is a far better use of your time to get your information on periodization from an informed source. Periodization is not hard to understand, but there is plenty to learn. First, you have to know exactly what periodization is, you have to understand the basics of periodization, and you have to learn about the phases used in periodization. Then, you need to understand how to plan your program and monitor your progress. With this Guide to Periodization, you will discover all the major concepts of periodization and you will have a better idea of whether the system is right for you.
What is Periodization?
Very simply put, periodization is a systematic way to divide your training into several distinct individual parts. When you use a periodization program, you train for different abilities at different times, rather than working on them all at once. Thus, you will spend part of the time getting used to working out, part of the time increasing your muscle size, part of the time gaining strength or power or endurance, and part of the time in active recovery. In periodization each of these sections will be separate rather than interspersed in the same workout.
Periodization is systematic in that it is a planned progression of workouts which you follow on a set schedule. The concept of periodization is usually referred to in terms of weight training, whether for weightlifting, bodybuilding, sports or fitness. Any type of training can be periodized by planning blocks of training that are individual and progressive in the same way. However, weight training lends itself particularly well to the practical use of periodization.
In weight training, you vary the number of exercises you do, the amount of resistance you use, how fast you do the exercises, the rest periods between the exercises, the types of exercises and the order of exercises you do. Understanding the different phases of periodization will help you make your plan so you can avoid trying to guess whether or not you are hitting all the bases with your workouts.
Periodization adds variety to a workout regimen without dissolving it into a random, meaningless succession of unrelated workouts. Everything in a periodization program is done with a reason, and everything is designed to help you reach a goal. It is a very well-thought-out plan.
In fact, athletes plan their periodization programs to bring them to their peaks during their sports seasons. Bodybuilders plan their periodization to help them reach their best body composition and appearance at the time of competitions. Anyone who has a special event they are planning for can base their periodization on that date, as long as there is enough time to accomplish your purposes.
Periodization programs can be done on different timetables, with different sequences. There are short-term progressions and long-term ones. The phases are also sometimes done in different arrangements. Linear periodization sequences are probably the most common, because they are the easiest to understand. However, there are other non-linear sequences of periodization that make more sense for some exercisers.
Periodization keeps the body in a state of progress by changing the parameters of the workouts regularly. Just when the body begins to settle into stagnation, the routine moves on to the next phase, and the body is forced to readjust again, bringing about more gains in muscular abilities of each type. The variety is not only invigorating, but it is also very productive. Periodization, a system used to compartmentalize training goals, builds to a clear overall path of improvement in muscular ability and fitness.
History and Current Use of Periodization
Periodization is at least as old as the ancient Olympics. In those days, athletes had three phases of training – the phases of preparation, of competition, and of transition. However, they did not call this concept “periodization.” They just knew it worked. Much later, Leonid Matveyev, a Russian professor, noticed the similarity of this type of training and the periodization concept used in the study of history. On his observance of the Russian athletes’ training, he coined this use of the term.
One component of the system is based on the work of Hans Selye, who started in medical research in the 1930’s and eventually developed the theory of the General Adaptation Syndrome. This syndrome is characterized by stress occurring in an alarm stage, a resistance stage, and finally exhaustion. Selye made a distinction between distress, which can lead to injury, disease and death, and eustress, which brings benefits such as increases in muscle strength and size.
Dr. Tudor Bompa is another important figure in the development of periodization. Born in Romania and educated in biomechanics in New York and Brussels, Bompa worked with Romania Olympians using periodization techniques. He coached Romanian javelin thrower Mihaela Penes to Olympic Gold in 1964 using these methods. He has become something of an expert on the subject, and is sometimes called one of the fathers of periodization.
In the following years up to the present time, periodization has gained many followers. It is and has been the training method of choice for Olympians and athletes of all kinds. Bodybuilders use periodization to reach their peak musculature at competition time. People of all walks of life use periodization in their workout routines to meet their fitness goals. Although there have been some people who say it is an old-fashioned notion, many experts still agree that the best way to train is to structure the training into some kind of periodization plan.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Periodization
The fact that a great number of coaches and training experts recommend some form of periodization may be enough to convince you that it is a good idea. If you want to judge it for yourself, look at the advantages and disadvantages of this training method.
Advantages
1. Develops Individual Abilities
The very basis of periodization is to develop each of the abilities that are important to you. In most cases, those will be strength, explosive power and endurance. Since you will be developing each in a systematic program, it is unlikely that any of these attributes will be neglected.
2. Can Be Sport Specific
Sport specific periodization can be set up to include blocks of training for quickness, agility and even sport specific drills. The basic framework of periodization can be adapted for training in sports of all kinds. Therefore, a runner, a swimmer, a basketball player, a football player and a weightlifter may all have different training programs, but they can all be forms of periodization plans.
3. Adds Variety
Many people who do not use periodization in their workouts do the same exercises in the same amounts, week after week, month after month, even year after year. It gets boring; some people may get discouraged and quit. In periodization, you get a new way of exercising with each new block of the overall cycle. Even within each block, there will usually be a progression, changing the workouts continually.
4. Encourages Goal-Setting
When you set out to devise your periodization program, you will almost be forced to set up goals to work towards. Otherwise, your training program will have little meaning. People with no goals do their workouts aimlessly and usually without excitement. With clear goals in mind, you will work out with a purpose and enjoy the personal satisfaction of achieving the desired outcome. This will help you progress faster and stay on track.
5. Prepares for Events
Periodization is a well-suited plan for athletes who want to arrive at peak performance at a particular time for an event or a season. It can be used to develop each of the muscle qualities, along with some time for sport specific training, just at the right times for the athlete to be at his physical best at a pre-planned time.
6. Prevents Injuries
Periodization prevents injuries in several ways. For one thing, you are less likely to over-train in a well-designed periodization plan. This is both because you do no more than you are scheduled to do, and also because you only train a certain muscular ability for 4 to 6 weeks in most cases. That is the length of time the body can keep progressing in abilities without going on to a plateau and finally to exhaustion.
7. Prevents Plateaus
If you train without varying the workout, it is likely that you will reach a plateau sooner or later. Your progress can stop for many weeks or many months. Periodization training can prevent plateaus by keeping the body from getting too used to any one exercise routine. The change keeps the progress moving forward.
Disadvantages
1. Requires Advance Planning
Periodization almost always needs to be planned in advance. You might have an uncertain future for some reason that would prevent you from regular training or present you with unexpected challenges. In these cases, it might be difficult to plan periodization. The best solution is to get together with someone who is well-versed in periodization and have her help you set up a flexible plan.
2. May Let Some Abilities Weaken
Depending on the method of periodization being used, you might have a long time between building strength and working on endurance, for example. Some people feel that this large gap would mean that the muscles would not be at peak strength in the end.
3. May Be Impracticall
Periodization in its purest forms may be impractical as training systems. It might be difficult to vary the exercises used if you are also varying the amounts of exercises done with each workout, for instance. This is because you might end up doing one type of exercise only a little and a different exercise more times. Periodization may work as a theory, some say, but it needs to be adapted to real life.
Basics of Periodization
Before you can understand the details of periodization, you first need to know the basics it is built on. If you have not been a regular exerciser many of the words will be new to you; if you are a regular around the gym, a refresher might be in order. A few definitions and fundamentals will get you on your way.
Phases of Periodization
The phases of periodization are the individual blocks of training that are each devoted to one muscle quality, such as gains in muscle size (hypertrophy), strength, power or endurance. These blocks can be put together in different ways, depending on the method of periodization chosen.
Amount of Exercise
The amount of exercises done is crucial in defining each phase of periodization. Reps are the number of times you do an exercise. You might do three biceps curls, and that would be three reps. Sets are the groups of reps that you do. You might do 2 sets of 3 reps of biceps curls, meaning you would do the exercise 3 times, stop briefly, and do it three times again.
Intensity is another factor in gauging the amount of exercise done. In weightlifting, weight is very important. The 1 rep max is the maximum weight you can lift, but you can lift it no more than once without a break. In designing periodization programs, the percentage of 1 rep max is changed according to the type of training you are doing.
Cycles of Training
Periodization is built on training cycles. There are three main training cycles that are used, and a fourth that is only used in special circumstances. The longest cycle is normally the macro-cycle. It is usually a year long, and is characterized by long-term goals and a target date for completion. Within it are the other two main training cycles, the meso-cycle and the micro-cycle. The meso-cycle is the intermediate period of 4 to 8 weeks, and may be used as the training block in a standard periodization program. In other words, in each meso-cycle you might train for one muscle ability.
The micro-cycle is the smallest unit of periodization. It might be a week programmed with a variety of exercises within that smaller goal. On the other hand, some people consider one workout as the micro-cycle. At any rate, these are the shortest-term goals. That other, rarer cycle is the quadrennial or Olympic cycle. It is four years long and is normally only used by Olympic athletes.
Methods of Periodization
There are several methods of periodization. This means that not everyone who is periodizing their workouts is doing their training by working on one distinct muscle ability for a complete meso-cycle. The variant methods are somewhat more complex than linear periodization, but they have become more popular in recent years.
Phases of Periodization
Periodization, then, divides training into phases. The phases that should be used are not all agreed upon by every trainer, and coaches often use different types of phases altogether for athletes. There are a few basic phases, though, that most people will fit into their periodization in some form or another.
Anatomical Adaptation Phase
The anatomical adaptation phase is the first phase of training, or the one that follows a break. It is the phase that gets the body ready for the workouts ahead. It prepares the muscles, tendons and ligaments, and it gets the body into balance. By the end of the adaptation phase, your body should be ready to handle the heavy loads you will require of it. The standard prescription for anatomical adaptation workouts is few sets, many repetitions, and light weights.
Hypertrophy Phase
The hypertrophy phase is designed to help you build lean muscle mass. This is done by working the muscles hard in a high-rep, high-set workout of about 75% of 1 rep max. One of the main things to remember about the hypertrophy phase is that rest is at least as important as the exercise. The period of rest after the workout is when the muscles increase in size.
Maximum Strength Phase
The maximum strength phase is obviously when you gain strength in your muscles. The standard training protocol for the maximum strength phase is to do moderate volumes with 3 to 5 sets of 4 to 8 reps, and high intensity of between 80% and 90% of 1 rep max.
Power Phase
During the power phase of periodization, the focus is on combining that maximum strength with speed. This is the very definition of power: strength at speed. To achieve this level of power, the goal is to use low volumes with 3 to 5 sets of only 2 to 5 reps, but at high intensities of 75% to 95% of 1 rep max. Exercises should be done explosively.
Endurance Phase
The endurance phase of periodization usually refers to muscular endurance. Sometimes, athletes will also use a similar phase to train for cardiovascular endurance. The concept in either case is that the given exercise must be able to be performed over a long period of time. For muscular endurance, the weightlifting routine would include 5 to 6 sets of as many as 18 reps to train for that long lasting muscle ability.
Active Recovery Phase
After you have completed your competitive season, or you have met your periodization goals, there should be a break in training called the active recovery phase. In the active recovery phase, you do not sit around in front of the television all day. Instead, you move around, remain physically active, but give your mind and body a break from the intense training program you have been involved in during the preceding months. Get plenty of rest, and you will be ready when the next macro-cycle of periodization begins.
Methods of Periodization
It is easiest to describe periodization using the linear model. In the linear model, everything goes in distinct blocks, in a given order. The linear method of periodization is very straightforward. However, many people prefer other types of periodization. Get the rundown on the different methods of periodization before you decide on your program.
Linear Periodization
The linear method is just that – it goes in a straight line from beginning to end. Each segment of training has its own block of time devoted to it, and these blocks go in a particular order. When you are training for strength, you are not training for endurance in the same meso-cycle. You finish one block before moving on to the next. The reps in this system go from high to low from one phase to the next. The major criticism of this method is that it allows the earlier muscle abilities to decrease as the later muscle abilities are being trained.
Undulating Periodization
Undulating periodization is also called “wave-form” periodization. The theory of this program is that the body adjusts to rep numbers much faster than it does to exercises. Thus, it is the reps that need to be changed more often. Therefore, in this system, the reps and sets will change dramatically from workout to workout. You might do 5 sets of 5 reps one day and 3 sets of 15 reps the next.
Proponents of the undulating method believe that it is the most scientifically advanced theory, and it has definitely shown positive results in research studies. Detractors of the method say that it works the body unevenly because you are doing different amounts of exercise on the days you do different exercises. This would seem to produce uneven results since training of individual muscles is done in different ways. One solution is to do an upper body-lower body training split so that your workout will have a better chance of balance.
Conjugate Periodization
Conjugate periodization is a method where two or more muscle abilities are trained together. For example, maximum strength might be trained in the same cycle with power. Strength, anaerobic endurance and hypertrophy could be combined together. This seems a more efficient approach than linear periodization to many, but others say that it has the disadvantage of not providing enough of a varied workout.
Mixed Methods of Periodization
Many weightlifters and other athletes find that no one periodization model works extremely well for their situation. If you decide to stray off the beaten path, it is important to know your body, understand all about periodization and workouts, and be able to discern how it all relates to your sport or activities. Usually the best path to mixed periodization methods is to work with a knowledgeable trainer.
Planning Workouts for Periodization
For most people, periodization would not exist without planning. You cannot throw together a periodization plan on the spot and expect to get good results. Instead, follow some basic steps, alone or with a personal trainer or coach, to set up your periodization workouts.
1. Choose your target date.
Periodization workouts should be aimed towards a specific goal sometime in the future. That goal may be a sports season or competition, or it may be a personal event like a vacation. Set the time far enough out that you will have time to train for it.
2. Select your training cycles.
Unless you are an Olympic athlete, you will probably want to select a macro-cycle that is close to a year long. Determine the physical abilities you will need to accomplish your target goal and figure out which of the periodization phases will serve you best. Choose the length of your meso-cycles based on what you need to accomplish in any given phase. Later, you will nail down the micro-cycle.
3. Assess you current physical condition.
Test for your 1 rep max on various exercises. Check your weight and measure your body fat. Measure your body in inches at the chest, waist, hips, thighs, biceps and calves. Make notes of all these measurements to establish your baseline for future comparisons.
4. Start your workout plan.
Consider the volume and intensity you will need to work out well in each phase. Make a chart with all your 1 rep max figures and their corresponding weights for the lower percentages. For example, if your 1 rep max for a bench press was 200 pounds, you would write down 100% as 200 pounds, 90% as 180 pounds, 80% as 160, and so on. That gives you an easy reference in setting up your program.
5. Go back to the basics for reps and sets.
That is, in the anatomical adaptation phase, use many reps, few sets, and light weights. For the hypertrophy phase, use many reps and many sets at 75% of 1 rep max. For the max strength phase, use moderate numbers of both reps and sets, with between 80% and 90% of 1 rep max. In the power phase, plan for few reps, few sets, and weights of 75% to 95% of 1 rep max. Make it your plan to do moderate numbers of sets and high numbers of reps for the endurance phase.
6. Plan the actual exercises you will do.
Consider the overall goal, as well as your intermediate goals. Look at a variety of exercises and training splits to find workout routines that you can adapt for your periodization program. You might want to do an upper-body, lower-body split, or you might want to train different parts of the body on each day of the week. Consider how often you will work out and how much you will change your reps and sets from day to day.
7. Set up the micro-cycles.
Make a tentative plan for each micro-cycle within your plan. You might want to just make a rough outline at the outset and fill in each set of micro-cycles for a meso-cycle at the beginning of that period. These micro-cycles, often weekly workout segments, should each be planned in full before they begin. Know what you are going to do, how you are going to do it, and when you will do the work. When you complete this step, you will have a periodization plan in place.
Achieving Goals with Periodization
If you have planned carefully, you are well on your way to achieving your goals with periodization. There are still a few more things you can do to make sure you succeed. Take these extra steps to keep your periodization program on track.
1. Set reasonable goals.
At the beginning of a long macro-cycle, it may be difficult to figure out what is reasonable to expect of yourself with your training. It is fine to aim high in your long-term goals. On the other hand, if you make goals that would require you to be super-human, you are going to fail. Always think of what you will be able to do if you reach your highest potential, rather than what someone else could do.
2. Reassess and redesign your program as needed.
The beauty of a periodization program is that, once you get it rolling, you do not have to constantly think about what exercises, volume or intensity you will have to use each time you go to the gym. That being said, there may come a time when it is obvious that your periodization program is not working for you.
If you seem to be demanding too much of yourself, for instance, it might turn out that you have incorrectly measured your 1 rep max. In that case, you would need to look at your program to find the problem and make the adjustment to avoid overtraining and injury. If the workouts are getting way too easy and you are seeing no progress, you might need to reevaluate whether you have outgrown the original level of your program. If so, it will need to be adjusted.
3. Practice patience.
Do not measure and weigh yourself every day to see how much you have progressed. Give yourself time to show some real advancement. It is also important to be patient with rest and recovery. If you are highly motivated to achieve your goals, it is easy to become so excited that you work too much and too hard. Rest and recovery are important in building muscle size and other muscle abilities. Neglecting rest and recovery can not only slow your progress, but it can actually lead to injury.
4. Acknowledge success all along the way.
You do not have to throw a congratulatory party for yourself every time you complete a micro-cycle, increase your 1 rep max, or lose an ounce of body fat. That does not mean you cannot take pleasure in those accomplishments. Acknowledge them to yourself, and if it is helpful to you, you might sneak your news into a conversation with someone else who shares your interests. No one wants to hear you brag all day long every day, but people will be happy to share in your joy if you approach it in the right way and to the right people. Your periodization plan can give you daily happiness, and when you meet those big goals, you can really celebrate.
Periodization in Bodybuilding
Periodization in bodybuilding is a unique proposition. The goals in bodybuilding are quite different from those in other sports. The aim is to look a certain way – to have large and well-defined muscles with a low percentage of body fat. While some athletes may fit these criteria, their main purpose is not their looks but their muscular abilities. Therefore, serious bodybuilders need to understand what it is that gives muscles that look. It is more complex that it might seem.
Value of the Hypertrophy Phase
The hypertrophy phase – the periodization phase designed to build muscle – is definitely important to bodybuilders. As they strive for bigger muscles, they have to train a certain way. They will do as many as 12 or more reps of each exercise, with only moderate weights. Bodybuilders will often spend more time in the hypertrophy phase, or have more cycles of hypertrophy.
Rest Builds Muscle
When you work out, you create tiny micro-tears in the muscle fibers. This happens at a very minute level, so it will not harm you as long as you take care of yourself. The interesting thing to note is that you gain muscle size when the body repairs those tears during rest. For that reason alone, you should be sure to get enough rest and sleep if you want to be a bodybuilder.
Importance of Gaining Strength
Bodybuilders generally do not place a large focus on gaining strength in their workouts. They tend to have shorter strength phases, and to have them less often. Their goal is not to be strong, and many are very weak compared to Olympic weightlifters or other athletes.
Yet, bodybuilders would be wise to take the strength phase of their periodization program more seriously. Gaining strength, to a certain point, can help you build muscle mass. Bodybuilders do not have to train like powerlifters, but having a strength phase with lower rep ranges is a good idea. Even if that phase is shorter, it will have an effect on size.
Body Fat
Bodybuilders are not only concerned with muscle mass, but they are also concerned with lean muscle mass. Therefore, getting rid of excess body fat is crucial to their success. Often, bodybuilders will take the route of constantly starving themselves to keep the fat off in the first place. It sounds reasonable, but actually there might be a better way.
Many trainers advocate allowing yourself to gain a bit of body fat as you build muscle. That way you will not run the chance of depriving yourself of the calories you need to build that muscle mass. They then suggest a phase that is unique to bodybuilders – the cutting phase. The cutting phase is simply strict dieting and moderate workouts with weights and cardio.
Muscle Definition
Proper form is essential in training for bodybuilding in every phase. While some weightlifters will work to exhaustion, the best bodybuilding technique here is to keep working as long as you have good form. The reason is that sloppy work will lead to a sloppy physique. Great form keeps the muscles balanced and well-defined. It helps to give you the right look for competitions.
Peaking for Competition
Bodybuilders should use their periodization programs to help them peak at the time of their competitions. The peak for bodybuilding is that moment when their bodies are large with lean, well-defined muscle mass. Periodization can bring them to that point on time if they plan it carefully enough and follow that plan.
Periodization for Athletes
Athletes may like looking attractive for their fans and sponsors, but what they really want is to look skillful on the field of play. They use periodization programs to help them achieve peak performance in their competitive seasons. There are a few special considerations for athletes who are using a periodization plan.
Hypertrophy
Hypertrophy is important to some athletes, but it is a problem for others. A football player would gain both respect and protection with added muscle mass. On the other hand, a gymnast walking the balance beam would need highly developed and strong muscles, but she would not want large, bulky muscles. In some sports, slimness is an advantage. Still, if you can thrive better in your sport with big muscles, spending time in the hypertrophy phase might be a good idea. Some coaches suggest using the conjugate method to combine hypertrophy with strength training so that the muscles are functional.
Strength Phase
Across the board, athletes need to be strong. Many athletes use an undulating form of periodization so that they can always keep their muscles very strong. The same is true for the other muscle abilities.
Explosive Power Phase
Very many sports require the athletes to have explosive power. Soccer players have to take off at a second’s notice, run down the field, and kick the ball with extreme force. Basketball players must be able to run, move and jump with extreme strength and speed. Swimmers and runners must explode off of the starting marks to win their races. The explosive power phase is essential to include. The workouts should consist of functional exercises for the core, arms and legs, with the standard power formula of low reps, low sets, and explosive movements. Along with the weights, you can add plyometrics and sprints to develop your fast-twitch muscle fibers for more speed.
Sport Specific Training
With athletes, there has to be an element of sport specific training somewhere along the way. Rather than assigning a special phase for this training, sport specific drills and exercises may be practiced in conjunction with the other phases of periodization. In the time before the competition season, the sport specific training will increase. The weight training you can receive during the other phases of the periodization program can also address the sport specific areas of weakness and vulnerability to injury.
Performance Peaks
The performance peaks for athletes vary by sport. Some sports have one season per year. These include football, basketball, and baseball. Athletes in these sports will certainly want to peak for those yearly seasons. They may also have another long cycle in the year, to keep their pace and make sure they do not peak too early. If the sport has 3 competitive times per year, such as martial arts, the plan would probably be done on a three-peak cycle. Periodization helps these athletes meet their goals and win their competitions.
Conclusion
Periodization is such a natural training solution that many people use it without even being aware of it. Part of it is just planning the workouts ahead of time. By planning for a macro-cycle, meso-cycles, and micro-cycles, you can periodize your fitness program to help you meet your long term, intermediate and short term goals.
Linear periodization, with each individual phase being done separately, works well for some people. For others, it provides a basis of understanding for the more complex methods of periodization. You can plan to change the number of reps for each workout, such as in undulating periodization, or you can train two muscle abilities at once, like in conjugate periodization, or you can do any variation on the idea that works for you.
Planning and reaching goals makes periodization programs more exciting and productive than just going to the gym and doing the same old workout day after day, month after month. You can also avoid plateaus because of the changing nature of the workouts. As long as you can keep your body from stagnating, you have a chance to see progress in reaching your goals.
There are different ways to periodize a workout program, depending on those goals. Bodybuilding is all about looks, and sports are all about muscle abilities, so they each require different strategies. However, there is no problem with that because periodization is such a flexible system.
Perhaps you are neither a professional bodybuilder nor an athlete. You just want to be fit and strong. You can still benefit from this type of workout. You can change the types of workouts you do according to a plan to see faster gains and fewer plateaus. You might even avoid an injury or two. In the meantime, a periodization program can get you in the best shape of your life.
