In the realm of fitness and strength training, progress is not a straight line. There are peaks, valleys, and, often, frustrating plateaus. One of the most effective strategies to ensure consistent progress and to avoid the dreaded plateau is through periodization. This concept might sound complex, but its implementation can profoundly transform your training outcomes.
Understanding Periodization
Periodization is the systematic planning of athletic or physical training. It involves breaking down the training program into specific, manageable phases or cycles.
Each cycle targets different goals, such as building endurance, strength, muscle hypertrophy, or recovery. The idea is to vary the training stimulus over time to optimize performance and recovery, thereby maximizing gains and minimizing the risk of injury or burnout.
The Benefits of Periodization
1. Avoiding Plateaus: By continuously changing the training focus, your body is constantly challenged in new ways. This prevents the adaptation process that leads to plateaus. Certain phases fuel success for other phases, too. Getting stronger can help you build more muscle later on and vice versa!
2. Enhanced Recovery: Incorporating lighter training phases allows for better recovery while still making progress toward your goals.
3. Reduced Injury Risk: Periodization encourages a well-rounded approach to training, ensuring all muscle groups are worked and rested adequately. This reduces the risk of overuse injuries.
4. Peak Performance: For athletes, periodization can be structured to ensure peak performance during competition seasons by timing the training cycles appropriately.
Structuring Periodization in Your Program
A well-structured periodized program includes several key phases, each with a specific focus:
1. Base or Preparation Phase: Focuses on building a solid foundation of endurance and strength with moderate intensity and volume.
2. Build Phase: Increases intensity and volume to improve specific aspects of performance, such as strength or speed.
3. Peak Phase: Focuses on achieving peak performance through high-intensity, low-volume work targeting specific event or goal readiness.
4. Recovery or Transition Phase: Incorporates lower intensity and volume to allow full recovery and preparation for the next training cycle.
Examples
For Strength Gains: The program starts with a focus on building a strength base, gradually moving into phases that introduce even higher intensity lifts with lower volume, ensuring continuous strength development without overtraining.
For Muscle Hypertrophy: The program periodizes through cycles that adjust training volume and intensity to maximize muscle growth stimuli while incorporating phases for recovery and strength.
For Endurance: Even endurance training benefits from periodization, with phases focusing on building aerobic base, increasing intensity for anaerobic improvements, and then peaking with race or event-specific conditioning.
Sample 1:
Workout 1: 3x10
Workout 2: 4×8
Workout 3: 5×5
Sample 2:
Weeks 1-2: 3x12
Weeks 3-4: 3×10
Weeks 5-6: 4×8
Weeks 6-7: 5x5
Sample 3:
If you know your 1 rep maxes for the main lifts you can work off of that 1 rep max buy setting up entire blocks of training or mesocycles and dedicate it to one type of system. Typical rep ranges to work could be within 3-5 (heavy), 6-8 (moderate), 8-12+ (light). Pick one set of rep ranges and stick to it for 2-4 weeks. After this, move to a new rep range and start progressing there.
Weeks 1-4: 3-5 reps (heavy)
Weeks 5-8: 6-8 reps (moderate)
Weeks 9-12: 8-12+ reps (light)
Changing rep schemes in a systematic way is a great way to make continual progress.
These are just a few that do not include the use of specific percentage based programming and RPE scales, which is geared towards more advanced lifters.
Ready to Break Through Plateaus?
Periodization is just one of the many strategies detailed in my eBook designed to help you achieve your fitness goals. If you’re looking to unlock continued gains, avoid plateaus, with percent based programming, check out my program this book & program is for you.
If you’d like to ensure you’re safely and effectively reaching your goals, consider my personal training services to help you through your journey!
Schedule a quick call with me to get started.
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