Training Articles

A Brief History of Periodization

A look at the evolution of program design

by Poliquin Editorial Staff 5/8/2012 3:42:29 PM

Before we start unfolding complicated mathematical models with fancy graphs, lets take a step back and think about what periodization really is Periodization is simply the method used to plan your workout to achieve your goals As applied to athletes, its a method of manipulating the variables of training !which " call loading parameters# so that an athlete performs their best at the appropriate times "f youre a football player, for e$ample, your periodization program would not include starting a %&$%& 'erman (olume Training s)uat workout the day before your team competes for a state championship *or a competitive bodybuilder, periodization means that you need to start emphasizing protocols to decrease your body fat at least a month before a ma+or competition !and often several months before if youre a female bodybuilder or figure competitor# ,ven -boot camp. programs that claim not to use periodization do employ a form of planning, as two of the same types of workouts are usually not performed concurrently to ensure a greater variety of training stimulus Periodization is called for because due to time restraints you cant work on all components of athletic fitness at the same time / at least not to a high level The body simply does not recognize what it is supposed to adapt to "f a weightlifter needs to improve their leg strength, one of the most effective ways to do this is by emphasizing eccentric contractions with s)uats The problem is that it can take considerable time to recover from eccentric s)uats, perhaps 01%& days in many cases "f you perform 2 sets of heavy eccentric back s)uats on 3onday, you cannot e$pect to e$ceed your ma$ snatch the following day / in fact, the soreness from such a workout might make it uncomfortable even to bend down and grasp the bar4

A better approach would be to focus on leg strength for a few weeks, and then focus on heavy 5lympic lifts This was the problem with the so1called -6ussian 7)uat Program. that was popular many years ago " heard that it was designed not for a team but for a single weightlifter whose leg strength was severely lacking, and that the lifter was supposed to cut down on the volume of snatches and clean and +erks and other aspects of lifting to avoid overtraining while performing the s)uat program 8ikewise, one research study on college swimmers found that adding weight training to their program had no effect on swimming performance The issue here is that the coaches added several hours of weight training to the athletes program without reducing their training volume in swimming9 swimmers are notoriously overtrained anyway, so if you want to add something to their training you need to take something away To give you an idea of how e$ercises could be periodized, here is a program that is discussed in my P":P course that is designed to increase power clean results for a beginner ,ach phase builds upon the strength )ualities developed in the previous phase Phase % ;eeks %1<= 7tanding 'ood 3orning ;eeks >1?= :lean @eadlift, Podium with :hains ;eeks ?1A= 7natch Pull ;eeks %&1%B= Power :lean from 3id1Thigh ;eek %<= Active 6est Phase B ;eeks %>1%?= "sometronic <1Position @eadlift ;eeks %01%A= 7natch Pull with Bands ;eeks B&1BB= :lean Pull on Podium ;eeks B<1BC= Power :lean from 3id1Thigh ;eek B?= Active 6est Phase < ;eeks B01BA= 7natch Pull from *loor ;eeks <&1<B= Power :lean from *loor Although many people associate periodization with weight training, periodization can be used with energy system training as well The movie :hariots of *ire contrasts the instinctive approach to training of a 7cottish runner, who ran as he thought best for the day, to the approach of an ,nglish runner, who planned every detail of his workout and used training methods supported by scientific research available to him in that era Todays runners not only plan time and distance but also continually monitor their workouts with heart rate monitors *or elite athletes it only takes about ?12 weeks to build the aerobic system, so all thats necessary during the rest of the year is a maintenance program until the body is ready to adapt to a higher level of (&B ma$ This idea is supported by a study published in %A2B in the Dournal of Applied Physiology, which showed an athlete can significantly reduce training volume but still maintain aerobic capacity for several months as long as their intensity level is at a high level The issue, again, is that you only have so much training time, so why spend it on a factor that cannot improveE 3y colleague Fves Gadeau, whose speedskaters won medals in four 5lympics, understood this concept / and his athletes had e$ceptionally high (&B ma$ levels despite doing minimal aerobic training Although periodization is attributed to 6ussian weightlifters, *innish cross1country skiers were responsible for introducing the early concepts of periodization After that, 7oviet weightlifting coaches came up with mathematical models for periodization9 thereafter, they shared their knowledge with track and field athletes and swimmers 7wimmers shared with rowers and kayakers ,ventually every sport started coming out with their own periodization models

"n the H7, many strength coaches have favored a periodization model proposed by 6ussian sport scientist 8eonid 3atveyev in %A?> This model suggests that training should gradually progress from a high volume of work performed at low intensity to high1intensity work performed at low intensity An e$ample of the repetition protocols for a %01week workout program based on this model was presented as follows= ;eeks %1?= 21%B reps ;eeks 01%%= C1? reps ;eeks %B1%?= <1C reps ;eek %0= %1B reps Physiologically speaking, such a workout is not effective for functional hypertrophy that will help an athlete perform well *or e$ample, performing sets of 21%B reps will generally develop the slower, Type " muscle fibers *urther, much of the hypertrophy developed in the first si$ weeks will be lost by week %0 "n recent years the trend among many strength coaches has been to use a system called nonlinear periodization, in which the repetitions vary every workout 7o on 3onday an athlete might do %B1%C reps, on ;ednesday ?12, and on *riday %1<9 and then repeat this series for several more weeks The problem here, again, is that the body does not know what it is supposed to adapt to "n the %A2&s " began writing about the value of alternating between phases of accumulation and intensification, with accumulation emphasizing volume !how much work is performed# and intensification emphasizing intensity !how much weight is lifted# This model was popularized by 'erman sport scientist @ietmar 7chmidtbleicher Here is an e$ample of the repetition protocols for an 21week workout program based designed to improve relative strength= ;eeks %1B= C $ C reps !accumulation# ;eeks <1>= ? $ B1< reps !intensification# ;eeks C1?= ? $ > reps !accumulation# ;eeks 012= < !<IBI%# reps !intensification# 5ne of the advantages of alternating between the two phases every two weeks is that you prevent nervous system fatigue Fou also dont lose muscle mass and energy system conditioning / in fact, you will find that these )ualities continually improve with this system There are many e$cellent books on periodization, and it is a sub+ect that is discussed in detail in my P":P course However, if you understand the basic concepts presented here, you will have taken a big first step in mastering the art and science of program design :opyright JB&%<