Periodization in Training: what it is and how to use it

What is Pedriodization

   The first thing we need to do is to define our terms and know what it is that we are talking about. We need to define exactly what periodization is and what the different types are and what that all means. Because periodization, of course is not just one set thing.

• Definition
  • Periodization is defines as: A planned, cyclical manipulation of variables to attain peak performance at specific times.
• Types
  • Linear or Traditional
    • Liner or traditional periodization is when you go straight through with your training. This is when you consistently add intensity until you reach your target. This type of periodization creates a liner graph, hence the name liner periodization. The main focus in this type of training is the macro-cycle or a cycle of about a year.
  • Block Periodization
    • Block periodization adds intensity and tapers in shorter intervals. This creates a block like graph. The focus here is the meso-cycle, or a cycle of about a month. In this type of training each week will also have a more specific focus.
  • Undulating Periodization
    • Undulating periodization focuses on the micro-cycle, or cycles of about a week. In this type of training you increase intensity within a single week. Often each day will have a particular focus.

How Periodization works

There are several benefits of periodization. To really understand periodization we need to look at how it works. Or at least how it is supposed to work. We need to take a look at the mechanisms of periodization that lie behind and lead to the benefits.

Breaking Through Plateaus and Stopping Declines with Periodization

One of the biggest things periodization does for is to help you keep making progress. If you are not making progress there is hardly any point to training. There are a couple of baisc ways that periodization helps you accomplish this.

• Your body adapts to movements.
  • Movements only yield maximum results for a limited amount of time. This means that we cannot keep working the same routines if we want continued results. If we do things begin to stagnate, and no one wants to hit a plateau.
• Periodization keeps things changing to keep the body changing.
  • Periodization helps avoid this stagnation and plateau. By changing things up periodically you keep things moving and you get closer to your goal. Your body adapts to stimuli and once it has adapted to a stimulus it stops changing. In order to keep your body changing, you have to change the stimuli you give it.

Injury Prevention with Periodization

Aside from helping you make better progress, periodization also has a few other benefits as well. There are a couple that are worth highlighting that have to do injury prevention. These are, unsurprisingly, related.

• Helps avoid over-training
  • It is very easy to end up over-training. Because you want to push and challenge yourself, but you end up pushing a little too hard or too long. Having a system like periodization helps you be able to push and challenge yourself, but also have a place at which to stop without feeling guilty.
• Promotes recovery
  • Periodization also allows for recovery time. Challenging yourself is important, but proper recovery is also important. Not allowing for proper recovery could lead to injury, sickness or even death. If you do not have a plan, it is easy to slip into the habit of either never resting or resting all the to much. Periodization plans out specific intervals specifically for recovery and helps get in the right amount of recovery at the proper intervals.
• Easily incorporate low intensity exercise
  • Keeping with that same theme, a great way to allow for recovery and avoid over training is to add low intensity exercises and workout at appropriate intervals. Periodization provides an easy structure in which to add low intensity workouts and exercises.

How Periodization doesn’t work

Of course, to say that periodization is perfect and always works like it should would be a fallacy. Like anything else in life periodization does not always work like it “should”. There are many things in life that may end up getting in the way.

Life is Unpredictable

Life is unpredictable and you never really know what is going to happen. There are many things that could happen in our day to day lives that could throw us off of a well thought out plan or schedule.

• Getting sick
  • You could get sick unexpectedly and not be able to complete a day’s or even a weeks workout. Which could end up putting you way behind in the long run and struggling to “catch up”.
• Getting injured
  • What if you get injured? An injury could end up put you out for a couple of months, making it quite difficult to get back into it once you’ve healed. Then a training plan goes straight out the window and you have start all over again.
• Vacation
  • There are also vacations. It can be extremely difficult to exercise at all when you’re on vacation, and you can just forget a training plan. This then leads to discouragement. And discouragement is never where we want to be.

Your Body Reacts Differently Than Expected

Sometimes your body may have a hard time adjusting to new exercises or workouts. Much like trying out a new recipe for the first time, trying out a new workout for the first time may nit turn out like you expect.

• More sore than expected
  • Sometimes a workout leaves us more sore than we anticipated. There are times when we could end up so sore that we cannot complete the workout planned for the next day. Which could set us behind schedule.
• Sore for longer than expected
  • Or, maybe you simply end up being sore for longer that you expected. You may anticipate a certain level of soreness and plan for an appropriate workout the next day, but you are still sore three, or even four days later.

What you can do

But, that is not the end, however. Just because it presents difficulties does not mean you should not give it a shot. There are a few things that can be done to increase the chances of success.

Create a More Forgiving and Flexible Periodization Plan

• Having a plan, but leaving the final details free
  • Maybe try having a plan that you will do X, Y and Z this week. But, instead of saying that has to be done on Monday and Y on Wednesday and Z on Friday, you just they have to done at some point this week.
• How do you feel today
  • This will allow you to have a structured plan and not necessarily let yourself do whatever you feel like, while at the same time taking care of yourself. Because, too far either way is detrimental. The best place to be in anything is in a healthy balance.

Getting Back on Track

• Forgiving yourself
  • Sometimes, no matter what we do, things are going to happen. We’re going to get off track. In such a case the real trick lies in being able to forgive yourself. In being able to keep going anyway. This is when you realize that it may be difficult to get back on track, but, its not impossible. And you can do it.
• Making adjustments
  • It is also very important to know what needs to be done to get back on track. What are the actual steps you need to take and the adjustments you need to make to move forward? Do you need to change your plan completely? This is another aspect of making adjustments. Sometimes it is possible that we got off track because our plan was not the right plan. It is important to be willing to make a new plan if you need to.

Resources:

1. Los Arcos, A et al. “In-season training periodization of professional soccer players.” Biology of sport vol. 34,2 (2017): 149-155. doi:10.5114/biolsport.2017.64588
2. Kiely, John. “Periodization Theory: Confronting an Inconvenient Truth.” Sports medicine (Auckland, N.Z.) vol. 48,4 (2018): 753-764. doi:10.1007/s40279-017-0823-y