Periodization (or Periodized Training):
Athletes and coaches have subdivided their training
into various sub-periods for many years. Although
micro cycles can be traced back to Phylostratus
in 202 BC, the first modern use was in Germany,
used by the coaches who's athletes dominated the
1936 Olympics.
The modern practice of periodized training was
largely invented and refined by Eastern-block
nations during the Cold War (1950-1970), when
sport became the battlefield for contesting ideologies.
Despite the efforts of many sport scientists,
there is not a sound scientific basis for periodization.
However, there is much evidence to show that,
on a practical level, it really works.
The modern meaning of the term "periodization"
is largely associated with Tudor
Bompa, who has written and invented significantly
on this topic in the last forty years. Major contributions
have also been made on this topic by Vern Gambetta,
Istvan Balyi , PeterTschiene
and Charles Poliquin.
In its simplest form, "periodization of
training" means "dividing the training
up into periods". Each period is dominated
by one training goal - to get faster; to get stronger;
to build endurance; to recover from fatigue; to
deliver peak performance. In the real world, these
periods, called phases, are not totally devoted
to one training mode.
A small detour is required here to review the
concepts of overload training. Think of the body
as a black box. If you stress one of the systems
inside the black box beyond its normal workload,
the black box responds to the stress by trying
to make that system stronger, strong enough to
tolerate the higher stress level.
The black box [body] can, however, only make
the system stronger if it is given a rest phase
in which to build this stronger system. Training
then, consists of overloading the body system
that is to be trained, letting the system rest
and rebuild, and then stressing it again to a
higher level.
Periodization is all about managing this stress-and-rest
cycle to optimize improvement and maximize the
overall gain in performance. The kind of periodization
applied to a particular athlete will be strongly
influenced the sport the athlete pursues, the
physical characteristics that are required, and
the training age of the athlete.
Annual Training Plan:
A generic, periodized annual training plan is
classically divided into the following eight phases:
- General Preparation
- Specific Preparation
- Pre-competition
- Competition
- Taper
- Peak
- Relax
- Off-season
Phases will be described
in more detail below.
Each phase can last for many weeks. The characteristics
of a phase are that the over all goal of the training
remains the same and that the tendency in the
training load (up, down, level) remains consistent
over the phase. Phases are in turn, subdivided
into smaller units, called macro cycles.
The training load, described as volume, is measured
in hours, or miles, or weight lifted, or laps
or kilometers, largely at the convenience of the
sport. Hours are a convenient measure for calculating
volume distribution. Volume is increased during
a phase to improve training response, at the expense
of increasing fatigue levels. Volume is decreased
across a phase to lower fatigue levels, so that
improved performance can show through. There are
exceptions to these general rules and some phases
may maintain the volume at a constant level.
Macro cycles are used
to control the training load and the fatigue level
generated by training. If the training load is
increased continuously over a long phase, say
twelve weeks, by the end of the phase, the athlete
will accumulate so much residual fatigue that
he/she will not be able to train properly. The
wise coach will break the phase into smaller sections
(macro cycles) that have weeks of increasing load
followed by a rest period. The length of these
macro cycles is governed by the systems to be
trained and the time in the training year.
A typical macro cycle from the General Preparation
phase would be three weeks of increasing load,
followed by one week of lower load. This is called
a 3-1 macro cycle. For endurance athletes working
on aerobic capacity, where training is focused
on long duration and low intensity, either 3-1
or 4-1 macro cycles are appropriate. During the
pre-competition phase, where these same athletes
will be working at much more intense training,
doing intervals on or above the anaerobic threshold,
shorter macro cycles, 2-1 or even 1-1 would be
appropriate.
The next level down is the micro
cycle, which in most sport training coincides
with the week. A 3-1 macro cycle, which has four
micro cycles (3+1), is most often four weeks long.
Micro cycles determine how the training load is
laid out during the week. Most of the time the
pattern is "a heavy-day, followed by a light-day",
a model much honored in the breach. Designing
micro cycles is almost another art in itself,
as the definitions of "light" and "heavy"
must take into account both the volume of training,
the intensity of the training, and the [energy]
systems trained. Heavy and light are measured
and defined in terms of fatigue level incurred
and recovery opportunities available.
Building an Annual Plan:
Timing:
If you have followed the periodization logic
so far, we are going to:
- Divide our training year into phases,
- Divide the phases into macro cycles, each
with 1-5 micro cycles,
- Allocate our training load into daily chunks
within micro cycles,
- Allocate our daily training hours to particular
training types.
Only at this point do we decide whether to
get on our bike, go to the pool, the gym, the
track or the sauna!
First define in general terms what your training
year looks like:
When does it start [start date]?
When is your first competition [first race]?
When is your most important competition [the
peak race]?
From this information, we can work out how
many weeks there are between each of these dates,
so we can calculate how many weeks are available
for each of the phases in our training plan.
"Start date" to "first race"
includes the first three phases, Gen.Prep, Spec.Prep
and Pre-comp.
"First race" to "peak race"
includes Competition and Taper phases.
"Peak race" to year-end, includes
Peak, Relax and Off-season.
Given these three dates, YPI can easily generate
a first draft of phases for you to edit. At
this point, you will know the start, end date,
and duration for each phase.
Now you have to decide how many hours to train
during each phase. Adding up the hours in each
phase to gives the training load for the year
[total hours]. This calculation is easier to
do backwards!
Volume:
Given the total volume, it is possible to calculate
the hours per phase, based on a classic annual
volume curve. Where does this "total volume"
figure come from?
- How many hours did you train last year?
Add 10%.
- What is the sport norm for your age class?
- Ask other athletes/coaches in your sport
about total volume;
- Experiment with YPI - choose a number and
see what kind of hours per week you get at
100% volume. Is it too high or too low?
The volume curve is somewhat sport specific,
but in general has a similar shape in all annual
plans. The basic volume curve built into YPI
increases through the preparation phases to
some peak value (100%) at the top of the Pre-competition
phase. Volume is adjusted downward by 40-50%
for the Competition phase, which assumes a level
volume load. Volume decreases again in the Taper
phase, dropping to perhaps 25% of the maximum
volume. The Peak volume depends on the nature
of the competition. After this comes the unloading
phase called Relax, in which the total volume
maybe around 30-40% of maximum volume, followed
by Off-season, with a further decrease in volume.
Given the total volume, YPI will help you do
the calculations that will give you an appropriate
volume curve for your training plan. Using the
built in macro cycle buttons, and then the built
in micro cycle buttons, youcan very quickly
get to the point where you know, logically,
how many minutes will be optimal for a particular
training day.
Emphasis:
Emphasis governs what kind of training you
should be doing at which time in the year. The
options are:
- Mental,
- Tactical,
- Physical,
- Technical.
The balance of these four elements is very
phase and sport specific. For example, in an
endurance sport, where the general preparation
phase starts 5-6 months before the competition
phase, the balance might be:
- Mental, 10%
- Tactical, 0%
- Physical, 85%
- Technical, 5%
Ten percent may not seem much, but for an endurance
athlete training 10-14 hr per week, 10% is 60
to 90 min./week Ten to fifteen minutes, five
days a week over 12 weeks, can go a long way.
For a biathlete, who uses the general preparation
phase to work on shooting skills as well as
for endurance training, the ratio would look
more like this:
- Mental, 2%
- Tactical, 0%
- Physical, 83%
- Technical, 15%
Formal mental training can be decreased as
precision shooting involves practicing the mental
skills of focus, concentration and attention
control.
Intensity:
In books and articles that describe periodised
training plans, the intensity curve is usually
a near-reciprocal of the volume curve. As volume
increases, intensity goes down; as volume goes
down, intensity increases. This reciprocal arrangement
should result in fatigue loads that are consistent
with the athletes training capacity.
Effective aerobic training requires low intensity
training over long durations (long slow distance),
applied over a long time period. Training the
anaerobic system requires very intense activity
over short periods of time (interval training)
and it responds quickly to training load. Happily,
endurance athletes can train these energy systems
sequentially and end up with a classic Intensity
vs Volume profile.
Intensity is a sometimes a hard item to come
to grips with. It usually refers to physical
intensity of effort, but doesn't have any consistent
measurement across exercise types. For a track
and field athlete who normally runs 3000m races,
running 4 x 400m intervals at 90% race pace
is more intense than jogging 1600m at 50% race
pace. But how does that compare with spending
an hour in the weight room doing hypertrophic
exercises? Each sport has its own way of coming
to grips with this comparative scale. As a general
guideline, the more fatigue produced per unit
time, the more intense the activity. Other general
measurements of intensity are based on perceived
effort (1 -10 scale), or on relative heart rate.
YPI uses heart rate zones and converts this
information into an estimate of fatigue level
(Banister).
Phase Details:
General Preparation:
Is usually the first phase of any periodized
plan. In this phase, training focuses on developing
a foundation for the sport performance. This
is where the athlete trains those systems that
are slow to change, for example the aerobic
energy systems. Long term changes, such as increasing
muscle mass and strength would also be targeted
in this phase. Training is aimed primarily at
overall fitness. Athletes in more technical
sports would also use this phase to work on
significant technique changes or to tune new
equipment. Volume/load would be increasing throughout.
Specific Preparation:
Is a continuation of the preparation phase,
but signals a transition into more sport specific
training. For example, a cross-country skier
who was mostly running and biking in the General
Preparation phase, would begin to include more
and more roller skiing into the training program
during this phase. Also during this phase, the
athlete would begin to work on systems that
train more easily than those targeted in Gen.
Prep. For example anaerobic energy systems,
speed and power. Volume/load would be increasing
throughout, with peak volume (hr./week) higher
that in General Preparation.
Pre-competition:
This is the phase where the athlete prepares
specifically for competition. The peak volume
(hr./week) in this phase may be less than in
the previous phase, or it maybe more depending
on the sport type, training history and the
length of the Competition Phase. Generally,
if the volume is less, the intensity of training
will be increased. A good rule of thumb is to
try to keep the fatigue level constant as the
volume goes down and intensity goes up. Macro
cycles will be shorter, tending to 3-1, 2-1
and sometimes 1-1.
Competition:
In order to perform well, the athlete should
be relatively rested. To accomplish this, the
total volume and the fatigue levels are reduced
significantly in this phase. Peak volume may
be reduced to 50% of the highest previous peak
volume. In sports where the competition season
is relatively long, the early races will be
treated as training races. Racing effort is
counted in the training load. Between races,
training will focus on exercises and drills
that keep the athlete tuned up for racing. Significant
effort will be put into recovery activities.
The slope of the volume curve may be flat, with
many 1-1 or 2-1 micro cycles, matched to the
competition schedule.
Taper:
This phase is primarily designed to lower the
accumulated fatigue level to as low a value
as possible, while optimizing the race-readiness
of the athlete. Volume is gradually lowered
across the phase while training focuses on short,
intense training efforts followed by mental
and physical recovery activities. Taper length
depends on the sport and on training age. Generally
speaking, the older the athlete, the longer
the taper; young children and teens have relatively
little endurance, but recover quickly. Another
rule of thumb is, the shorter the event, the
shorter the taper needed, probably reflecting
the different residual fatigue levels experienced,
for example, by sprinters and marathon runners.
A two-week taper phase would use a 1-1 macro
cycle, with a decreasing volume. Volume would
be about 25-30% of peak volume.
Peak:
This is the peak performance time. It may be
only one competition lasting two days, or it
maybe a week or more of play-downs leading to
a final competition. Emphasis is on mental preparation,
performance and recovery. Fatigue levels may
go well above normal competition levels by the
end of a peak period if recovery is neglected.
Relax:
This is a de-tuning phase, in which the training
load and it's intensity is gradually lowered
from the levels experienced in the competition
phase. The volume of training at the peak of
this phase may be higher than in the competition
phase, but the intensity will be lowered and
the focus will be on recovery. Volume decreases
across the phase, which is generally only one
macro cycle.
Off-season:
Strictly speaking, this is not a training phase,
it is a stage in the year devoted to recovery
and regeneration, particularly mental recovery.
Rifle shooters put away their rifles and go
fishing, hockey players get out their golf clubs
and go walking, cross-country skiers go hiking,
etc. It is also the time to take care of chronic
and repetitive strain injuries. No particular
volume constraints, although activity should
not drop off suddenly, or fall too far below
the beginning levels anticipated for the first
macro cycle of the next general preparation
phase.
Macro Cycles:
Macro cycles are subdivisions of Phases. Each
Phase is subdivided into one or more macro cycles.
Macro cycles are usually from two to five weeks
long. Each week is a micro
cycle. A two-week macro cycle would contain
two micro cycles. A five-week macro cycle would
have five micro cycles. The way you divide up
the weeks in a Phase depends on the number of
weeks in the phase and its purpose: loading, maintaining,
competition, taper, unloading, etc.
Longer macro cycles are usually found in loading-phases.
As a consequence, macro cycles are rarely longer
than five weeks, because four to five weeks of
increasing volume of training without a rest can
lead to injury and over training and certainly
lead to debilitating residual fatigue levels.
Preparation phases are usually more than five
weeks, sometimes longer than ten. A ten week phase
could be divided into three macro cycles: 4, 4,
2, or two macro cycles: 5, 5. One would normally
avoid a 3, 3, 3, 1 pattern because of the single
week at the end [because it would follow a recovery
week and precede a low week in the next macro
cycle, leading to three low weeks in a row (see
below)].
Preparation phases are normally loading phases,
i.e. the volume increases over the duration of
the phase. Working on the principle of "load
and recover", loading macro cycles are usually
divided into a loading period, followed by a rest
period. For example, a five-week macro cycle could
is divided 4-1,i.e. four loading weeks, followed
by a lower volume recovery week.
Here are some examples that are pre-coded in
YPI Planner:
1-1: High followed by low. Useful in competition
phase, especially where athletes compete on weekends.
A repeated pattern of 1-1 cycles gives a sequence
of load and taper weeks [micro cycles]. The 1-1
macro cycle is frequently used in taper phases
for unloading. Also used to include a special
training block in a phase.
2-1: Two loading weeks, followed by a recovery
week. Useful in phases where intensity is high,
requiring more frequent rest and recovery.
3-1: Three loading weeks, followed by a recovery
week. A utility macro cycle, most often used in
preparatory phases.
4-1: Four loading weeks, followed by a recovery
week. Used mainly in endurance sports in preparatory
phases where high volumes of low intensity work
are required for aerobic training.
Custom: The custom macro cycle option can be used
to generate any sequence of micro cycles [weeks]
that are required within a macro cycle. For example,
a five week macro cycle could be designed as:
two-up, one-down, one-up, one-down, if so desired.
The custom macro cycle function allows the YPI
user to override the phase's loading factor and/or
calculated volumes, and set the micro cycle volume(s)
to any desired value. Most useful in competition
phases.
1-0: Used for one-week phases, e.g. a
Taper or Peak phase. Automatically assigned a
one week macro cycle and a single micro cycle
by YPI.
In YPI, a phase can be loading, unloading or
maintenance. If the workload is increasing, then
YPI increases the volume of training in each successive
macro cycle. If the volume is decreasing, YPI
decreases the work volume in successive macro
cycles. For maintenance phases, the amount of
work per macro cycle is pro-rated to give a flat
volume curve.
Within each macro cycle of loading and maintaining
phases, the chosen loading pattern is followed,
e.g. a 2-1 macro cycle in a maintenance phase
would contain two loading plus one recovery micro
cycles. In an unloading phase, the sequence is
reversed, giving a pattern of micro cycles with
decreasing volumes within the macro cycle: one
high followed by two low, providing a gradual
taper in volume.
Micro Cycles:
Micro cycles are sub-parts of macro cycles. Generally
seven days long (one week for convenience) micro
cycles can be longer or shorter, but are rarely
longer than two weeks. Unlike macro cycles, which
have a distinct load - recovery pattern, there
is no generally agreed model for how to vary volume
or intensity within a single micro cycle.
There are some generally applicable rules of
thumb:
- Follow a heavy-volume day with a lighter volume
day.
- Follow an overload activity with recovery
activity.
- Avoid training that stresses the same energy
system(s) on successive days.
- Allow sufficient time for recovery between
workouts.
- Approximately 50% of training time should
be recovery activity.
- Put one rest day in every micro cycle.
These generalizations are derived from high performance
situations where athletes are training year round
and often seven days a week. They must of course
be modified for younger athletes, recreational
and masters athletes, fitness exercisers, etc.
to allow for their different physiology, ambitions,
practice times, etc.
To make micro cycle planning easier, YPI Planner
provides a number of pre-calculated micro cycle
patterns. When the user clicks on one of these
buttons, the program calculates the time per day
for each day of the micro cycle, based on the
pattern chosen and the underlying loading goal
of the Phase. Once calculated, the pattern can
be customized and the total time for that micro
cycle adjusted.
Some example pre-programmed patterns from YPI
are:
Low - high, no days off. Sometimes used in severe
overload situations.
High - low, Friday off. Typical for athletes who
only have lots of time to train on weekends.
Low - high, Sunday off. This pattern gives both
the athlete and the coach a day off on the weekend.
Race week/Pre-race week: Could be a race week
for short duration events. Could be used in the
last week of a taper phase in endurance sports,
with races scheduled for the week afterwards.
Mid-week rest: Used for high intensity low volume
micro cycles, for example, just before a taper
- peak sequence.
If you have followed the process to this point,
the calculations will have provided you with a
plan that shows how much volume you should plan
to do in on a particular day in a particular week
during the year.
Daily Training Tasks:
This is the lowest level of the plan - what to
do today. This is the area in which it is most
difficult to be prescriptive, either in theory,
or particularly in software. This is the point
where the training volume calculations meet the
purposes of the training plan, the specifics of
a particular sport, together with the capabilities
and training history of the trainee.
The training literature yields only a few generalizations:
- Follow an intense practice session with a
less intense session.
- Follow an overload activity with a recovery
activity.
- Allow sufficient time for recovery between
workouts.
- Avoid training that stresses the same energy
system(s) on successive days.
- Avoid training that stresses the same mental
system(s) on successive days.
- Approximately 50% of training time should
be recovery activity.
- Avoid dehydration. If not, re-hydrate as soon
as possible.
- Eat sufficient calories in a balanced diet.
The general thrust of the plan is outlined when
you think about Emphasis (see above) and Intensity
(see above). In the YPI Diary, where detailed
daily planning takes place, this issue of training
emphasis is made concrete on a weekly or micro
cycle basis.
In YPI, the user fills out an Intensity table
that lists, for each phase, the proportion of
training that should [ideally] be spent on each
aspect: Mental, Technical, Tactical and Physical
training. Physical training is further sub-divided
into training intensities based on heart rate
zones: Z1, Z2, Z3, Z4, Z5 and Strength, expressed
as a percentage of the time available.
YPI Diary uses these percentages to calculate
the minutes per week that should be spent on each
aspect of training. These are the ideal, or target
amounts. When you fill out the planning part of
the Diary, adding training activities to specific
time slots for each day, YPI keeps a running total
for each aspect on-screen. The user can compare
the target volumes with the plan-to-date as training
tasks are added to the week. It is up to the user
to distribute the allocation(s) over the training
week (micro cycle) using the general guidelines
given above. The user-allocated training tasks
are not constrained
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