Introduction
While S&C programs bring about significant improvement in strength, eventually our body will adapt to the program and the athlete will reach a stage of performance plateaus or decrements.
This may increase the risk of injury and other symptoms linked to overtraining.
To promote long term strength and performance improvements, the S&C professional should include preplanned, systematic variations in training specificity, intensity, and volume organized in periods or cycles within an overall program.
This program is called periodization.
Periodization Chart
Responses To Training Stress
The way our human body reacts to stress is explained by a Canadian biologist and endocrinologist Hans Selye as the General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS).
There are three stages to this response to stress which are;
- Alarm
- Resistance
- Exhaustion
Alarm
When the body experiences new stress or more intense stress than previously applied, the first response is the shock or alarm phase.
May last several days or several weeks, during which the athlete may experience excessive soreness, stiffness, and a temporary drop in performance.
Resistance
One in which the body adapts to the stimulus and returns to more normal bodily functions. In this phase, the body is able to demonstrate its ability to withstand the stress, an
characteristic that may manifest itself for an extended period depending on the health and training status of the athlete.
The athlete relies on neurological adaptation to continue training while the muscle tissue adapts by making various biochemical, structural, and mechanical adjustments that can lead to increase performance.
This phase of adaptation sometimes called super-compensation.
Exhaustion
However, if the stress persists for an extended time, exhaustion will kick in.
Similar physiological symptoms experienced during the alarm phase reappear (fatigue, soreness and etc.) and the athletes lose the ability to adapt to the stressor.
No training variety or the stress is too great will cause staleness, overtraining, and other maladaptations.
Response To Training Stress
Periodization Cycles
The periodization model is divided into specific time periods.
The largest division is a macrocycle. Macrocycle typically constitutes an entire training year but may also be a period of many months up to four years (for Olympic athletes).
Within the macrocycle are two or more mesocycles. Mesocycle usually lasts several weeks to several months.
This number depends on the goals of the athlete and the number of sports competitions contained within the period.
Each mesocycle is divided into two or more microcycles. Microcycles are typically one week long but could last until four weeks.
This short cycle focuses on daily and weekly training variations.
Periodization Period
In a periodization plan, the intensity and volume assignments of training for meso- and microcycles within an overall macrocycle are manipulated to a greater extent.
Periodization involves shifting training priorities from non-sport specific activities of high volume and low intensity to sport-specific activities of low volume and high intensity over a period of many weeks.
This is to prevent overtraining and optimizing athlete performance.
The major divisions of training are preparatory, competition, and second transition.
Preparatory Period
Usually the longest and occur during the time of the year when no competitions and the only a limited number of sport-specific skill practices or game strategy sessions
Emphasis a base level to increase athlete tolerance for more intense training rather than technique.
Start relatively low intensities and high volume (LSD running or swimming, plyometric, high resistance training with light to moderate resistance).
As the preparatory period unfolds, microcycles are gradually increasing resistance-training load and sports conditioning intensity, decrease training volume, and give more attention to sport technique training.
Matveyev categorized this period into three specific phases.
Hypertrophy/Endurance Phase
Occurs during the early stages of the preparatory period and may last from one to six weeks. Training begins at a very low intensity with very high volume.
Goal is to increase lean body mass or develop an endurance base or both for more intense training in later phases and periods.
Training activities become more specific to the sport after several weeks.
Example, a sprinter starts with longer distance runs at slower speeds and resistance training which are not so specifically for running.
TIP: This phase involves very low to moderate intensity (50-75% of 1RM and very high moderate volume (three to six sets of 10-20 repetitions)
Basic Strength Phase
Aim to increase the strength of the muscles essential to the primary sport movements.
RT become more specific to the sport and involves heavier loads for fewer repetitions than the hypertrophy/endurance phase (squat with free weights).
Sprinter’s running programme involves interval sprints of moderate distances.
The basic strength phase involves high intensity (80-90% of 1RM) and moderate volume (three to five sets of four to eight repetitions).
Strength/Power Phase
The last stage of the preparatory period.
Sprinter’s interval and speed training intensifies to near competitive pace
Resistance training involves performing power/explosive exercises at high loads and low volumes.
The strength/power phase involves high intensity (75-95% of 1RM) and low volume (three to five sets of two to five repetitions).
First Transition Period
This is placed between the preparatory and competition periods to denote the break between high volume training and high-intensity training.
This period provides one week of lower intensity, lower volume, or a combination of both before the beginning of the competition period.
Competition Period
The goal for this period is to peak strength and power through increases in training intensity with additional decreases in training volume.
Practice in skill technique and game strategy increases dramatically as time spends in physical conditioning decreases proportionately.
A sprinter focuses on speed, reaction time, technique training much of which is gained through actual competitions.
This competition period might last from one to three weeks but for more organized sports, this period may last for many months.
Typically, this mesocycle will place the athlete in peak condition for only about three weeks while trying to prevent overtraining from happening.
For sports with multiple major contests spread across multiple weeks, the goal is to preserve strength, power, and performance levels by following a maintenance program of moderate intensities and volume.
TIP: For peaking, athletes use very high intensity (>93% of 1RM) and very low volume (one to three sets of one to three reps). For maintenance, moderate-intensity (~80-85% of 1RM) and moderate volume (two to three sets of about six to eight reps) are used.
Second Transition Period (Active Rest)
Between the competitive season and the next macrocycle’s preparatory period is the second transition period referred to as active rest or restoration.
Lasts one to four weeks and focuses on unstructured, non-sport specific recreational activities performed at low intensities with low volumes.
Avoid aggressive training to allow time to rehabilitate any injuries and to rest during this unloading week.
Secondary use of the active rest is the practice of inserting a week break between long phases to prepare the body for the increased demand of the next phase or period.
The second transition period consists of recreational activity that may not involve resistance training.
Applying Sports Seasons To The Periodization Periods
Most intercollegiate and professional sports have an annual schedule that consists of;
Off Season
This period is between the postseason and six weeks (varies) prior to the first contest of the next year’s season.
This season includes most of the preparatory period and can be divided into multiple shorter mesocycles if it is overly long.
Athlete may complete two or more rotations through the hypertrophy/endurance and basic strength phase, possibly even the strength/power phase depending on the sport.
Pre Season
This period leads up to the first contest and commonly contains the late stages of the preparatory period and the first transition period.
In-Season
This period contains all the contests scheduled for that year.
Some sports may need multiple mesocycles arranged around the most important contests. Divide the competitions into two to three mesocycles that peak the athlete’s performance for the most critical contests.
Or, design a maintenance program consists of moderate intensities and low to moderate volume.
Post Season
This period provides active rest before the start of next year’s offseason or preparatory period.
Undulating (Nonlinear) Vs Linear Periodization Models
The traditional resistance training periodization model is often referred to as linear due to the gradual, progressive mesocycle increases in intensity over time.
Undulating model involves large daily fluctuations in the load and volume assignments for core exercises.
Research suggests that the undulating model is more effective in improving strength than the linear model.
This is due to the absence of accumulated neural fatigue caused by the extended, ever-increasing training intensity associated with a linear model.
However, higher-level athletes might reach the overtrained state faster if undulating programs are used.
It should be noted that periodization at the very least should be undulating with respect to regular fluctuations in microcycle volume and load and linear with respect to the long term nature of fitness goal.
Assignment
Come up with a periodization plan (8 months) with two competitions (one major competition) for a male rugby athlete. Maximum of 8000 words.
Things to include in the assignment:
- Background of the athlete.
- All four periodization periods.
- Discuss the training program and justify your choice.
