Structuring Your Training Periodization
A few weeks ago in my overview post on sprint training, I promised an overview of some training periodization theory. There seemed to be a good deal of interest in the topic, so here we go. Lucky for those of you that couldn’t give a hoot about sprinting, the same theories apply to any other real sport.
Training Periodization
So what is periodization? Basically, it’s just setting up a progressive cycle to improve specific skills and hit peak performance at the right time. Every athlete knows that you can’t be at your best every day.Contrary to what some people and fitness programs would have you believe, you cannot set new PRs every workout or competition. Perhaps initially, when you’re still not very good at what you’re doing, but eventually you’re going to hit a point where you can’t peak on a daily basis. To try will lead to inevitable overtraining and burnout.So you have to break the year down into segments and pick a few events each year that you want to be at your best.
Structuring The Year (Macrocycle)
The macrocycle is typically a one-year cycle. It’s the high-level plan. Basically, you pick one or two specific events that you want to peak for and work backwards from them to develop your goals. I have one specific goal each year: the final meet of the year. For the past couple years, that’s been the Bluegrass State Games in July. This year, it’s Master’s Nationals in Sacramento in July. For a college track coach, it’s probably indoor nationals and outdoor nationals. Whatever the sport is, there are one or two competitions that are the most important.
Progression Through The Year
So knowing my season goals and the specific dates that I need to be ready to hit them, I can work backwards to figure out what I should be working on at any specific time. Without going too in-depth, I’ve put the year together as such, starting with July 2009 after the last Bluegrass State Games and running until July 2010 at the Master’s Nationals.
After a complete rest in August (a few light workouts, mostly just complete recovery), I moved to 3-month dedicated strength cycle (5/3/1) with only a few days of running. The goal was to build strength (which 5/3/1 does…+60 on DL, +30 on Squat in 3 months), which I later work to turn into sprinting power. I’ve continued with the strength work since, but it’s now taking a backseat as plyometrics and max speed work take precedence.
So you can see that I’ve spent the last 7 months working to improve my overall strength and power output. The idea is that the faster you are, the easier it is to be fast over distance (a concept known as “speed reserve”). And in the upcoming months, the focus will become speed-endurance, first short speed-endurance, then long speed-endurance.
Basically, I get faster, then I train to maintain a high percentage of that faster top speed for longer. Similar concepts apply in all sports…strength and power improvements are harder and take longer than endurance improvements.
Structuring The Training Cycle (Mesocycles and Microcycles)
Okay, so I know my high-level yearly plan, but I can’t plan the details at that level. So I setup 4 week cycles to approach those events, basically using each month as a mesocycle, each with a specific focus. And these 4-week cycles are further broken down into 1-week microcycles. You can setup 10-day microcycles (or any other number of days), but a week is an easy unit to plan in.
Each of these microcycles leads into the next and each mesocycle leads into the next. The goal is basically what the picture to the right is illustrating: supercompensation.
Tax the body, let it recover to a level above where it was, then tax it again at the right time to build off of the previous supercompensation, continuing this through to the end of the season. Don’t recover enough and you’ll end up decreasing your performance. Recover too long and you’ll lose some of the compensation effect.
Structuring The Training Session
What about each individual session? They all have a specific goal as well. It’s a “speed day” or a “short speed endurance” day. I don’t go mixing up different energy systems in the same workout. I don’t work block starts, then go into long speed-endurance, then throw in some top speed work for good measure. Once I know what the goals of a particular week and month are, I can plan down to the individual day.
I usually plan out about a month with a general idea of what the next month will cover, though with leeway for altering the plan based on my recovery, weather, travel, etc.
Do I Really Have To Plan?
No. You don’t have to. You can just run around in circles with no real direction and no concrete performance metrics, but you’re not very likely to end up where you want to (or at least not where you could have ended up). You’re also more likely to injure yourself as you try to cram in everything all at once.
So you only have to plan if you want to actually get better and move towards your goals.
The Hard Part: Ignoring Early Events
I won’t lie to you…for anyone that is competitive, it’s very hard to seemingly blow off the early events in the year and not worry about your performance. For instance, in my 3 meets thus far this year, I’m running about 1.5 seconds off my 200m PR and over 4 seconds off my 400m PR, both from the final meet last July. But I know that these early season indoor meets are little more than a training day with some camaraderie/competition to push me along. They’re simply “where am I now?” tests.
Recall how I structured my training year…I haven’t even started working much on speed-endurance, so of course I’m not powering through the end of the 200m and 400m. It’s to be expected. The good news though is that I’m 6.5 seconds faster in the 400m right now than I was at the same time last year.
What If I Don’t Have Any Competitions?
What if you’re not really training for anything in particular? Make up some competitions. First, pick some performance goals, then train for them with an eye for testing them a couple times per year. It’s that simple. Or join one of the many sports organizations out there. Don’t just run around in circles with no eye on progression. Don’t confuse being tired with getting somewhere.
Don’t get lost in the details here…this isn’t just about sprinting. This is about all sports. I don’t care if it’s college basketball (you know those teams that are a bit rocky at the season-opener, but are playing perfectly come March, when it matters?), Track and Field, swimming, Olympic weightlifting, or Debate Club. You have to have a plan to be at the top of your game at the right time.
What additional thoughts do you have about structuring your training program? Do you do things similarly or differently? Agreements or disagreements?
About Scott
Scott Kustes loves to cook and loves to eat. He started Real Food University to help you get maximum enjoyment out of the meals that you eat. To find out more about how he has rebelled against the fast food culture and counting calories or carbs, join the Real Food Revolution.
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Impressive strength gains. Can you talk more about the (5/3/1) program you followed? How many warmup sets, how many times a week, etc? Did you change your diet during this time as well?
It’s important to remember that with single-event periodization, you’re maximizing your fitness & performance for one type of event only. So if you’re training for a sprint event, you’re not going to be peaking in strength or endurance or swimming fitness or other sports.There’s nothing wrong with that, but others prefer to generalize instead of specialize (think Crossfit). That means you’re preparing yourself for any kind of fitness event, and generally results in a better overall fitness level but not quite as good for a single event. It depends on your goals.
As a former NCAA DI athlete, I agree that periodization is essential to peak performance….those athletes are highly specialized.For individuals seeking to improve and maintain their health, I do think general preparation like CrossFit is a excellent way to do that.I would bet that even CrossFit is periodized on some level…maybe not the one described above though.I love the blog and your perspective….thanks for getting the wheels turning!
[...] Advice on Periodization [...]
Hey Mark, I did 5/3/1 as described here. I did 3-4 days per week, one big lift and an assistance exercise each day.Warmup sets are what I’d call “45/25 warmups”. I just keep adding either 45s or 25s until I get to my work weight. So if my first work set of deadlift is 315 (3×45 per side), I’ll do 135, 185, 225, 275, then go into work sets.Currently, I’m lifting 5/3/1 style a couple times per week, usually deadlifts one day, press and bench on another. I don’t do squats right now because they tend to cripple me for sprinting, which is my focus now through July.No dietary changes…I might’ve eaten more. Basically just ate when hungry and ate till full. I was eating breakfast more often because heavy lifting makes me ravenously hungry and I was lifting at 6:30am.CheersScott
Leo, correct, there are people just training for general fitness, as I was until taking Track and Field back up a couple years ago. Prior to that was 5 years of dedicated CrossFit.I can tell you that it’s untrue that dedicated sport specific training necessarily leads to a lower level of general fitness. There are several sports that carryover to general fitness better than others, specifically Track and Field (mainly sprinting and middle distance, along with the power generation of Field events), gymnastics, and Olympic weightlifting.A good amateur 400m runner pulling a low 50s 400m will have no problems with any sporting event he finds himself in and most any cornerback or safety from any Division III college football team will crush whatever you through at him, fitness-wise.I can tell you that, while I may be worse at CrossFit workouts, I’m stronger, more powerful, leaner, and generally in better shape from 2 years of T&F than from 5 years of CF. Of course, the T&F was built on the years of CF, so the two can’t be completely separated.That’s not a knock on CF…I think it’s a good program that gets people working out hard and keeps people engaged, two huge keys to being in-shape. But you don’t really have to train in a random general way to be solidly rounded. Whatever it takes to get people moving though is great.To further what Dano said, the people that do the best at CF tend to do their own periodization (along with properly prescribed rest and recovery), focusing heavily on strength and power with far fewer intense circuits than typically prescribed by CF.CheersScott
[...] Training Periodization [...]
I think it was Ross Enamait who said it best…..”Random training leads to random results”. If you want to excel at anything in particular (powerlifting/strength, bodybuilding/hypertriophy, sports specific) you will do better with a plan suited for those goals.Of course life doesn’t have to always be a competition either, just follow your own personal passion whatever that may be and your own definition of success will follow.
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You’re right that it’s tough to ignore early season performance levels. It’s best not to think about what was achieved in training or races at last summer’s peak but only focus on what the training/racing was this time last year.Being 6.5 seconds faster in the 400m now compared to this time last year – that is a phenomenal improvement, indicating that your training methods are working.