Periodization is a controlled approach to physical training that emphasizes progressive variation and cycling. It is based on the general adaptation syndrome (GAS) model developed by endocrinologist Hans Selye, and is designed to avoid monotony and a plateau effect. The training cycle is goal-specific and involves a balanced rotation of power, strength, and maintenance-oriented exercise, followed by sufficient active recovery time. The overall annual training plan, called a macrocycle, is divided into three phases, each focused on preparation, competition, and transition, respectively.
Periodization is a controlled approach to physical training that emphasizes progressive variation and cycling. Generally formulated to fit a competitive athlete’s schedule, periodization programs diversify training over a specific period of time to avoid monotony and a plateau effect. Developed during the 1950s in Eastern Europe, periodization has become a widely used approach to successful training.
The periodization formulation is based on a model developed by endocrinologist Hans Selye, who first confirmed the reality of biological stress. His model, the general adaptation syndrome (GAS), describes three stages that a biological organism experiences when exposed to stress. Initially, the organism will enter the alarm stage in which it experiences the primary shock that the existing stress exerts on its system. Once the shock subsides, the organism will progress to the adaptation stage where the biological system begins to compensate to better deal with the stress. During the third stage, known as burnout, the adaptation will falter and begin to decline.
According to Selye, stress that is beneficial is known as eustress and negative stress is distress. During periodization, it is essential to keep eustress at a healthy level for training to be beneficial. When training becomes excessive, creating distress, its cost to the individual can lead to physical, emotional, and psychological harm and illness.
The principle of periodization is to maintain the momentum gained during the adaptation stage without allowing the body to experience the exhaustion stage. An individual’s training should be planned in advance and diversified to avoid monotony. When a training regimen becomes predictable, the body is no longer challenged and a plateau is reached where no further progress is made. Similarly, if the body doesn’t have enough time to recover after a training session, the same type of stagnation will occur.
The periodization app is designed around an individual’s competition schedule. Performance history and individual potential play a critical role in developing an appropriate training program. The training cycle is goal-specific and involves a balanced rotation of power, strength, and maintenance-oriented exercise, followed by sufficient active recovery time. The rotation of the exercise can be linear or random in variation depending on the need for volume and intensity. The training regimen itself is generally simplistic and flexible, allowing for easy modification when necessary.
An individual’s overall annual training plan, called a macrocycle, is divided into three phases, each focused on preparation, competition, and transition, respectively. The preparatory and competitive phases serve to prepare the individual for peak performance in competition. The transition phase provides the individual with psychological and physical respite, giving the body enough time to recover.
The macrocycle is divided into mesocycles, each lasting nearly two months, which are designed to emphasize a specific type of training, intensity, and repetition. The duration and content of each mesocycle depends on the macrocycle phase. Within each mesocycle are microcycles that last one week. Each microcycle focuses on a particular aspect of the overall objective of the phase-specific mesocycle, as it fits into the training plan of the macrocycle. The ultimate goal of the mesocycle is for the individual’s peak performance to match the scheduled competitions that occur during the macrocycle.
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