Cycling Your Periodization - United States Olympic Committee

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CyclingYour Periodization PlanBy Michael H. Stone and Meg Stone (East Tennessee State) andWilliam A. Sands (United States Olympic Committee)The “principle of the cyclic arrangement of load demands”consists of two concepts working simultaneously: 1) cyclingand 2) stages (Harre 1982, p. 78). Cycles of training are organizedso that work is punctuated with rest and so that athletes progressthrough a program that systematically varies the training tasks andload.The overall cycle that each athlete goes through consists ofrepeating three stages: a) acquisition of athletic form b)stabilization of athletic form and c) temporary loss of athletic form(Harre 1982). Practical experience has shown that athletes donot continue to improve in a progressive linear manner. Athletesrequire work periods that cause fatigue, and then these workperiods are followed by rest and adaptation.Training load is cycled by increasing load demands followed bydecreasing demands. The second concept, stages, is again basedon practical experience. Athletes simply cannot work on all ofthe demands of training and competition at the same time. Thedemands are too numerous, and available time is too limited.Taken together, these two concepts are united under the moderntraining approach called periodization.The concept of periodization has been around at least since the1920s (Nilsson 1987), and there are at least a dozen models ofperiodization. Caution should be exercised in their use due to thetendency to infer too much from individual models (Francis andPatterson 1992; Siff 1996a, 1996b; Siff and Verkhoshansky 1993;Verkhoshansky, U. 1981; Verkhoshansky 1977, 1985; Viru 1988,1990, 1995). Further, most of the models have been tested onlycursorily, if at all. Table 1.1 presents a list of several models.Table 1.1 EXAMPLES OF PERIODIZATION MODELSMODELMatveyevConjugate sequence systemConcentrated loadingHigh Performance- MatveyevFrancisVarying intensityOscillatoryBondarchukSleamakerClusteringIncrementalInstinctiveProfessional competitiveCOMMENTSVolume and intensity are reciprocal.Different training tasks are specifically linked to optimize resultsPart of the conjugate (overlapping sequence system, but also a model unto itself. Period of very high loads followedby relative rest.Volume and intensity are reciprocal, but are maintained at much higher loads.Intensity remains constantly high; volume oscillatesVolume remains constant while intensity oscillates.Volume and intensity are increased and decreased together in a wavelike pattern.Specialized training immediately and throughout the training program.Primarily for endurance athletes.Primarily for relative strength development.Volume and intensity are gradually increased. Primarily used by team sports.No formal plan except to proceed based on the “feelings” of the coach, athlete, or both at the moment of training.Contest-to-contest training with little time for anything but travel to a new competition site and immediate preparation forthe subsequent competition.Planning with PeriodizationThe most common method of developing a periodization planis to divide a competitive season into three levels of cycles:a)macrocycles—several months in duration up to a year or slightlymore: b) mesocycles--- from approximately two to approximatelyeight weeks in duration; and c) microcycles—usually seven tofourteen days in duration.The three levels of training organization permit a “divide andconquer” approach to the assignment of training tasks in a definitepattern for a definite period. Unfortunately, various authors havetaken considerable liberty in using terms to describe varyingdurations, contents, and objectives of training within this context.The three levels of training duration are placed within an overallstructure of the training year that consists of a preparatory period,a competitive period, and a transition or rest period.O L Y M P I C C O A C H 1 2 V O L U M E 2 0 N U M B E R 1
U S O CThe preparatory period should be relatively longer forinexperienced athletes in order to allow for sufficient developmentof basic fitness. However, in elite athletes the preparatory periodmay be relatively short due to frequent competitions and thenecessity of elite athletes to remain close to top conditionthroughout the training year (Francis and Patterson 1992; Siff1996b; Siff and Verkhoshansky 1993; Zatsiorsky 1995).An athlete requires approximately 22 to 25 weeks to reach peakperformance (Verkhoshansky 1985) before a type of fatigue orexhaustion occurs that is poorly understood (Poliquin 1991).Experience has shown that performance generally declines withinthese times constraints, but the mechanisms of the decline areunknown.This idea of a limited time for adaptation leads to the conceptof multiple periodization, which simply means that the trainingyear is usually divided into two, rarely more, phases consisting ofpreparatory, competitive and transition periods (Bompa 1990a,1990b, 1993; Siff and Verkhoshansky 1993; Verkhoshansky1985). Perhaps unfortunately, many modern training programsforce athletes to attempt to peak too often.Description of the PeriodsThe preparatory period is usually divided into general andspecific phases. The general preparatory phase is used for broador multilateral training (Bompa, 1990b). The training tasksare aimed at improving the athlete’s overall strength, flexibility,stamina, coordination, and so forth.The specific preparatory phase more closely resembles the sportand sport-specific tasks. Training during the specific preparatoryphase are aimed at improving sport-specific tasks and fitness suchas jumping, flexibility and strength in extreme ranges of motionand applying any newly acquired fitness to solving specific sporttasks.The competitive period involves the majority of competitionsduring the particular season or macrocycle. The fitness ofthe athlete should be relatively stable during this period, andtraining focuses on maximizing and stabilizing performance.The preparatory period is linked to the competitive period inthat a well-executed preparatory period, with sufficient durationto achieve a high level of fitness at a reasonable pace, allowsthe athlete to demonstrate more stable performances duringthe competitive period (Harre 1982; Siff and Verkhoshansky1993;Verkhoshansky 1985). The idea of performance stabilityis particularly important for athletes in resistance training, andmay differ somewhat from sport to sport. For example, thetactical approach of a pole vaulter is quite different from that ofa diver. The pole vaulter may often face performances that he orshe has never equaled. This is seen in personal-best records. Thepole vaulter may try previously unachieved heights in manycompetitions throughout a season. The diver should face thistype of scenario only in the protected environment of training.The diver must perform what he or she has performed (i.e. dives)hundreds or thousands of times before, but must perform divesprecisely in the decisive moment of competition. No byes orfailed attempts are allowed in diving. Therefore, the diver seeksto stabilize performance at a level that is consistent with his or herskills, while the pole vaulter must assault and achieve new levelsof performance during a competition and can use more than oneattempt.The transition or rest period involves one to four, rarely more,weeks of reduced training load to facilitate recovery from the rigorsof previous training both physically and mentally (Bompa 1990a,1990b; Harre 1982, 1986; Siff and Verkhoshansky 1993). Duringthe transition period the athlete should attempt to maintain fitnesswhile allowing injuries to heal, develop new goals for the nextcompetitive season, evaluate the previous competitive season andbasically ensure that the next competitive season begins with arenewed vigor and commitment.Types of PeriodsThere are a number of different types of periods of trainingdepending on training goals, time of the season and capabilities ofthe athlete. Macrocycles are usually described based on commonsense understanding of the nature of the competitions within themacrocycle. For example, there may be an Olympic preparationtype of macrocycle due to the modification of competitionschedules to fit properly with the Olympic Games. There mayalso be a Pan American, national championship, or other typesof macrocycles depending on the most important goal of themacrocycle. The second level, mesocycles can be categorized byO L Y M P I C C O A C H 1 3 V O L U M E 2 0 N U M B E R 1
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Cycling Your Periodization - United States Olympic Committee

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