If you browse around the internet or perform a simple Google search for workout programs or strength programs, you will find hundreds, thousands of different programs all promising to build strength. Some will go as far as promising strength gains with “little to no effort”. Those obviously do not work. But if you want to gain strength, what is the best way to do it?
There are several ways to gain strength, but as stated before about planning out what you want, if you don’t set forth a plan and have specific goals, it can be hard to track and measure your own progress. This is where the time-tested process of periodization comes into play.
According to the NSCA, periodization is defined as, “a theoretical and practical construct that allows for the systematic, sequential, and integrative programming of training interventions into mutually dependent periods of time in order to induce specific physiological adaptations that underpin performance outcomes.”
That sounds very scientific. In other words, it is a training and programming method that has athletes train for specific performance outcomes (i.e., bigger, faster, stronger), and is designed over periods of time. As time progresses, athletes will vary exercises and expect to be lifting heavier weights or performing more volume, or both. These periods of time are also broken down into weeks, months, and years.
The Basics of Periodization
Once you understand the basics of periodization, you will be able to establish a proper program to train under. The goal of periodization is to help you maximize your potential at a given time. This could be a strongman competing at an event, a powerlifter preparing for a meet, a bodybuilder getting ready for a show, or a football player getting ready for gameday. It doesn’t work with just athletes either.
If you have a set goal or time frame where you want to be your best (maybe even train for a CrossFit event, or a mud run), periodization can help you tackle fatigue and recover properly. This will set your body up for peak performance when it’s time for the event. Structuring your plan is the most important for success as you do not want to burn yourself out. Again, you are looking to seek peak performance.
Your training will take you through different training modes or periods that will help you maximize your gains and keep you recovering faster and pushing fatigue farther away. As you begin the program, you may experience soreness or stiffness that could last for a couple of days. This is normal and is called the alarm phase. This is the body’s response to new and taxing stress that it is not used to.
If your training is set up correctly, you could fall into what’s called supercompensation. This means you aren’t taxing your body more than it can handle and you are properly recovering. Then your body will be primed and pumped for maximum gains and performance.
Periodization Time Frame
Periodization programs are broken down into several types of specific time frames. You can see that every periodized program has a defined duration.
- Multiyear plan: 2-4 years
- Annual plan: 1 year
- Macrocycle: several months to 1 year
- Mesocycle: 2-6 weeks
- Microcycle: several days – 2 weeks
- Training day: 1 day (this could be gameday/show/competition/event)
- Training Session: several hours
An important key is that your annual plan should be the overall objective. Losing X pounds, gaining X muscles, definition in X area of my body, and so on. Those are your long term goals. Then, the macro, meso, and microcycles are the steps you take to achieve the ultimate goal you plan out.
When you look at each program and start to train, remember that you should start small. You won’t be able to squat 500 lbs overnight. So you will need to spend time perfecting your form and building strength the right way. Eventually, the strength will catch up and you’ll see dramatic increases. The form comes before the weight.
Vary your intensities and volume over the course of a few months during your macrocycles to stimulate growth and to keep you motivated. With so many specialty bars, machines, and other strength training equipment, there is plenty available to vary your training. As you get more adapted in training, you will begin performing heavier weight (intensity) for lower reps (volume).
The Three Main Phases of Periodization
To maximize your own muscular capacities, periodization is broken down into three basic phases.
- Preparatory
- Strength
- Transition
Here, we will give you a basic understanding of the main phases and how you can use them to incorporate into your own training regime.
The Preparatory Period
This period is where you focus on the specifics. For athletes, this could mean sport specific work, focusing on areas you won’t be able to tackle later on in the program. You might consider this the “offseason” as far as training is concerned. As you go through the training, you want to gradually increase the intensity of the training. Within this preparatory phase, there are three main training phases to further develop you.
Hypertrophy and Strength Phase
Hypertrophy means gaining muscle size. It does not necessarily mean you will get stronger, but your muscles will increase in size. Conversely, strength does not mean your muscles will get bigger, but you will be able to move more weight from point A to point B. The main objective from this early phase is gaining lean muscle mass and increase training volume.
You want to increase hypertrophy, while gradually gaining strength. This phase works best with higher volume and lower intensity. A good rule of thumb is between 50%-75% of your 1RM for intensity and sets of 8-20 reps, depending on the exercise. Core, multijoint exercises (squat, bench, deadlift) may be on the lower end of the spectrum, while single joint exercises (biceps, triceps, calves) may be on the higher end.
Strength Phase and Transition
This phase is added toward the end of the prep period, where the aim is to increase strength. It’s not the second phase of periodization, because it is more of a basic level to prepare you for the next phase.
Now the key for this phase is adding strength in areas that are sport specific. So, if you are a football lineman, you will want to work on explosive lifts that will require high intensities to move people off the ball. For a powerlifter, it might be focusing on the bench, squat, and deadlift and concentrating on increasing strength in those lifts.
You will be lifting heavier, which means the intensity will be high and the volume will be low. Aim for 80%-95% of your 1RM with reps between 2-6.
Before you jump right into the second phase, there is a transitional period that takes place, usually the last week of the training period. This week is more of a focus on power development and backs off from the strength. This could mean a reduction is intensity and/or volume. The focus is on recovery before you head into the strength and power phase.
Strength and Power Phase
During this phase, you are training at a much higher intensity. So for a powerlifter, they may be training to near max a few weeks out before a competition, or for football players preparing to max out at the end of summer conditioning before heading into the season.
The focus of this phase is all about power, explosion, and high intensity lifts with low volume. If you are looking to generate power, you may decide to go with lower intensity depending on the sport, for example, a sprinter. They may perform drills at both high and low intensity.
This has more variability with the percentage load, between 30%-95% of a 1RM, but performed with 1-2 reps. This means if the load is lower, those 1-2 reps need to focus on massive explosion, with excellent technique.
Competition Phase
The last phase in the periodization phase is the competitive phase. This is the day/time that is the payoff for all the hard work you have put into the prior training. The weeks and months of pain, sweat, and grit to grind out tough workouts.
For a powerlifter, you want to be at your peak state as you look to achieve PRs going into the meet. For a bodybuilder, this could mean being your leanest and most define as your diet has become extremely regimented to help you win the contest. In a sports program, it could mean developing a max out session right before the season starts and beginning a maintenance program.
Even for the average garage gym rat, it might mean performing a week of max-out sessions just to test your own levels of strength. Perform your top lifts after a sufficient warm up and have three sets where you attempt your max. If you haven’t completed the lift after three, that means you didn’t hit the lift.
You do not have to be performing competitively to use periodization. It’s a highly effective and efficient way to build strength and power.
Active Rest
After the competitive season or meet is over, you have a macrocycle of active rest to help your body recover. This usually lasts anywhere from 1-4 weeks. You may also think of it as a “deload”. There is some debate on whether deloads are needed, but they can be a nice boost to morale and the body when used correctly.
Usually, this period consists of lower intensity and higher volume as you are not looking to overstress your body. Active rest is used to help keep you mobile and moving yet give your body sufficient time to rest and recover. Once this period is over, it’s time to get back into the prep phase again, with possibly a new annual plan or series of mesocycles.
You may be performing some form of periodization and not even realize it. If you find yourself performing monthly routines, but don’t have any real objectives, you might think about trying periodization and look at what you want to accomplish.
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Reference:
Haff, G., & Triplett, N. T. (2016). Essentials of strength training and conditioning. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics.
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