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Posted Feb 7th 2008, 12:42pm
Periodization
Periodization
Periodization is the key to exercise and used by every professional athlete the world over. Yet almost no one outside of this circle has heard of it. The science of periodization was developed in the USSR and former eastern block countries as a system to design exercise and training programmes for their athletes.
The principles are based on the fundamental way that the body responds to exercise. The majority of my work is in personal training in London - Clapham. Most my personal training clients are not athletes but as we all respond similarly to exercise, the principles must be used for everyone's training programmes and not just that of the elite athletes.
The need for periodization
If you are some one who has embarked on an exercise routine and really enjoyed it at first, then found that you became bored with it and simply stopped doing it, or have been training hard but stopped making improvements, you have been a participant in an example of how the theory of adaptation works, and this was the very reason Periodization was designed.
Periodization is the all encompassing theory of how to combine the theory of adaptation, progressive overload, diminishing returns, rest and recovery, into one.
What it means for you is, if applied correctly, you will make the greatest gains ever that you have had from the gym, while enjoying it, staying clear from injury and keeping fresh mentally and physically. Before looking at the theory, lets quickly examine the principles behind exercise.
Theory of adaptation
This states that when a new exercise stimulus is given to the body e.g. going for a 10 minute jog, doing level 7 instead of 4, lifting 60 kg etc the body is shocked by what it experiences and reacts by improving itself so it can cope with the stimulus if it is encountered again in the future.
The body changes the physical ability that was stressed during the exercise e.g. in response to jogging, increases occur in aerobic power; through lifting an 80kg weight, the body adapts by increasing strength and muscle size. This response to exercise is the underlying theory used in designing exercise programs.
Once the body has become accustomed to the stimulus, it no longer increases the physical ability in response to that exercise routine. It is said to have reached a plateau. This is an undesirable stage as your fitness attributes are no longer improving despite your efforts e.g. even though it hurts to do the exercise you still end up lifting the same weight, or completing the run in the same time. It happens because the body feels it can handle the exercise stimulus.
It is at this point you will become bored with the training routine and at a future point along the curve you will either stop doing your exercise (if you do not love exercise) or carry on but make few improvements
Progressive Overload
To avoid reaching a plateau, a technique called progressive overload is used. The theory works by continually giving the body a progressively more difficult and challenging exercise stimulus. The more demanding stimulus makes the body continually respond by increasing the attributes stressed. The difficulty is increased through alterations of the training variables within an exercise program, e.g. increasing the weight, decreasing rest, increasing number of repetitions etc.
Periodization techniques
Periodization is the theory and principles of how to structure your training programme so improvements are made month to month and year to year while avoiding over-training and injuries.
The theory sees the year being divided up into different periods of time (phases) where unique training routines can be used that are different from one phase to the next. This ensures the principles outlined above can be adhered to.
The basic principles are very simple to use. Professional athletes may use a highly sophisticated form but everyone should be using it to some degree. There are different levels that you can apply to your training programmes
Phases
Under periodization your year is divided into phases. Each phase has a different focus and training programme to achieve. As well as these, planned periods of rest are also incorporated, these can be timed to coincide with holidays, work demands and more. Using phases during the training year is the key to getting the most out of your exercise routine.
Training Variables
This relates to the way you change the actual variable of how you do your exercise routine. These refer to the amount of exercise you perform (volume), the difficulty of exercise you perform, compared to your maximum (intensity), the type of exercise you do (specificity) and rest taken (density).
Each of these variables can be applied to the four areas of exercise, aerobic, resistance, core and flexibility training.
For example, imagine a resistance exercise, you could do:
2 sets of 15 reps (volume) using 10 KG (intensity) with 30 seconds rest (density) of a squat exercise. (Specificity) or could change to
2 sets of 5 reps (less volume), with weight 25kg (higher intensity) with 1 minute rest (lower density) of the squat exercise (same specificity).
Please do not be confused by this, the main point is that changing what you do in the exercise is the most important thing in fitness training. When even the basic principles are grasped it will revolutionize your training programme.
Periodization is the key element to teaching exercise. For effective results it must be backed up with correct nutrition, for this you should use metabolic typing
Ben Wilson BSc (Hons) CSCS NSCA-CPT CMTA EFT Dip
On line metabolic typing, fitness training and emotional freedom technique (EFT)
Personal training London (Clapham)
Rugby fitness training information and coaching
Posted Jan 26th 2008, 8:47am
Ben Wilson Personal trainer
Hi, Thank you for reading my profile.
<b>Location of my services</b>
Personal training London
I am a London based personal trainer who combines exercise with nutrition and various mental strategies to ensure success. I see most of my clients for personal training in Clapham Junction Fitness First. Other facilities I use for personal training are in Battersea / Wandsworth within a private gym in my block of flats . I use the millennium arena for personal training in Battersea park. I also provide personal training on Clapham common and will see a limited number of clients for home visits. This means I can cater for your needs and provide personal training across London from Wimbledon to Chelsea.
Clients from across the globe on line
I have a very high success rate attaining some great results working with people on line. The great thing about working on line with me is you do not need to one of my personal training clients in London to put in place the techniques I use. Working on line with people from New Zealand to Cyprus I have achieved some fantastic success stories. Read more at
<b>Success stories</b>
I have helped people lose weight, rehabilitate injuries, improve sports performance and increase their energy and health. Some of my success stories include:
Anu Brady - Dropped in dress size from a 16 to a 10. Anu lost a lot of body fat and now looks great. See the photos>>>
Emma Goodhind - Rehabilitated a broken hip in four places and a fractured spine. She went from a hospital bed to running a 10km race in 10 months. The doctors said it would take a year to walk again. Read this amazing rehabilitation success
Gareth Mason - Lost 11kg. A ten year professional rugby player Gareth gained weight when working in the city, He has is now thinner than at any point when he was a full time professional athlete because of the metabolic typing nutrition system I use. See the photos>>>
George Fox - Was suffering suspected depression and extreme fatigue. In just 10 weeks he was transformed and has a new outlook on life that had been missing for years. Read the full story>>
Andy Partridge - working on line Andy has lost 2 stone (7Kg). Read how he lost weight and kept it off after 15 years of trying. See the photos>>>
Ben Wilson - ME! Using metabolic typing I managed to get rid of my asthma and allergies which I had suffered for almost 20 years.
The list goes on and on.........See more stories>>>>
<b>Why are you so successful?</b>
I am successful because I take a holistic approach to attaining results with the emphasis on long term success.
To do this I address nutrition, exercise and the underlying mind set behind your lifestyle
Nutrition - Metabolic typing
Metabolic typing is the science of personalized nutrition. It is used to determine the exact foods your body needs. This can vary greatly from you to the next person and explains all the contradiction you see in the nutrition and diet world. Read more about Metabolic typing
Exercise - Four areas of exercise and periodization
I use within my personal training and philosophy four main areas of exercise. These are aerobic training, resistance training, core training and flexibility training. To ensure long term gains I then apply the little know theory called periodization. This science is concerned with how to vary your exercise routine. Used by all professional athletes the general public is losing out by not using this simple technique. Read more about exercise and periodization>>>
The mind
To ensure the mind is tuned for success I use amongst other methods Emotional freedom technique (EFT) , the fastest growing branch of psychology today. I use it to create a mind set so that you can achieve your goals without it feeling a struggle or a constant battle. I also use some other mental strategies to aid success. Learn more aboutEmotional freedom technique (EFT)
A bit about me - Ben Wilson
I am someone who eats sleeps and breathe health fitness. I am a metabolic typing advisor, personal trainer and emotional freedom technique therapist (EFT). When I am not working or studying about health and fitness then I will be training myself. I run 100m and 400m while also focusing on having an ok 10km time. I play rugby though not currently as I am focusing on the former fitness goals finally I do try to ensure that when I in good enough shape to show off the six pack on the beach.
I love writing and as well as the many health and fitness articles on my website I am also author of the book Rugby fitness training: A twelve month conditioning programme.(Crowood pres). I wrote this in 2005-2006 and has been one of the top selling rugby fitness books since its release. This complements my rugby fitness training website where I work with players of all standards who want to improve their performance. I am also the fitness coach for the Sweden national Rugby team and fitness director of the northlands province in Fiji. Read more>>>
The one passion I have outside of health and fitness is traveling. I have been round the world three times already and plan to go many more times in the future
Thanks for getting this far!
Ben Wilson
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Posted Aug 24th 2007, 9:57am
Rugby fitness training - A periodized approach
A periodized approach to rugby fitness training..
Rugby union traditionally was a sport that was played by amateurs who trained like amateurs. Since the advent of professionalism which has trickled down throughout the league structures it is now common place to see the majority of rugby players training in their own time. As is seen with many people in the gym the new found enthusiasm for fitness may not paralleled by the same level of knowledge about how to train.
Rugby produces some unique training requirements not seen in other sports. It is a sport that caters for all types of physiques and places demands on almost all the bodies' physical characteristics.
I will not go into an in-depth discussion of the various requirements of rugby and variations for each position. However, I will briefly review the main requirements for success. The demands of rugby are varied and I could almost list every physical ability and say it impacts upon performance, however the main factors are:
• Aerobic power - more specifically a high aerobic power over a pure steady state aerobic base e.g. a good 6 minute run test score more important than good 10 km time. (Obviously these two are highly integrated but still are different).
• Lactate tolerance - The key limiting factor during play, affects both aerobic power and speed endurance.
• Speed - More specifically acceleration and repeated sprint speed endurance.
• Agility - The ability to decelerate and change direction or move in a non linear direction.
• Strength - Both maximum strength and speed strength and as any sport requires a strong core as a foundation.
To add to this you could easily point out maximum speed is important in many situations and you can never be called too fast, but in general it is not too decisive. Muscles size is also not hugely important to success as it is your strength, absolute, relative and fast speed that is more important. Though one factor affecting maximum strength is of course muscle cross section area. I have not mentioned above about flexibility but just like core strength it is a fundamental that needs to be used to restore ideal posture and muscle lengths. How much flexibility is optimal past these ideal lengths is an issue of much debate and beyond the scope of this article.
To effectively cover all the main attributes a rugby player needs to optimize performance he must cover six main types of training methods:
• Aerobic training - To develop lactate tolerance and aerobic power.
• Sprint training - To enhance acceleration and repeated sprint speed endurance.
• Resistance training - To build maximum and fast speed strength.
• Agility training - to learn effective mutli-directional movements and changes of pace.
• Plyometric training - To support speed strength in linear and multi directional movements.
• Core and flexibility training - To create the underlying foundations of all the above training.
These methods will develop all the attributes that are stressed on the rugby field. These can be combined into three sessions, a track session - Sprint training, agility and plyometrics, a gym session - Strength and core training and an aerobic session. This does not need to take up your whole life but just a few hours per week if following an optimal training routine.
To go through each training method is of course beyond the length of this article and is comprehensively covered in my book1. Ignoring the specific details of each training method we can instead focus upon the underlying design of the training programmes within each of the six methods above.
Periodization principles.
Most of us are aware of periodization, yet so few people integrate this fully into their training programmes. I believe this is due to the complexity of the theory. The reason periodization was created was to:
1) Maximise the response from the training stimulus.
2) Allow continuous gains to be made from week to week and year to year.
3) Avoid injury and overtraining.
Periodization seems to suffer from an all or nothing approach, either a scientifically designed programme is used or nothing is implemented. However most trainers are using the theory without knowing it. Forget macro cycles, training variables and such, if viewed on a sliding scale then the most basic form of periodization is setting a new programme every month. Which most people do, the next level up would be applying a certain type of training for a few weeks then changing the focus, e.g. an endurance phase then strength phase. This again is easy to implement. How far to advance the system up to the traditional theories of step load progression of intensity and macro, meso cycles, weekly load variation etc is dependent on many a factor including the athlete you are working with.
I present here a method of using periodization that can be implemented by trainers or players alike. The key to using periodization is to determine the training phase and setting appropriate training parameters. Then using these you can cycle the parameters over the duration of that training phase.
Let me explain, as an example, say you are looking to increase the muscle size of the prime movers used in rugby, this is known as specific hypertrophy phase using traditional periodization terminology2. The general guidelines for this would be 6 - 12 reps with around 3 minutes rest using the necessary exercises. A simple way to introduce periodization would be, over a 6 week phase to vary the reps as below:
Week 1 & 2 12 Reps
Week 3 & 4 9 reps
Week 5 & 6 6 reps
This is using the foundation principles of program design, it is increasing the intensity while decreasing the volume - Classic periodization!3. This method can and should be extended across all the training phases within your resistance training routines.
Let's take a look at a typical off-season. To maximise the gains from resistance training you would build a base early in the off-season followed by focusing on increasing muscle size then developing maximum strength and converting this to power so your are physically at your biggest, strongest and most explosive by the start of the next in-season.
To do this you could have four training phases, preparation, hypertrophy, strength and power phase.
Off-season
Preparation Hypertrophy Strength Power
With each phase you can associate the traditional training parameters to achieve the goal of that phase's training. For example, preparation4 uses sub maximal lifts for between 5 to 15 reps, hypertrophy uses 6 - 12 reps to failure, strength 1 - 5 rep max and power for sake of argument 2 - 6 reps with sub-maximal loads (please note there are many methods for power development beside this).
Using these phases is already putting the science of program design into practise. This can be further enhanced by varying the reps within each phase. This will maximise the training response over the phase:
Season Off-season
Phase Preparation Hypertrophy Strength Power
Reps 15 10 5 12 9 6 5 3 1 6 4 2
Through such simple variations of one training variable you have introduced intensity and volume manipulation throughout the course of the off-season and within the phases themselves. This will produce more optimal results. For each training phase a different exercise routine would be followed to introduce specificity and you could also vary the rest periods to further extrapolate the volume, specificity and intensity relationships.
If you now start introducing recovery weeks you begin to incorporating the other needs of periodization - avoiding overtraining and maximising adaptation. This can be furthered enhanced by using specified variations in training intensity within the weekly micro cycles, e.g. heavy and light days and before you know it you are applying the main bulk of periodization and reaping its benefits on athletic performance.
The above serves to exemplify how to easily introduce periodization into resistance training, of course these principles need to be taken and applied to the other training methods also, e.g. aerobic, agility, plyometrics etc. Again the exercises within each phase and variation in training parameters, e.g. volume, intensity need to be designed and altered to mediate the required changes across the off-season or during the in-season.
If this sounds too simple then just remember that periodization is a relative rather than an absolute. It is about maximising the response from training while ensuring the athletes does not suffer injury or over training. The benefits of using an undulating model versus a linear model5 or the fitness fatigue theory over classical6 are all well and good, but the crux of the matter is putting in place a periodized routine of some sorts. This can be done by:
• Applying training phases during the year to achieve a certain training outcome.
• Varying the reps, rest, intensity over the training phase.
• Using recovery weeks, days and techniques to ensure the body is fresh.
This is all covered in my book Rugby fitness training: A twelve month conditioning programme. Though it is a book designed for rugby players the principles outlined above are central to its theme. It will teach you how to take the general principles and apply them to you or your clients training routine.
In the programme section I have added three rugby programmes, these serve just to as an example of a possible routine, the success of the programme will rely more on how you as the coach manipulate the training variables within each training phase and change the training between the individual phases.
Ben Wilson BSc (Hons) CSCS NSCA - CPT CMTA Dip
Rugby fitness training.
One2one nutrition.
Notes
1) Rugby fitness training: A twelve month conditioning programme, Crowood press
2) Periodization: Theory and methodology of training, Tudor O Bompa (Human kinetics, chapter 7 Page 165
3) Stone, M.H and H.S. O Bryant. Weight training: A scientific approach. Minneapolis MN, Burgess 1987
4) Sometimes called anatomical adaptation under traditional periodization nomenclature.
5) Haff, G.G Phd. Roundtable discussion: Periodization of training Part 1 & 2, Journal of strength & Conditioning Volume 26, Number 1 , Pages 50 -59, number 2 Pages 56 -70
6) Chiu L, Barnes J L, The fitness fatigue model revisited: Implications for planning short and long term training. Journal of Strength & Conditioning Volume 25, number 6, Pages 42-51.
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