A major concern for coaches is the process of designing a training program. How do you plan the training year? What factors determine the training emphases? How are training sessions designed? This discussion is adapted from Peak When It Counts, a detailed explanation of periodization and how to apply it to the American training year.
Periodization Defined
The term periodization simply means dividing the training process into periods of time with different training emphases, goals, and lengths. Each period prepares the athlete for the next, a more advanced training period, until the athlete peaks at the most important competition of the year.
Periodization is an attempt to make training an objective process. It points the training effort toward the major goal. Training is a very complex process, involving both internal and external variables. It is affected by the quantity and quality of training, by rest, and by the competitive experiences of the athlete.
Training graphs show the training emphases at different times during the training year. Periodization tries to quantify training in a meaningful way so you can summarize it in tables and charts. This approach allows you to see more clearly how the athlete is expected to progress.
An athlete uses periodized training so he can:
● Peak at the ideal moment.
● Achieve the optimal training effect from each phase of training.
● Make training a more objective process.
Also, because the training plan produces objective records of training and progress, it can be compared to future training. The coach can objectively measure how much more training is being done in the new year, what types of training are different, and the amount of improvement in the performance characteristics along the way. It gives more objective standards to measure how
improvement in the control tests translates into event success.
The Language of Periodization
The training periods in periodization are called cycles. A training year contains seven categories of cycles (from the largest unit of time down to the smallest):
● Macrocycle
● Mesocycle
● Period
● Phase
● Microcycle
● Training session
● Training unit
A training year with a single macrocycle (primary goal or training emphasis) leads to a single peak competition (single periodization, Figure 5-1). Although the single training emphasis often is appropriate, many training years include two major competitions or peaks (double periodization), such as the indoor and outdoor seasons in American track and field.
Although some distance runners may try for three peaks (cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track), it is very difficult to achieve against elite competition. Proper preparation for elite competitive efforts requires too much time for an athlete to achieve a true peak three times a year. Most athletes who have been able to perform at that level maintain such a high training load that they cannot really predict a peak. A peak is more a matter of chance.
Triple periodization is more appropriate for explosive technical events (jumps, throws, sprints, and hurdles). Indeed, European athletes commonly divide their long summer season into two mesocycles of competition separated by a mesocycle of transition, regeneration, or modified base training that lasts for two to four weeks.
The Periodization Training Cycle
A macrocycle is a complete training cycle, from the start of training to a peak at a major competition, then through the concluding transitional or recovery period. A calendar year consists of one to three macrocycles.
A mesocycle is a subdivision of a macrocycle. It means a middle (in length) cycle between the long cycle (macrocycle) and the short cycle (microcycle). The term is not used consistently in the literature. It can include periods and phases but is often used as a subdivision of a phase.
A typical macrocycle includes three periods:
● Preparation
● Competition
● Transition or recovery
Each period is a different training emphasis and load within a macrocycle. A period lasts for one to six months.
The preparation period prepares the athlete for competition. In traditional terms, it includes the preseason training. The second period of the cycle is the competition period, including the athlete's competitive season. The meets are chosen to prepare the athlete for the single meet selected as the goal of the season, where the athlete expects to peak.
The third period of the cycle is the transition period (sometimes called recuperation or regeneration), a bridge between competition and the start of the next preparation period. It allows the athlete to recover from the physical and psychological stress of competition. This period does not include any event-training activities; it is a time of active rest, designed as much for the
psychological as for the physical recovery.
Each training period consists of one or more phases. For example, the preparation period includes two phases. The first phase emphasizes general conditioning, while the second phase emphasizes the special conditioning needed for the event. A phase usually lasts between two weeks and four months. Each phase consists of a number of microcycles (usually from two to six).
A typical microcycle lasts for one week, though it can be as long as three weeks or as short as three days.
A training session (also called a lesson) is a single workout with a single training focus, such as the afternoon workout at the track. An athlete might have from zero (on a rest day) to three training sessions in a single day.
Each session includes a number of training units. A training unit is a single component of the training session. Usually, a training session includes between one and five training units.
Types of Periodized Training
Periodized training falls into three categories: general, special, and competition-specific. General training (basic conditioning) is "training for the general functioning capacity of the athlete. It is the foundation of endurance, strength and mobility through training units ... The objective here is to ensure that the athlete will be fit to accept and benefit from special training.
Special training develops the conditioning, traits, and technique that are specific to success in the athlete's event. The terms special training and specific training can be confusing. Special training uses partial movements involving the technical skills being learned. Specific training involves the whole action.
Competition-specific training is "training where technique and conditioning are completely rehearsed by applying the fitness acquired through special training to the event itself. It is done either within competition or with special simulations that are similar to competition.
Planning Periodized Training Programs
Periodized training is planned from the top down, beginning with a period of several years and moving downward to the components of a single training session. Experienced athletes should plan their training from the multiple-year perspective. Younger or less-experienced athletes should plan their training for only one year at a time because they have less predictable improvement curves. A young athlete may suddenly mature physically, with a sharp rise in performance over a very short time. Also, the early learning and performance curve is steep for athletes in a new event. Major improvements are rare for more experienced, older athletes, so their training needs can be planned farther ahead.
Long-Term Planning
A long-term training plan must consider the following four factors:
● Number of years of organized training needed to achieve a high performance level
● Average age when high performance is achieved
● Amount or degree of the athlete's natural ability
● Age that the athlete began specialized training
Long-term training plans change the proportions of general training and specialized training. An effective long-term plan meets the following objective criteria:
● It relates the performance objectives to factors specific to the sport.
● It increases the training and competition load in successive training years, assuming that the athlete improves. At the highest stages of development, the number of major competitions should level off; it may even decrease.
● It forecasts the annual increase of volume and intensity of training according to the event's dominant component and the athlete's needs.
● It changes the emphasized training exercises yearly.
● It specifies the control tests and standards to be met.
● It specifically covers all of the needs of the event.
● It shows the progression of the number of training lessons and hours per year.
Long-term training requires much careful thought. It requires good training records for the athlete, with the control tests spread carefully across the training year. Well-planned training is measurable, so you can make tables, charts, or graphs of the training progress. The coach should be able to show how much of the training load (time and percentage) was devoted to developing each performance component.
A record sheet can list the objectives for each year in a four-year (Olympiad) plan. The coach and the athlete work together to develop the long-term plan, though the coach's role is larger with younger athletes (because of their lack of practical experience).
The basic steps in developing the long-term plan include the following:
● Set performance goals (the athlete's time, distance, or height) for each year.
● Set the objectives of each type of preparation (physical, technical, tactical, and psychological) for each year.
● Select the control tests that will be used to evaluate the athlete's progress, along with the standards that will show whether the athlete is making satisfactory progress.
● Graph the athlete's training factors (training volume, training intensity, and progress toward peaking) across the bottom of the plan. This graph gives a condensed version of each years training plan.
An example of a hypothetical four-year plan for an 800-meter runner (Figure 5-2) shows how a four-year plan is constructed. It lists the objectives planned for each year, with the performance goals, the tests and standards, and a rough graph of the training progress and periods of training over the four-year period.
Annual Planning
Planning the competitions. You can design a rough pattern for the year by fixing the date(s) when the athlete must peak, then developing a training curve similar to that in Figure 5-3. The entire years program is simply a process of preparing for that peak. It is a cycle of training, competition, and regeneration (recovery). Meets are classified into two groups, the main competitions and the preparatory meets.
Concern about win-loss records may be a factor in the process, so no meet that is important this way should be scheduled for the last two or three weeks before the season's main competition; the effort affects the season's final preparation. Preparatory meets are tests to assess the athlete's progress. The coach should include meets that create the same meet conditions (time schedules, level of competition) and meets at the same facility (track) or course (cross country, road racing). At those meets, the primary goal is to adjust to the environment for the sake of future success rather than to win at that time.
The number of competitions is critical because the athlete should peak at the proper time rather than compete too often and lose fitness. Table 5- 1 suggests the number of meets per year by event.
Consider the following factors in planning the athlete's meet schedule:
● The most important meet of the year is the only one that determines the athlete's ranking. All other meets are steps to prepare the athlete for that one competition.
● If the meets are planned properly, the athlete will peak at the most important meet of the year.
● Having too many meets interferes with the balance of competition and training. It lessens the athlete's physical and psychological potential.
● The athlete should compete only when capable of meeting a meet's objectives for each training factor (physical, technical, tactical, and psychological).
● Each meet should be a more difficult competition for the athlete than the previous meet.
● A meet with too little competition provides no motivation.
● Superior opponents should not be avoided.
Planning the training year. The training year is divided into one or more macrocycles, with one macrocycle for each peak. Each macrocycle has three periods: preparation, competition, and transition. If an athlete peaks for both indoor and outdoor track, several weeks of low-key transitional activities should follow the major indoor competition. The athlete's fitness level will drop during this period, but that drop enables the athlete to undertake more effective training later, resulting in improved performances during the outdoor competitions. If the transition period were not included, the athlete would "hit the wall" at some point, ending further progress and effectively ending the season.
Records for the annual plan. The annual planning process begins by planning the year's competition schedule. The schedule gives a starting point to the training structure. It is combined with the four-year plan's objectives for that year, which is then modified based on the evaluation of the previous year. Then, the annual training plan is developed, giving the year's plans, control tests, and progression. Next, detailed exercises and tests are placed into the training plan. As the year progresses, the coach keeps a record of the athlete's performances on the control tests and in the meets.
Planning the macrocycles. The macrocycle is planned to result in a peak performance at a major meet Explosive events (such as sprints, jumps, and throws) may allow up to three major peaks (therefore, three macrocycles in a year), but for other events only one or two peaks are possible. The greater the influence of endurance (the aerobic component) on the performance, the fewer peaks that are possible in a year. For the highest possible performance level, a marathoner should plan only one major peak in a year.
The schedule of macrocycles is largely a function of the meet schedule that you develop. After you choose the athlete's most important meets of the year, you will know when the athlete's macrocycles will occur. Each major meet (one to three in a year) requires a macrocycle. The macrocycle ends after the transition period that follows the major meet (one to four weeks after the major meet). At that point, the next macrocycle begins.
Planning the training periods. Each of the three training periods should have specific training objectives consistent with the annual plan. The objectives should be listed in the order of their importance to performance so you can assess the relative training time that is applied to their development. The athlete's success or progress in meeting the goals or objectives should be
evaluated and recorded at the end of each period.
The preparation period develops the basic conditioning and technique that is needed for competition. The length of this period depends on the athlete's fitness level. A more fit, more highly skilled athlete needs much less preparation time than a young, inexperienced, or unfit one.
The competition period tests the athlete in steps along the way toward the season's major meet. This progress is evaluated after each meet, refinements are made in the next microcycle's training, and the athlete trains to improve again. The goal of the entire macrocycle is the major meet at the end of the competition period.
The transition period provides recovery from the competition season and prepares the athlete to start the next macrocycle. If the year includes more than one macrocycle and peak, the midyear transition periods may be as brief as a week or so. The transition period at the end of the training year should last for at least one month.
Planning the phases. A macrocycle is usually divided into six subdivisions called phases (Table 5-2). A phase lasts for three to six weeks. Table 5-3 shows the primary objectives of each phase.
For training programs that stress a repeated cycle based on the biological model, a phase is divided into three parts, each lasting for one to four microcycles:
● Preparation: general conditioning for the phase goal
● Adaptation: specific conditioning for the phase goal
● Application: control testing, simulations, or competition
This pattern repeats from the level of the individual training session up to that of the macrocycle. It can be applied to multi-year training plans, with a year devoted to each part.
Phase 1 (general preparation) improves the athlete's base fitness and technique levels. This "training to train" prepares the athlete for the training in Phase 2.
Phase 2 (specific preparation) prepares the athlete for the third phase, but it also develops event-specific fitness and models the advanced technique in the athlete.
Phase 3 (pre-competition) covers the early part of the competitive season. It uses a series of meets that increase in intensity or in the opponents' skill, challenging the athlete to improve his performance.
The whole point of training is to achieve excellence in the major meet. The athlete's technical performance in these early meets is a critical indicator of progress. The use of inexpensive video recording and analysis tools helps immensely in this area because coaches can more easily evaluate the recorded performances later.
Phase 4 (general competition) has two tasks: refining the advanced technical model and preparing for the peak performance. For elite athletes, this time may include few meets, lasting for four to six weeks. It is used as a breather from competition, a time to concentrate on the final adjustments in the technique and fitness levels. The training reaches its peak intensity (quality) at this time, but the loading (quantity) will be falling sharply.
Phase 5 (special competition) is the peak of the season, with the most important meet of the year. The training load is very light, allowing the athlete to be rested and fresh, so the highest level of performance is possible. It may include one or more final tune-up meets before the major meet. This phase usually lasts for only one or two weeks.
Phase 6 (transition) is also called the recovery or regeneration (rebuilding) phase. It involves active recovery from the season, with other physical activities in low-key, relaxing situations. The activity level is high enough that the athlete will be physically ready to begin general training with Phase 1 after Phase 6 is ended. At the same time, the activity level is low enough for the athlete to be physically and psychologically rested and recovered, thus enthusiastic to return to Phase 1.
Planning the Microcycles
Characteristics of microcycles. Each phase is divided into a series of microcycles. A typical microcycle is one week long, though it may vary in length from 3 to 21 days. Microcycles have four features:
● The structure (the volume relative to the intensity) of the load demand changes during the cycle.
● The load degree differs from one training session to the next, alternating between lower and higher loads according to the athlete's load tolerance and ability to recover.
● The training sessions have differing main tasks, which use either special or general training exercises.
● The training load rises for as long as is necessary to meet the objectives of the training phase.
Each training session is followed by a recovery period long enough to remove the fatigue that prevents the athlete from meeting the required standard of performance in the next training session. Sessions with general exercises are useful as active recovery, which makes the recovery process shorter than passive rest does. Depending on the activity, an athlete may not need a full recovery before the next training session. Training without a full recovery is possible if the coach plans sessions with varying tasks, methods, and loads, so the stress on a given bodily system is not consistently high. The coach may plan some training sessions that focus on a single task, rather than trying to mix conflicting systems (such as speed and endurance) during the same session.
The cycle should be planned so that sessions with special demands on speed, speed-strength, and high-level technique are performed before sessions that emphasize endurance. Generally, more than 24 hours of recovery is needed after very hard training. Meets should occur during the overcompensation phase that follows such recovery (usually two or three days after the optimum-load training session). However, no pattern of training microcycles has proven to be infallible.
The optimum succession (best order of training activities) for a microcycle is to:
● Learn and perfect technique with medium intensity.
● Perfect technique at submaximal and maximal intensity.
● Develop speed of short duration (up to personal limit).
● Develop anaerobic endurance.
● Improve strength with a load of 90 to 100 percent of personal maximum.
● Develop muscular endurance with medium and low loads.
● Develop muscular endurance with high and maximal intensity.
● Develop cardiorespiratory endurance with maximal intensity.
● Develop cardiorespiratory endurance with moderate intensity.
This succession of training is very similar to Korobov's recommended progression for the single training session, which is to develop (in this progression) :
● Technique and/or tactical training
● Speed and/or coordination
● Strength
● General endurance
You should use the following factors to plan the content of a microcycle:
● Set the objectives, particularly the dominant training factors.
● Decide the type of microcycle:
√ Development microcycle (improves fitness)
√ Tuning microcycle (maintains fitness)
√ Unloading microcycle (peaking cycle)
● Set the absolute level of work:
√ Number of training sessions
√ Volume of training
√ Intensity of training
√ Complexity of training
● Set the relative level of effort (how many peak sessions, which alternate with less intensive training sessions).
● Decide on the character of training (training methods and means for each training session). Set control testing or meet days.
● Begin with low- to medium-intensity sessions, progressing to more intensive sessions later.
● Before an important meet, use a microcycle with only one training peak, occurring three to five days before the meet.
Microcycle patterns. A one-week microcycle usually has two peak sessions. Training lessons should be repeated two to three times per microcycle for each different objective. Learning technical skills requires much repetition. The frequency of repetition varies, depending on the type of training, as follows:
● Daily training
√ General endurance
√ Flexibility
√ Strength in small-muscle groups
● Every other day
√ Strength for large-muscle groups
● Three sessions per week
√ Specific endurance (submaximal intensity)
● Two sessions per week
√ Specific f endurance (maximal intensity)
√ Maintenance of strength
√ Maintenance of flexibility
√ Maintenance of speed
● Two to three sessions per week
√ Bounding drills and speed exercises under strenuous conditions (sand or snow)
During the competitive period, the microcycles should include some modeling of the conditions of the most important meet of the year. If the athlete must compete for two days in a row, this practice should be simulated every second or third week. In some cases, an athlete qualifies in the morning, and then competes in the finals in the afternoon.
Planning the Peak
Peaking is as much a psychological state as a physical one, "with an intense motional arousal... An important attribute of peaking seems to be the athlete's capacity to tolerate various degrees of frustration which occur before, during and after competition"
Although peaking is a very complex process, the primary factors that facilitate it are the athlete's high working potential, quick rate of recovery, near-perfect neuromuscular coordination (technical skill), overcompensation, unloading, recovery, psychological factors (motivation, arousal, and psychological relaxation), and nervous cell working capacity (increased only for the last 7 to 10 days before the main meet).
The peaking process involves a final use of overcompensation in the training schedule. Overcompensation usually occurs from 24 to 36 hours after an optimal training session. During the racing season, the training plan may alternate maximal- and low-intensity stimuli, resulting in a wavelike pattern of fitness. This approach helps prevent exhaustion from overtraining while
competing.
The correct unloading (tapering) procedure is critical to performance in the major meet. The training load during the last five microcycles (Figure 5-4) before the main meet shows the increase of the training load from low to medium to high (causing fatigue), with a drop back to medium and then low loads that results first in compensation, then in overcompensation for the main meet.
Recovery and regeneration are extremely important during the competitive season. Massage and sauna are useful, and proper diet is also a critical factor in the energy level.
The psychological aspects of training are also critical at this time. Although the athlete may be motivated to perform at a high level, reasonable goals and expectations should be set. Otherwise, unnecessary frustration will become a post-meet factor. The athlete should not be overmotivated or too aroused; his psychological state will already be "on edge:' At this time, the coach is more useful in the role of encouraging relaxation than in "pumping up" the athlete.
The length of time that a peak can be maintained depends upon the length and quality of the underlying preparation period, as well as other factors that are very individualized. The Zone 1 level (performance within 2 percent of one's best) may last as long as two to three-and-a-half months, with three to five minor peaks during that time, if the preparation period was long enough and the training process during the competition period is handled properly. The peaking process itself is about 7 to 10 days in length, after which the performance level falls off.
Maintaining that performance level requires a short phase of regeneration after each peak for a major meet, followed by more training. If those conditions were not met, the peak period would be shortened considerably. The number of competitions is also a factor; too many competitions cause a performance plateau, instead of improving performances.
To avoid the onset of fatigue during the competitive season, the training plan should follow this constant pattern:
● Competition
● Regeneration
● Training
● Unloading
● Next competition
An athlete usually needs four to six microcycles to rise from the pre-competition phase to the Zone 1 performance level. Extending the Zone 1 performances beyond the eighth microcycle of competition (two months) requires careful planning and monitoring of the athlete's training.
In deciding how many meets an athlete can compete in during a season, note that the events fall into four groups according to their recovery needs: the throws, the short sprints and jumps, the long sprints and middle distances, and the long distances and combined events. The stress of competition rises from the first group to the fourth. Table 5-4 shows the recommended number of
meets and recovery time for each group.
Planning the Training Sessions
The training session has three or four primary parts. A three-part session includes the following:
● Preparation (usually the warm-up)
● Body (content)
● Conclusion (usually the cool-down)
The complete training session should not last more than two hours. Younger athletes may improve more rapidly with shorter training sessions. This time includes the warm-up and cool-down, leaving 90 minutes or less for the body of the training session. With less skilled athletes, the concluding part of the training session may include supplementary conditioning exercises, especially if the entire session is not too demanding and the athletes are not exhausted.
The conclusion, or cool-down, is often neglected by coaches. It is critical in enhancing the body's recovery. Light running, jogging, and walking, along with light stretching, aids the body's recovery from training sessions. Every athlete should learn a relaxing cool-down procedure and follow it after every training session. It is even more critical following intensive competition. Even 10 minutes of cool-down activities are very helpful to the athlete's recovery.
A lesson plan for a group of athletes has four parts, beginning with an introduction. It includes notes of points that the coach wants to stress, including points relating to individual athletes. Not only does such a plan help the coach focus the training session, but it provides a good record for reviewing the training process later in the year or during later years.
Each athlete should keep a training diary as a record of his individual training. The coach and the athlete can decide what information should be included in the diary. Various versions of training diaries have included the morning's resting pulse, details of diet and sleep, fatigue indexes, and other items in addition to the workout session details themselves.
Remember that thorough planning combined with good records of what was actually done are essential if you are to make the training process optimally effective.
Changing Approaches to Periodization
Periodization is not a rigid approach to training.
The traditional periodization described in this chapter works well in the school and developmental setting, as it is based on the concept of increasingly challenging competition, leading to a seasonal or yearly peak performance. This pattern is used by most school and university athletes as well as developmental athletes. "Periodization aims at producing the best possible performance at a specific point in time, the major competition or peak. Professional sport, for the most part, does not. It aims to entertain with acceptably high levels of performance over a period of time."
Professional athletes follow a different form of periodization in which the early phases are brief, the training and competition levels are high for a long period of time, and the concept of a peak is not of critical importance. In this case, the training aims at the maximum number of high-level performances, which increases the athlete's income. Their more advanced training patterns
use more frequent variations in the volume and intensity of training while keeping the overall training level relatively high until unloading for the peak meet. Neither methodology genuinely challenges the other.
Remember that even though the Russians experimented with this type of training for many years, they warned their own coaches against applying the research in too rigid a manner." It is preferable to accept a slightly slower rate of improvement in performance than to try to force the athlete to progress too quickly. A physical breakdown from overtraining can cost the athlete a season, and it may even result in one or more years of lost progress. For younger athletes (into their early 20s), mononucleosis sometimes occurs during times of overstress (too much training combined with too many other activities or needs). It most often appears in the first two years of college as young athletes make the transition to harder training, along with their new academic demands, increased personal responsibilities, and wider social opportunities.
Periodization Defined
The term periodization simply means dividing the training process into periods of time with different training emphases, goals, and lengths. Each period prepares the athlete for the next, a more advanced training period, until the athlete peaks at the most important competition of the year.
Periodization is an attempt to make training an objective process. It points the training effort toward the major goal. Training is a very complex process, involving both internal and external variables. It is affected by the quantity and quality of training, by rest, and by the competitive experiences of the athlete.
Training graphs show the training emphases at different times during the training year. Periodization tries to quantify training in a meaningful way so you can summarize it in tables and charts. This approach allows you to see more clearly how the athlete is expected to progress.
An athlete uses periodized training so he can:
● Peak at the ideal moment.
● Achieve the optimal training effect from each phase of training.
● Make training a more objective process.
Also, because the training plan produces objective records of training and progress, it can be compared to future training. The coach can objectively measure how much more training is being done in the new year, what types of training are different, and the amount of improvement in the performance characteristics along the way. It gives more objective standards to measure how
improvement in the control tests translates into event success.
The Language of Periodization
The training periods in periodization are called cycles. A training year contains seven categories of cycles (from the largest unit of time down to the smallest):
● Macrocycle
● Mesocycle
● Period
● Phase
● Microcycle
● Training session
● Training unit
A training year with a single macrocycle (primary goal or training emphasis) leads to a single peak competition (single periodization, Figure 5-1). Although the single training emphasis often is appropriate, many training years include two major competitions or peaks (double periodization), such as the indoor and outdoor seasons in American track and field.
Although some distance runners may try for three peaks (cross country, indoor track, and outdoor track), it is very difficult to achieve against elite competition. Proper preparation for elite competitive efforts requires too much time for an athlete to achieve a true peak three times a year. Most athletes who have been able to perform at that level maintain such a high training load that they cannot really predict a peak. A peak is more a matter of chance.
Triple periodization is more appropriate for explosive technical events (jumps, throws, sprints, and hurdles). Indeed, European athletes commonly divide their long summer season into two mesocycles of competition separated by a mesocycle of transition, regeneration, or modified base training that lasts for two to four weeks.
The Periodization Training Cycle
A macrocycle is a complete training cycle, from the start of training to a peak at a major competition, then through the concluding transitional or recovery period. A calendar year consists of one to three macrocycles.
A mesocycle is a subdivision of a macrocycle. It means a middle (in length) cycle between the long cycle (macrocycle) and the short cycle (microcycle). The term is not used consistently in the literature. It can include periods and phases but is often used as a subdivision of a phase.
A typical macrocycle includes three periods:
● Preparation
● Competition
● Transition or recovery
Each period is a different training emphasis and load within a macrocycle. A period lasts for one to six months.
The preparation period prepares the athlete for competition. In traditional terms, it includes the preseason training. The second period of the cycle is the competition period, including the athlete's competitive season. The meets are chosen to prepare the athlete for the single meet selected as the goal of the season, where the athlete expects to peak.
The third period of the cycle is the transition period (sometimes called recuperation or regeneration), a bridge between competition and the start of the next preparation period. It allows the athlete to recover from the physical and psychological stress of competition. This period does not include any event-training activities; it is a time of active rest, designed as much for the
psychological as for the physical recovery.
Each training period consists of one or more phases. For example, the preparation period includes two phases. The first phase emphasizes general conditioning, while the second phase emphasizes the special conditioning needed for the event. A phase usually lasts between two weeks and four months. Each phase consists of a number of microcycles (usually from two to six).
A typical microcycle lasts for one week, though it can be as long as three weeks or as short as three days.
A training session (also called a lesson) is a single workout with a single training focus, such as the afternoon workout at the track. An athlete might have from zero (on a rest day) to three training sessions in a single day.
Each session includes a number of training units. A training unit is a single component of the training session. Usually, a training session includes between one and five training units.
Types of Periodized Training
Periodized training falls into three categories: general, special, and competition-specific. General training (basic conditioning) is "training for the general functioning capacity of the athlete. It is the foundation of endurance, strength and mobility through training units ... The objective here is to ensure that the athlete will be fit to accept and benefit from special training.
Special training develops the conditioning, traits, and technique that are specific to success in the athlete's event. The terms special training and specific training can be confusing. Special training uses partial movements involving the technical skills being learned. Specific training involves the whole action.
Competition-specific training is "training where technique and conditioning are completely rehearsed by applying the fitness acquired through special training to the event itself. It is done either within competition or with special simulations that are similar to competition.
Planning Periodized Training Programs
Periodized training is planned from the top down, beginning with a period of several years and moving downward to the components of a single training session. Experienced athletes should plan their training from the multiple-year perspective. Younger or less-experienced athletes should plan their training for only one year at a time because they have less predictable improvement curves. A young athlete may suddenly mature physically, with a sharp rise in performance over a very short time. Also, the early learning and performance curve is steep for athletes in a new event. Major improvements are rare for more experienced, older athletes, so their training needs can be planned farther ahead.
Long-Term Planning
A long-term training plan must consider the following four factors:
● Number of years of organized training needed to achieve a high performance level
● Average age when high performance is achieved
● Amount or degree of the athlete's natural ability
● Age that the athlete began specialized training
Long-term training plans change the proportions of general training and specialized training. An effective long-term plan meets the following objective criteria:
● It relates the performance objectives to factors specific to the sport.
● It increases the training and competition load in successive training years, assuming that the athlete improves. At the highest stages of development, the number of major competitions should level off; it may even decrease.
● It forecasts the annual increase of volume and intensity of training according to the event's dominant component and the athlete's needs.
● It changes the emphasized training exercises yearly.
● It specifies the control tests and standards to be met.
● It specifically covers all of the needs of the event.
● It shows the progression of the number of training lessons and hours per year.
Long-term training requires much careful thought. It requires good training records for the athlete, with the control tests spread carefully across the training year. Well-planned training is measurable, so you can make tables, charts, or graphs of the training progress. The coach should be able to show how much of the training load (time and percentage) was devoted to developing each performance component.
A record sheet can list the objectives for each year in a four-year (Olympiad) plan. The coach and the athlete work together to develop the long-term plan, though the coach's role is larger with younger athletes (because of their lack of practical experience).
The basic steps in developing the long-term plan include the following:
● Set performance goals (the athlete's time, distance, or height) for each year.
● Set the objectives of each type of preparation (physical, technical, tactical, and psychological) for each year.
● Select the control tests that will be used to evaluate the athlete's progress, along with the standards that will show whether the athlete is making satisfactory progress.
● Graph the athlete's training factors (training volume, training intensity, and progress toward peaking) across the bottom of the plan. This graph gives a condensed version of each years training plan.
An example of a hypothetical four-year plan for an 800-meter runner (Figure 5-2) shows how a four-year plan is constructed. It lists the objectives planned for each year, with the performance goals, the tests and standards, and a rough graph of the training progress and periods of training over the four-year period.
Annual Planning
Planning the competitions. You can design a rough pattern for the year by fixing the date(s) when the athlete must peak, then developing a training curve similar to that in Figure 5-3. The entire years program is simply a process of preparing for that peak. It is a cycle of training, competition, and regeneration (recovery). Meets are classified into two groups, the main competitions and the preparatory meets.
Concern about win-loss records may be a factor in the process, so no meet that is important this way should be scheduled for the last two or three weeks before the season's main competition; the effort affects the season's final preparation. Preparatory meets are tests to assess the athlete's progress. The coach should include meets that create the same meet conditions (time schedules, level of competition) and meets at the same facility (track) or course (cross country, road racing). At those meets, the primary goal is to adjust to the environment for the sake of future success rather than to win at that time.
The number of competitions is critical because the athlete should peak at the proper time rather than compete too often and lose fitness. Table 5- 1 suggests the number of meets per year by event.
Consider the following factors in planning the athlete's meet schedule:
● The most important meet of the year is the only one that determines the athlete's ranking. All other meets are steps to prepare the athlete for that one competition.
● If the meets are planned properly, the athlete will peak at the most important meet of the year.
● Having too many meets interferes with the balance of competition and training. It lessens the athlete's physical and psychological potential.
● The athlete should compete only when capable of meeting a meet's objectives for each training factor (physical, technical, tactical, and psychological).
● Each meet should be a more difficult competition for the athlete than the previous meet.
● A meet with too little competition provides no motivation.
● Superior opponents should not be avoided.
Planning the training year. The training year is divided into one or more macrocycles, with one macrocycle for each peak. Each macrocycle has three periods: preparation, competition, and transition. If an athlete peaks for both indoor and outdoor track, several weeks of low-key transitional activities should follow the major indoor competition. The athlete's fitness level will drop during this period, but that drop enables the athlete to undertake more effective training later, resulting in improved performances during the outdoor competitions. If the transition period were not included, the athlete would "hit the wall" at some point, ending further progress and effectively ending the season.
Records for the annual plan. The annual planning process begins by planning the year's competition schedule. The schedule gives a starting point to the training structure. It is combined with the four-year plan's objectives for that year, which is then modified based on the evaluation of the previous year. Then, the annual training plan is developed, giving the year's plans, control tests, and progression. Next, detailed exercises and tests are placed into the training plan. As the year progresses, the coach keeps a record of the athlete's performances on the control tests and in the meets.
Planning the macrocycles. The macrocycle is planned to result in a peak performance at a major meet Explosive events (such as sprints, jumps, and throws) may allow up to three major peaks (therefore, three macrocycles in a year), but for other events only one or two peaks are possible. The greater the influence of endurance (the aerobic component) on the performance, the fewer peaks that are possible in a year. For the highest possible performance level, a marathoner should plan only one major peak in a year.
The schedule of macrocycles is largely a function of the meet schedule that you develop. After you choose the athlete's most important meets of the year, you will know when the athlete's macrocycles will occur. Each major meet (one to three in a year) requires a macrocycle. The macrocycle ends after the transition period that follows the major meet (one to four weeks after the major meet). At that point, the next macrocycle begins.
Planning the training periods. Each of the three training periods should have specific training objectives consistent with the annual plan. The objectives should be listed in the order of their importance to performance so you can assess the relative training time that is applied to their development. The athlete's success or progress in meeting the goals or objectives should be
evaluated and recorded at the end of each period.
The preparation period develops the basic conditioning and technique that is needed for competition. The length of this period depends on the athlete's fitness level. A more fit, more highly skilled athlete needs much less preparation time than a young, inexperienced, or unfit one.
The competition period tests the athlete in steps along the way toward the season's major meet. This progress is evaluated after each meet, refinements are made in the next microcycle's training, and the athlete trains to improve again. The goal of the entire macrocycle is the major meet at the end of the competition period.
The transition period provides recovery from the competition season and prepares the athlete to start the next macrocycle. If the year includes more than one macrocycle and peak, the midyear transition periods may be as brief as a week or so. The transition period at the end of the training year should last for at least one month.
Planning the phases. A macrocycle is usually divided into six subdivisions called phases (Table 5-2). A phase lasts for three to six weeks. Table 5-3 shows the primary objectives of each phase.
For training programs that stress a repeated cycle based on the biological model, a phase is divided into three parts, each lasting for one to four microcycles:
● Preparation: general conditioning for the phase goal
● Adaptation: specific conditioning for the phase goal
● Application: control testing, simulations, or competition
This pattern repeats from the level of the individual training session up to that of the macrocycle. It can be applied to multi-year training plans, with a year devoted to each part.
Phase 1 (general preparation) improves the athlete's base fitness and technique levels. This "training to train" prepares the athlete for the training in Phase 2.
Phase 2 (specific preparation) prepares the athlete for the third phase, but it also develops event-specific fitness and models the advanced technique in the athlete.
Phase 3 (pre-competition) covers the early part of the competitive season. It uses a series of meets that increase in intensity or in the opponents' skill, challenging the athlete to improve his performance.
The whole point of training is to achieve excellence in the major meet. The athlete's technical performance in these early meets is a critical indicator of progress. The use of inexpensive video recording and analysis tools helps immensely in this area because coaches can more easily evaluate the recorded performances later.
Phase 4 (general competition) has two tasks: refining the advanced technical model and preparing for the peak performance. For elite athletes, this time may include few meets, lasting for four to six weeks. It is used as a breather from competition, a time to concentrate on the final adjustments in the technique and fitness levels. The training reaches its peak intensity (quality) at this time, but the loading (quantity) will be falling sharply.
Phase 5 (special competition) is the peak of the season, with the most important meet of the year. The training load is very light, allowing the athlete to be rested and fresh, so the highest level of performance is possible. It may include one or more final tune-up meets before the major meet. This phase usually lasts for only one or two weeks.
Phase 6 (transition) is also called the recovery or regeneration (rebuilding) phase. It involves active recovery from the season, with other physical activities in low-key, relaxing situations. The activity level is high enough that the athlete will be physically ready to begin general training with Phase 1 after Phase 6 is ended. At the same time, the activity level is low enough for the athlete to be physically and psychologically rested and recovered, thus enthusiastic to return to Phase 1.
Planning the Microcycles
Characteristics of microcycles. Each phase is divided into a series of microcycles. A typical microcycle is one week long, though it may vary in length from 3 to 21 days. Microcycles have four features:
● The structure (the volume relative to the intensity) of the load demand changes during the cycle.
● The load degree differs from one training session to the next, alternating between lower and higher loads according to the athlete's load tolerance and ability to recover.
● The training sessions have differing main tasks, which use either special or general training exercises.
● The training load rises for as long as is necessary to meet the objectives of the training phase.
Each training session is followed by a recovery period long enough to remove the fatigue that prevents the athlete from meeting the required standard of performance in the next training session. Sessions with general exercises are useful as active recovery, which makes the recovery process shorter than passive rest does. Depending on the activity, an athlete may not need a full recovery before the next training session. Training without a full recovery is possible if the coach plans sessions with varying tasks, methods, and loads, so the stress on a given bodily system is not consistently high. The coach may plan some training sessions that focus on a single task, rather than trying to mix conflicting systems (such as speed and endurance) during the same session.
The cycle should be planned so that sessions with special demands on speed, speed-strength, and high-level technique are performed before sessions that emphasize endurance. Generally, more than 24 hours of recovery is needed after very hard training. Meets should occur during the overcompensation phase that follows such recovery (usually two or three days after the optimum-load training session). However, no pattern of training microcycles has proven to be infallible.
The optimum succession (best order of training activities) for a microcycle is to:
● Learn and perfect technique with medium intensity.
● Perfect technique at submaximal and maximal intensity.
● Develop speed of short duration (up to personal limit).
● Develop anaerobic endurance.
● Improve strength with a load of 90 to 100 percent of personal maximum.
● Develop muscular endurance with medium and low loads.
● Develop muscular endurance with high and maximal intensity.
● Develop cardiorespiratory endurance with maximal intensity.
● Develop cardiorespiratory endurance with moderate intensity.
This succession of training is very similar to Korobov's recommended progression for the single training session, which is to develop (in this progression) :
● Technique and/or tactical training
● Speed and/or coordination
● Strength
● General endurance
You should use the following factors to plan the content of a microcycle:
● Set the objectives, particularly the dominant training factors.
● Decide the type of microcycle:
√ Development microcycle (improves fitness)
√ Tuning microcycle (maintains fitness)
√ Unloading microcycle (peaking cycle)
● Set the absolute level of work:
√ Number of training sessions
√ Volume of training
√ Intensity of training
√ Complexity of training
● Set the relative level of effort (how many peak sessions, which alternate with less intensive training sessions).
● Decide on the character of training (training methods and means for each training session). Set control testing or meet days.
● Begin with low- to medium-intensity sessions, progressing to more intensive sessions later.
● Before an important meet, use a microcycle with only one training peak, occurring three to five days before the meet.
Microcycle patterns. A one-week microcycle usually has two peak sessions. Training lessons should be repeated two to three times per microcycle for each different objective. Learning technical skills requires much repetition. The frequency of repetition varies, depending on the type of training, as follows:
● Daily training
√ General endurance
√ Flexibility
√ Strength in small-muscle groups
● Every other day
√ Strength for large-muscle groups
● Three sessions per week
√ Specific endurance (submaximal intensity)
● Two sessions per week
√ Specific f endurance (maximal intensity)
√ Maintenance of strength
√ Maintenance of flexibility
√ Maintenance of speed
● Two to three sessions per week
√ Bounding drills and speed exercises under strenuous conditions (sand or snow)
During the competitive period, the microcycles should include some modeling of the conditions of the most important meet of the year. If the athlete must compete for two days in a row, this practice should be simulated every second or third week. In some cases, an athlete qualifies in the morning, and then competes in the finals in the afternoon.
Planning the Peak
Peaking is as much a psychological state as a physical one, "with an intense motional arousal... An important attribute of peaking seems to be the athlete's capacity to tolerate various degrees of frustration which occur before, during and after competition"
Although peaking is a very complex process, the primary factors that facilitate it are the athlete's high working potential, quick rate of recovery, near-perfect neuromuscular coordination (technical skill), overcompensation, unloading, recovery, psychological factors (motivation, arousal, and psychological relaxation), and nervous cell working capacity (increased only for the last 7 to 10 days before the main meet).
The peaking process involves a final use of overcompensation in the training schedule. Overcompensation usually occurs from 24 to 36 hours after an optimal training session. During the racing season, the training plan may alternate maximal- and low-intensity stimuli, resulting in a wavelike pattern of fitness. This approach helps prevent exhaustion from overtraining while
competing.
The correct unloading (tapering) procedure is critical to performance in the major meet. The training load during the last five microcycles (Figure 5-4) before the main meet shows the increase of the training load from low to medium to high (causing fatigue), with a drop back to medium and then low loads that results first in compensation, then in overcompensation for the main meet.
Recovery and regeneration are extremely important during the competitive season. Massage and sauna are useful, and proper diet is also a critical factor in the energy level.
The psychological aspects of training are also critical at this time. Although the athlete may be motivated to perform at a high level, reasonable goals and expectations should be set. Otherwise, unnecessary frustration will become a post-meet factor. The athlete should not be overmotivated or too aroused; his psychological state will already be "on edge:' At this time, the coach is more useful in the role of encouraging relaxation than in "pumping up" the athlete.
The length of time that a peak can be maintained depends upon the length and quality of the underlying preparation period, as well as other factors that are very individualized. The Zone 1 level (performance within 2 percent of one's best) may last as long as two to three-and-a-half months, with three to five minor peaks during that time, if the preparation period was long enough and the training process during the competition period is handled properly. The peaking process itself is about 7 to 10 days in length, after which the performance level falls off.
Maintaining that performance level requires a short phase of regeneration after each peak for a major meet, followed by more training. If those conditions were not met, the peak period would be shortened considerably. The number of competitions is also a factor; too many competitions cause a performance plateau, instead of improving performances.
To avoid the onset of fatigue during the competitive season, the training plan should follow this constant pattern:
● Competition
● Regeneration
● Training
● Unloading
● Next competition
An athlete usually needs four to six microcycles to rise from the pre-competition phase to the Zone 1 performance level. Extending the Zone 1 performances beyond the eighth microcycle of competition (two months) requires careful planning and monitoring of the athlete's training.
In deciding how many meets an athlete can compete in during a season, note that the events fall into four groups according to their recovery needs: the throws, the short sprints and jumps, the long sprints and middle distances, and the long distances and combined events. The stress of competition rises from the first group to the fourth. Table 5-4 shows the recommended number of
meets and recovery time for each group.
Planning the Training Sessions
The training session has three or four primary parts. A three-part session includes the following:
● Preparation (usually the warm-up)
● Body (content)
● Conclusion (usually the cool-down)
The complete training session should not last more than two hours. Younger athletes may improve more rapidly with shorter training sessions. This time includes the warm-up and cool-down, leaving 90 minutes or less for the body of the training session. With less skilled athletes, the concluding part of the training session may include supplementary conditioning exercises, especially if the entire session is not too demanding and the athletes are not exhausted.
The conclusion, or cool-down, is often neglected by coaches. It is critical in enhancing the body's recovery. Light running, jogging, and walking, along with light stretching, aids the body's recovery from training sessions. Every athlete should learn a relaxing cool-down procedure and follow it after every training session. It is even more critical following intensive competition. Even 10 minutes of cool-down activities are very helpful to the athlete's recovery.
A lesson plan for a group of athletes has four parts, beginning with an introduction. It includes notes of points that the coach wants to stress, including points relating to individual athletes. Not only does such a plan help the coach focus the training session, but it provides a good record for reviewing the training process later in the year or during later years.
Each athlete should keep a training diary as a record of his individual training. The coach and the athlete can decide what information should be included in the diary. Various versions of training diaries have included the morning's resting pulse, details of diet and sleep, fatigue indexes, and other items in addition to the workout session details themselves.
Remember that thorough planning combined with good records of what was actually done are essential if you are to make the training process optimally effective.
Changing Approaches to Periodization
Periodization is not a rigid approach to training.
The traditional periodization described in this chapter works well in the school and developmental setting, as it is based on the concept of increasingly challenging competition, leading to a seasonal or yearly peak performance. This pattern is used by most school and university athletes as well as developmental athletes. "Periodization aims at producing the best possible performance at a specific point in time, the major competition or peak. Professional sport, for the most part, does not. It aims to entertain with acceptably high levels of performance over a period of time."
Professional athletes follow a different form of periodization in which the early phases are brief, the training and competition levels are high for a long period of time, and the concept of a peak is not of critical importance. In this case, the training aims at the maximum number of high-level performances, which increases the athlete's income. Their more advanced training patterns
use more frequent variations in the volume and intensity of training while keeping the overall training level relatively high until unloading for the peak meet. Neither methodology genuinely challenges the other.
Remember that even though the Russians experimented with this type of training for many years, they warned their own coaches against applying the research in too rigid a manner." It is preferable to accept a slightly slower rate of improvement in performance than to try to force the athlete to progress too quickly. A physical breakdown from overtraining can cost the athlete a season, and it may even result in one or more years of lost progress. For younger athletes (into their early 20s), mononucleosis sometimes occurs during times of overstress (too much training combined with too many other activities or needs). It most often appears in the first two years of college as young athletes make the transition to harder training, along with their new academic demands, increased personal responsibilities, and wider social opportunities.
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