The Periodization Bible - powerlifting article.pdf - Literatura II - PacoPacoPaco

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The Periodization Bible

Part 1: The Old Testament ? Linear Periodization

by Dave Tate

Dave Tate knows strength. Dave's been assisting and training

under Louie Simmons of Westside Barbell fame for over 10

years and has consulted thousands of athletes throughout the

world. Dave is quick to point out that he's not a bodybuilder and

therefore doesn't train bodybuilders. He's a powerlifter and a

specialist in developing maximal strength. (Despite this

powerlifting emphasis, the average guy under his tutelage puts

on 30 to 40 pounds in the first year.)

In this article and the one to follow, Dave will tell you

everything you've ever wanted to know about periodization.

When it comes to setting up a strength-training program, I feel

it's important to understand all aspects of the program, including

how it all fits together. The organization of training can be

defined as periodization. There are several periodization models

being used today for the development of strength. This article

will explore some of the basic definitions of the concept as well

as the Western (or linear) method of periodization.

The Western method of periodization is one of the most popular

methods for strength development. It's the same method I used

for the first 12 years of my competitive career. Did it work?

Sure, up to a certain point, but then I hit a plateau. This was

when the injuries started and my strength began to digress. After

we get the basics out of the way, I'll explore why this happened

and why so many coaches and athletes still use the program

today.

Terminology and Definitions

Periodization is the organization of training into basic workable

units. These units are defined as the training session, the micro

cycle, the meso cycle, the macro cycle and the quadrennial. Let's

define and explore each of these just to make sure we're all on

the same page.

The Training Session: The training session consists of one

workout designed to fulfill a specific purpose. These training

sessions can be once per day or up to six per day depending on

the goals of the program. The most import aspect of the training

session is that it should have some type of meaning. There

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should be a definite training goal in mind. Your goal for that

session may be to perform one more repetition than last time, or

to lift five more pounds. Your goal could also involve fulfilling

some type of restorative or recovery purpose.

The problem is that many training sessions today don't have a

specific purpose that will lead to the short or long term goals of

the athlete. The athlete or coach just goes in the gym and wings

it, but each session must build on the others to fulfill a desired

purpose. For example, if you want a bigger bench, then each

training session for that lift must have the development of the

bench press in mind. If your exercise selection doesn't

complement this, you'll just be spinning your wheels.

All exercises chosen should fulfill a purpose related to the

development of strength, stability, confidence, muscle balance,

technique, or bringing up weak points. If one or more of these

variables isn't being met with the chosen movement, then dump

that exercise!

The Micro Cycle

The micro cycle is the recruitment of a number of different

training sessions. There should be at least two training sessions

per micro cycle that consist of different types of workouts. The

micro cycle also should have specific meaning and purpose.

There are many different types of micro cycles including the

introduction, restorative, competitive and the shock micro cycle.

The average micro cycle will range five to ten days with the

average being seven days.

The Introduction Micro: This cycle can and should be used for

a number of introduction purposes. It can be used for educational

purposes to teach the clients or athletes about the training

program and all its variables. This is a very important aspect of

training that many coaches and trainers overlook. I believe that

the client or athlete must know how the program was designed

and why it was designed that way. Better yet, they should be a

part of the program design.

Whenever I design a strength-training program, the client is a

very large part of the process. Who knows better than the trainee

what works and what doesn't work for him? The client has more

experience training themselves than anyone, so why not use this

knowledge to better the program? The trainee must know where

they're going and how and why this program will help them get

there.

A second type of introduction micro cycle may be used to

introduce the trainee to the exercises he'll be performing over the

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next few cycles. This gives him a chance to have a "walk

through" of the different exercises and get used to the correct

form and technique that'll be needed for the higher intensities

later on.

Exercise technique is another overlooked aspect of most training

programs today. When I walk into any gym or health club I'm

impressed with the lack of technique being practiced. You'd

think with the number of trainers and coaches around today that

this problem would be getting better, but in many ways it's

worse. Now you have trainers who have no idea what they're

doing showing a client how to perform an exercise!

Not all trainers are bad, of course. There are many excellent

trainers I've spoken with across the world and I've learned a great

deal from many of them. These trainers are usually very

expensive and hard to find so it would be best for most people to

buy a book on exercise technique or attend one of the many

seminars offered by today's top strength coaches.

The Restorative Micro: This cycle is designed to aid in the

recovery process. It can involve anything from taking a week off

to implementing some restorative techniques such as contrast

showers, steams, saunas, massage, active rest or "feeder"

workouts.

Active rest involves those workouts that implement a type of

training other than what the athlete normally does. For a

weightlifter this can include walking, or for a football player,

playing basketball.

The "feeder" type workouts are those intended to better prepare

the muscle for an upcoming training session. When these

workouts make up the majority of the training micro cycle it then

becomes a restorative cycle. Active rest and feeder workouts will

be discussed in a future article because of the importance they

have in the total development of a strength training program.

After all, if you're not recovering, then you're not making gains!

The Competitive Micro: This is the cycle leading up to the

competition or event. For a powerlifter this would consists of the

five to seven days right before the competition. During this time

they should lower the training volume and intensity.

The week before can make or break the outcome of the

competition. Too much work and the lifter will go into the meet

overtrained and tired. Too little work and he'll go in under

prepared. For the football player this can be the last three to six

days before the game. It becomes a tight balancing act during the

season to ensure the optimum amount of training with the right

amount of recovery and restoration.

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The Shock Micro: This micro cycle is designed around

shocking the body into new growth and adaptation. This shock

can come in many forms and can range from taking a week off to

a high volume training cycle.

The Meso Cycle

This cycle is made up of many micro cycles designed around one

specific purpose. Most programs use this cycle to develop one

component of fitness such as strength, power, endurance or some

other physical ability. These cycles range from one to four

months. There are many types of meso cycles including

introduction, base, competitive, restoration, strength and power

cycles.

The Introduction Meso: This cycle is designed to introduce a

person to fitness or strength training. Like the introduction micro

cycle, most of the time is spent on the teaching of the movements

and training program.

The Base Meso: It's been said many times that you can't build a

house on a weak foundation. The base meso cycle is usually

designed to build a strong and fundamental base of fitness (a

solid foundation).

An example of the effectiveness of a base-building meso cycle

would be my wife, Traci. When she first came to train with us a

Westside, her back was so weak and sore that she had a hard

time picking up an empty barbell.

Most of her training during the first few months consisted of

building up her abdominal, lower back, glutes, hips and

hamstrings. She performed endless sets of reverse hypers,

glute-ham raises, and abdominal pulldowns. When her base was

built up, heavier training was introduced and within the first year

she'd totaled her fist "Elite" with a 360 squat, 240 bench, and 315

deadlift in the 123 pound class. Not bad for not being able to

pick up a barbell without pain 12 months earlier. Without taking

the time to develop a solid foundation, her gains wouldn't have

been possible.

Other Meso Cycles: The strength and power meso cycle is

designed around building strength, while the competitive meso

cycle is that cycle leading up to the competition or test date (the

day you attempt a new PR). These meso cycles can be designed a

number of different ways and all are intended to bring out the

highest level of competitive strength.

Competitive strength is different than maximal strength because

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it utilizes the elements of the competition to bring out the highest

strength levels. With competitive strength, many times there's a

break from training right before the competition to help the body

restore and prepare for peak performance. There's also the

element of the spectators and a "psyche up" to help bring out

higher strength levels.

Maximal strength is the max level of strength that can be

displayed in the gym. This is why many times we don't

recommend training with a psyche-up in the gym. Psyching up

during training can actually be detrimental to strength

performance because of the increased demand on the central

nervous system.

The Western Method of Periodization

The Western or linear method of periodization is the most

practiced yet most misunderstood form of periodization used by

lifters and coaches today. I was first introduced to the Western

method from the NSCA journal and from the "workouts of the

month" section in Powerlifting USA magazine. This method

consists of a hypertrophy phase, basic strength phase, power

phase, peak phase and a transition phase. Many times other terms

will be used but the parameters are basically the same.

The Hypertrophy Phase: This phase is intended to condition

and build muscle mass. This phase is characterized by a high

volume and low intensity. In this case, the volume refers to the

amount of repetitions being preformed while the intensity refers

to the amount of weight lifted in relation to your one rep max.

The typical load or intensity lifted is in the 50 to 70% range for

three to five sets of 8 to 20 reps. The average rest between sets is

two to three minutes and the average length of the entire phase is

between four to six weeks. These parameters are intended to

build a solid base of support for the upcoming strength phase.

Chart 1: Sample Hypertrophy Meso Cycle

Week

Sets Reps Intensity

Rest

62%

3 Minutes

64%

3 Minutes

66%

3 Minutes

68%

3 Minutes

70%

3 Minutes

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The Periodization Bible - powerlifting article.pdf

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