Thread: Periodization

(I didnt see any posts on this allready)
How often should you "periodize" your weight training and what does that mean?
I hear you need to take a week off too, is that true?
During your week off do you still do cardio?

I was wondering about this because I have been training for 8 weeks , 1 month of full body 3x a week, and 1 month of upper pull/lower/upper push going out 3/7 days a week. Also i have been doing karate for cardio 3 days a week for the past 2 months.

I ask because i am not making the gains i used to, well when i started the gains were huge but now i have troubel putting 5 lbs onto my 80 lb bench press (+bar). Like i cant quite finish all my sets so i have to add 5 lbs and do that for 2 weeks then add another 5 lbs.

my work outs are along the lines of get 70 lbs on the bench then do 1x12,1x10,1x8,1x6 ( just thought i would note that)

i believe this is called plateau-ing

Thanks for any help

Originally Posted by chico1st

(I didnt see any posts on this allready)
How often should you "periodize" your weight training and what does that mean?

Periodization is a systematic alteration of training variables. You should always be periodizing.

I hear you need to take a week off too, is that true?

Taking a week off is a form of unloading. It is an integral part of periodization, though similar results can be accomplished via active recovery.

During your week off do you still do cardio?

Depends on how much you typically do. I advise against increasing the amount of cardio you do so you're not replacing one stressor with another, but I usually maintain 2-3 days of cardio year round and maybe completely take a week off from absolutely everything once in a blue moon.

I was wondering about this because I have been training for 8 weeks , 1 month of full body 3x a week, and 1 month of upper pull/lower/upper push going out 3/7 days a week. Also i have been doing karate for cardio 3 days a week for the past 2 months.

I ask because i am not making the gains i used to, well when i started the gains were huge but now i have troubel putting 5 lbs onto my 80 lb bench press (+bar). Like i cant quite finish all my sets so i have to add 5 lbs and do that for 2 weeks then add another 5 lbs.

my work outs are along the lines of get 70 lbs on the bench then do 1x12,1x10,1x8,1x6 ( just thought i would note that)

i believe this is called plateau-ing

Thanks for any help

Doesn't sound like a plateau to me. That is still pretty exceptional progress. The further along you go in your resistance training career the harder it will be to make gains. Some very elite powerlifters can get stuck in a rut not adding 5 pounds to a lift in years.