Thread: Periodization

Depends what your goals are and where you are at. It also depends on which type of periodization you are using.

like Dale said. it depends.

I like to look at things in 4 week blocks for a few reasons:

1) it lays well over a month
2) it allows you to check progress in a short but resonable period of time.
3) planning large mesocycles (12-16 weeks) IMO is stupid because it is virtually impossible to plan where you would be at that time. With 4 weeks you can train, see how you are doing, re-test, re-asses, and then decide if another 4 weeks is going to be beneficial.

so say...4 weeks using 60% 1rm at 5sets of 10....or 4weeks for the whole entire cycle?

I certainly wouldn't spend 4 weeks doing that unless you had super low RI and were going for endurance, and if that were the case, I would up the reps to 12-15.

Originally Posted by Dale Mabry

I certainly wouldn't spend 4 weeks doing that unless you had super low RI and were going for endurance, and if that were the case, I would up the reps to 12-15.

I agree.

At that low of intensity you are going to end up de-training yourself. Maybe 2 weeks at 60% to unload a little bit but no more then that.

On a side note, it is rare that I spend an entire mesocycle using just one intensity. Typically my programs are based on undulating periodization or conjugate periodization (a concentrated block of loading for one biometer while others are trained at retention) or concurrent periodization (a training cycle focused on brining up 2 or more biometers at the same time).

Originally Posted by P-funk

On a side note, it is rare that I spend an entire mesocycle using just one intensity. Typically my programs are based on undulating periodization or conjugate periodization (a concentrated block of loading for one biometer while others are trained at retention) or concurrent periodization (a training cycle focused on brining up 2 or more biometers at the same time).

I have also been using this type of periodization for a while with nothing but positive results. I think people should definitely alter volume and intensity more frequently than they do.

I see no real reason to stay at one intensity longer than a couple of weeks regardless of your goals. Even if endurance is your goal, for example, you will want to force neural adaptations (Heavy training) so that your body moves more efficiently and movement economy is improved.

thanks for all that. I thought 4 weeks was long. Im gonna stick to one week per meso. Whats a biometer?

one week meso cycles are short.

It's messed up, because everyone defines meso, micro, and macrocycles differently.

micro- the smallest component of a training cycle. Could be a day, or a week.

meso cycle- a group of micro cycles...could be 3 weeks, 12 weeks, 16 weeks, 24 weeks, etc...

macrocycle- the largest component of a training cycle usually spanning the entire year, or competitive season or group of years leading up to a specific event (ie the olympics).

for me mesocycle will be the length I stay at a certain %-rep scheme before advancing...again whats a biometer