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The Periodization Bible  Part 1

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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.

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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.

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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

1

5

10

62%

3 Minutes

2

4

10

64%

3 Minutes

3

3

10

66%

3 Minutes

4

3

8

68%

3 Minutes

5

3

8

70%

3 Minutes
 

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The Strength Phase: The goals of the strength phase is to, you guessed it, increase muscle strength. The parameters for this phase are characterized with a typical load between 75 to 86%, utilizing three to five sets of 4 to 6 reps. The average rest is two to four minutes and the duration is four to six weeks. As you can see, the intensity is beginning to increase while the volume is beginning to decrease.

 

Chart 2: Sample Strength Meso Cycle

Week

Sets

Reps

Intensity

Rest

1

5

6

75%

3 Minutes

2

5

6

77%

3 Minutes

3

4

5

79%

3 Minutes

4

4

5

82%

3 Minutes

5

3

4

85%

3 Minutes

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The Power Phase: This phase is designed to increase the overall power of the athlete. The parameters of this phase are characterized by performing three to five sets of 3 to 5 reps with 86% to 93% intensity. The duration of this phase is normally four weeks. The rest is usually between three to five minutes.

 

Chart 3: Sample Power Meso Cycle

Week

Sets

Reps

Intensity

Rest

1

3

4

87%

3 Minutes

2

3

3

89%

3 Minutes

3

3

3

91%

4 Minutes

4

3

3

93%

5 Minutes

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The Peak Phase: This is the final phase of strength development. This phase is designed to "peak" on all the abilities that have been developed earlier. The peak phase is characterized by performing two to three sets of 1 to 3 reps with 93% or more. The average rest is now increased to four to seven minutes and the duration is two to four weeks. You'll again notice that the volume is lower and the intensity is increased.

 

Chart 4: Sample Peaking Meso Cycle

Week

Sets

Reps

Intensity

Rest

1

3

3

95%

5 Minutes

2

2

2

97%

7 Minutes

3

2

1

99%

7 Minutes

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Another problem with the Western method of periodization is that many abilities aren't maintained. The muscle mass that was built during the hypertrophy phase isn't maintained throughout the full cycle. Same goes with the strength phase. The best training weeks are normally the first or second week of triples coming off the strength phase. Then your strength begins to shut down because it's very hard to train at or above 90% for longer than three weeks. This is another reason why you may be able to triple more in training than what you can display on the platform.

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