Archive: Around Town

Periodization is simply planned variation of your training. Because the body adapts to training quickly, variation is a must. However, most information on periodization deals with athletes training for specific goals or competitions. But what about planning training if you're a normal, general-fitness exerciser? Football season is 12 weeks long but life is 52 weeks a year. Periodizing by the season (calendar) is one way to do it.

Summer weather makes getting outside a priority and the long days automatically increase the activity level compared to other seasons of the year. Outdoor activities with long amounts of daylight give summer a focus on endurance. Outdoor summer activities usually bring us back to long continuous activity such as biking, roller blading, running, walking, kayaking, hiking, etc. As an example, you may have already started getting ready for your first road race of the running season. Because of the warmer weather, your body, given an undamaged metabolism, is more inclined to mobilize its bodyfat for energy. This characteristic supports natural endurance activity.

In your resistance training, there are two methods of increasing your endurance capabilities. Lifting lighter weights for more repetitions is classic training for endurance. If you benched heavy all winter, did clap-pushups in the spring, you would do sets of as many pushups as possible in the summer. If you squatted heavy this winter, did squat jumps in the spring, go back to 15 or more repetitions per squat set in the summer. The second endurance method is to isometrically (no movement) hold a position. For example, instead of doing 50 pushups per set, you would drop halfway and hold for up to a minute. Instead of many squat repetitions, hold a wall-sit position for 3 minutes.

Because periodization is planned change, here is a preview of the rest of the year:

Fall: the onset of cooler weather, the new schoolyear, and familiar routines brings you back to a muscle building focus. For the continuing bench press example, this phase would bring you back to lifting 8-12 reps, occasionally going to failure.

Winter: the combination of cold, being forced inside by the weather, and the body holding onto its bodyfat a little tighter has you moving slower than the rest of the year. Take advantage by keeping the time short for your cardiovascular exercise and weightlifting for strength, characterized by the 1-5 repetition range.

Spring: the introduction to warm weather and sense of rebirth has you moving a little quicker. This is done by developing power, the combination of force and velocity. An example of this is if you benched heavy all winter, in the spring you could do two-handed medicine ball throws from the chest for power.

Planned variation, or periodization, may lead you to better fitness and improved physique. Summer means longer periods of lower-intensity activity: endurance. Then follow it with fall muscle-building, winter strength, and spring power as a simple way to periodize your training year. See you on the road and track.

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