Periodization ONLY WORKS for Weightlifters and Track Athletes!

Periodisation is basically the planned manipulation of training variables are the training cycle of an athlete progresses. In layman's terms, periodisation is just the concept of training differently in the off season/before competition compared to training during the on-season/competition period.

Periodization only works for weightlifters/powerlifters and track athletes (sprinters, mid or long distance runners). Periodisation was a concept first propagated by Tudor Bumpa, who was researching methods of strength and conditioning in soviet athletes. The reason periodisation only works for weightlifters and track athletes is two fold. Firstly, there is a large link between their strength and conditioning training and their sport. Strength and conditioning training for weightlifting has a MASSIVE correlation to how that weightlifter performs in competition (obviously). Also, the strength and conditioning work of sprinters also impacts how they perform on the track to a large extent. However, the same cannot be said about other athletes, like basketball or tennis players. For these athletes, skill is a much larger component in how they perform than just their strength of conditioning levels, so periodisation becomes less relevant. Secondly, periodisation builds up the training intensity as competition gets closer. As a result, it only works for athletes who compete on a single day/week. Athletes who compete in multiple weeks (ie. a game season in basketball) cannot simply peak for performance on one day, and so periodisation doesn't work.

This is why I only provide programs for weightlifters, track athletes, or for strength and conditoning!

~ Prem