Periodization.
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A major to maximise musculoskeletal hypertrophy & strength is incorporating programmed periodization into your training. Not only an efficient way to introduce varied stimulus & planned manipulations of training variables in a well designed, cohesive fashion - but a way to drive up total volume, hypertrophy & intensity resulting in the appropriate adaptations - while promoting ideal recovery and avoiding injuries across the micro cycle, meso cycle and macro cycle of your training. (Evans, 2019).
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In simple terms, “It’s how you organise your training” (Nuckols, 2014).
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We often tend to refer to selective, specific types of periodization, especially when trying to educate others or explain concepts... however, rather than narrowly looking at certain types of periodization (linear, WUP, DUP, conjugate & block periodization etc) we are best to understand that a great program will often incorporate most, if not all of these in some way, and we should strive to have a great understanding of them all. (Lorenz & Morrison, 2015).
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So why periodization? Well, it works.
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A meta analysis consisting of 18 studies published between 1988 and 2015 showed periodized plans to be favourable over the non-periodized plans, presenting a greater 1RM following the periodised plan. (Williams, T.D., Tolusso, D.V., Fedewa, M.V. et al. 2017)
Furthermore, Nuckol’s (2018) article “Periodization: What the Data Say” concludes that on average, periodized groups gained strength around 22% faster than non-periodized groups.
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I’m under no illusion that a online blog or instagram post is going to effectively educate you. Rather, I hope this short, sharp piece of curated information (insta-evidence) will encourage you to further look into periodization, and maybe learn something new that you can apply to your training and/or clients.
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Stay happy & healthy. Peace 🏼
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