PERIODISATION OF

TRAINING

PERIODISATION OF TRAINING
Breaking

the
training
programme into periods of
time that will help the athlete
reach their peak performance
at a certain time

SPORTS WITH CLEAR PEAKS

ATHLETICS
GOLF
SWIMMING
CYCLING
TENNIS

What makes these sports easier

to peak for than, football or rugby?

PERIODISATION OF TRAINING
Some sports have obvious times when you want
to peak such as a World Cup, Olympics
World Championships or Commonwealth
Games.
Other sports have long seasons where peaking
is less obvious as these sports are based on
league tables such as football and rugby.
Saying that both rugby codes have play offs so
peaking at the end of the season is more important
but you must have qualified

PERIODISATION OF TRAINING
When you know what or when you want to peak
you can start to develop a training programme
for instance:
:theyve been thinking about
this since Beijing 2008
Chris Hoy Cycling
Christine Ohorogu Running
Rebecca Adlignton Swimming

PERIODISATION

Macro-cycle
Meso-cycle

1 YEAR

4-6 WEEKS

Micro-cycle
UNIT

1 WEEK

1 DAY

Key words within periodisation

The length of each cycle will depend on

their aims.
Macro-cycle

A yearly programme with the aim of peaking for

a specific event. Ex. 1 year

Meso-cycle

a phase (4 6 week blocks)

Micro-cycle
A training week within the meso-cycle
Training unit a day within that week

What do you need to think about?

Establish current year and long term

priorities for athlete preparation.

Consider
Physical preparation
Technical preparation
Tactical preparation
Mental preparation
Competitions
Other

What do you need to think about?

Determine dates of all major phases of the

training year.
General Preparation
Specific Preparation
YOU MUST
Precompetition
REMEMBER
Competition
THESE
Peak
6 PHASES
Recovery or Transition Phase

PERIODISATION OF TRAINING
There are 6 separate phases that
are placed within 3 areas

PERIODISATION OF TRAINING
Phases 1 & 2 - PREPARATION
Phase 1 General Preparation
General fitness work
This phase is usually known as training to train
Phase 2 Specific Preparation
Specific fitness, ex. Speed, strength, skills and

techniques
Intensity of training increases significantly
training to compete

What do you need to think about?

Evaluate the previous years plan and actual

achievements (Strengths & Weaknesses).

Consider the following
Physical preparation;
energy systems
strength/speed/power
flexibility
recovery & regeneration
peaking
others

PERIODISATION OF TRAINING
Phases 3, 4 & 5 - COMPETITION
Phase 3 (pre-competition/ comp)
Beginning of competition season
Lots of fine tuning
Low level competitions
General training is reduced
Training is competition specific

Phase 4 Competition
Competitions will occur every week
Leagues are in full flow, races, galas, etc
Phase 5 Peak
The championship final (nationals, olympics,etc.)

PERIODISATION OF TRAINING
Phase 6 TRANSITION

Recovery phase during which the

body can recover from the rigours
of training and competition

TASK Design your programme

1. Define the length of your macro-cycle?
What are you planning towards?
2. Divide your macro-cycle into meso-cycles.
Do you need all 6 phases?
3. Design a micro-cycle from each of your
meso-cycles? Demonstrate the difference
in content depending on the time of year?
Other factors:
Remember the PRINCIPLES of training!!

An example of a training
programme - RUGBY
PEAK
MONTHS

HEAVY
WEIGHTS

SPEED
ENDURANCE

TECHNIQUE
& MATCH
SHARPNESS

JUL

AUG

SEP

OCT

NOV

DEC

JAN

FEB

MAR

APR

MAY

JUN

Exam Question
Describe what is meant by the terms:
Macro-cycle, meso-cycle, micro-cycles
Discuss the benefits of periodisation in
planning a training programme
10 Marks