Long Term Training Plans: Traditional vs Block Periodisation

The periodisation of training can be explained as a division of the entire season or year into smaller, more manageable periods of training blocks. The traditional approach to this training organisation was propose five decades ago, originating in Eastern Europe until spreading West and achieving a virtual monopoly over the way in which sporting professionals devised annual training regimes. However, gradually contradicting training concepts came to light which began to modify the way in which coaches approached  competition preparation, this is known as block periodisation. Today, the vast majority of sporting populations now implement this training structure with considerable athletic benefits being produced that are supported by a variety of journal and professional publications.

Within a traditional periodisation design the following hierarchy of training elements exists:

•             Macrocycle - May range from four years (Olympic preparation), to an annual cycle or several months.
•            Mesocycle - Consists of multiple microcycles, lasting several weeks.
•            Microcycle - Often a week long and is formed of multiple workouts.
•            Workout - Can last up to several hours, any break longer than 40 minutes separates one workout from another.

Ultimately, all macrocycles will focus upon a clear goal, whether this is attaining a personal best or winning an Olympic gold medal.  In a more recreational sense, the aim of an individuals macrocycle may be to reach their goal weight or complete a sub four hour marathon for charity. The macrocycle is then divided into three distinct phases, the first being the preparatory phase; whereby the focus is more generalized in order to improve the athletes basic components of fitness such as aerobic capacity. Secondly, the competition phase, is far more event specific and training would be tailored towards the athletes sport or position with a team. It is possible that this phase will also be interspersed with qualifying rounds or warm up running events for a prospective charity marathon runner. The third and final distinct phase is the transition phase, here an active recovery is completed following the major athletic event. It is vital that training volume is significantly reduced but does not cease completely, this will ensure that the athlete does not enter a state of detraining or experience burnout. Meso and microcycles fall next in the training hierarchy, often the aims of these are to perfect a sport specific technique or develop an aspect of fitness such as speed endurance. Lastly, workouts are the primary building block of any macrocycle, where performance is practically developed and the aims are fulfilled.    

There are aspects of the traditional periodisation model that are still applicable to sport training today, such as the use of relevant terminology and distinction between generalised and sport specific preparations. However, due to a virtually year long athletic seasons and severe time pressures many aspects of this method are unrealistic.

The first of four key drawbacks to traditional periodisation is its inability to give way to multiple physiological peaks that are vital to elite level sport. Numerous peaks in biological adaptations require a radical remodelling of long term training plans, the following three factors will explain why this is so. The traditional design of periodisation involves prolonged mixed training which research suggests results in several negative consequences; specifically the increased secretion of creatine phosphokinase alongside various stress hormones. Thus indicating excessive fatigue,  which may lead to staleness, burnout and ultimately a chronic overuse injury or dropout. It is also apparent that mixed training produces significant performance enhancement during its initial phases, especially among beginners. However, this soon plateaus often with a stagnation or decline in performance following. Furthermore, if this exhaustive mixed training is to last between three and five weeks a profound stress response is caused, this will significantly increase the athletes risk of overtraining or an overuse injury.  

Additionally, multi targeted  training that traditional periodisation encompasses is highly incompatible, often producing conflicting biological responses. These potentially eliminate gains made by one training aim through carrying out exercise aimed at other targets, this time could be better spent training  for a single physiological adaptation. Finally, with regards to high level elite athletes mixed targeted training often does not provide a sufficient stimulus in order to promote any physiological adjustment. In such high performance athletes the required adaptations are so specific that a highly concentrated workload is required to provide an adequate stimuli for their progression. Something that is simply unobtainable with intensive mixed training and may even bring about a decline in performance.

Within the last 30 years the world of sport has seen dramatic changes that account for the radical remodelling of traditional periodisation. Due to the formation of global sporting governing bodies there is now greater opportunity for competition and leagues than ever before. As a consequence multi physiological peaks are necessary, a requirement the new approach of block periodisation can accommodate. Because of this many of the previously seen training periods have been replaced by competition performance, this considerably reduces the training volume and so only focuses on a single key aim during performance preparation. Not only will this be of benefit to the individual physically by allowing appropriate recovery time for maximal energy levels, but also psychologically by decreasing the risk of overtraining that often leads to chronic stress and a lack of motivation.

A further consideration for coaches and exercise leaders is that sporting performance within any club or organisation manifests a wide variety of abilities. In the case of intense mixed training only a minute number of athletes will be developed simultaneously, highly concentrated training on an individual basis can only be developed consecutively - not concurrently.

The general foundations of block periodisation consist of all mesocycle training block and compared with traditional methods are greater in concentration, specificity and manageability. These mesocycle blocks can be further divided into three types, the first of which is the accumulation block. Accumulation targets the masses, intending to enhance basic performance components such as muscular strength and aerobic endurance. It is the longest of mesocycles, lasting two to six weeks. Next transmutation, which typically lasts two to four weeks, targets sport specific techniques, muscular endurance and tactical elements. Finally, realisation sets to model perfect competitive performance whilst reducing the training load prior to competition. This phase also allows for an active recovery alongside controlling emotional stress pending competition, its typical duration lasts 8 to 15 days. 

It is known that the accumulation mesocycle produces the longest training residuals, followed by the transmutation and realisation mesocycle blocks. This provides the basis for the optimal relationship between training effects in order to facilitate athletic performance significantly for varying sporting abilities. Therefore activating general adaptations which amplify the body's hormonal, metabolic and protein synthesis responses.
Conversely, during mixed training stress reactions are more prevalent, suppressing the regulation of hormonal and metabolic homeostasis. Subsequently leading to a dramatic deterioration in the fitness of sub elite and elite athletes, primarily a reduction in VO₂ max, the anaerobic threshold and maximal muscular strength. Whereas the modified periodisation ensures the correct interaction between training loads to exploit maximal physiological adaptations.

"If you train hard, you'll not only be hard, you'll be hard to beat" - Herschel Walker