Have you been training for a while and seem to have reached a ceiling? Maybe you can’t seem to improve your running pace, or it’s been a long time since you added any pounds to your bench press. If you keep doing the same thing, you’ll keep getting the same results. That’s fine when you first start training and your fitness is improving by the week. But if your performance has stagnated and you can’t seem to get any stronger or faster than you already are, then you’ve likely reached a plateau and need to start changing things up. That’s where periodization comes in.
What Is It?
The word sounds complicated, but it’s really quite simple — periodization simply means mixing up your workouts by varying things like weight, sets, reps or even exercises. The idea is that working your muscles slightly differently forces them to continue adapting, thereby helping you to avoid plateaus. If you’re the type who enjoys a variety of activities including several different physical sports, then you’re probably already covered. But most gym-goers will hit a plateau at some point because they either a) feel they have to stick with the program they were prescribed at the outset, or b) can’t be bothered trying new exercises and mixing up their workouts.
There are other benefits too. Aside from helping you bust through training plateaus, periodization also brings variety into your workouts and prevents them from becoming too stale or boring. It can even help you to avoid injury and succumbing to overtraining. Athletes in most sports use periodization to progress with their training and improve their fitness. You can enjoy the same benefits by treating your own workout regime just like they do, even if you’re not training to be Usain Bolt or Conor McGregor.
How It’s Done
Athletes, and particularly bodybuilders, tend to plan their periodization phases meticulously for optimal results. For example, they might workout in the 8-12 rep range for four weeks, followed by one week with lighter weights in the 15-20 range, before moving onto four weeks of powerlifting in the 3-6 range, and so on. If they’re competing, this will all be timed to ensure they hit their peak at competition time. You don’t need to be nearly as rigorous to enjoy the benefits of periodization — just make sure you change things up every 1-2 months or so.
And it’s not just about varying your rep ranges. You can try doing a couple more/less sets or swapping out exercises for alternatives that hit the same muscle groups (like doing lunges instead of squats, for example). You can even change disciplines completely. Doing straight sets? Move onto circuits or CrossFit classes for awhile. Been running? Take your training into the weights room for a few weeks and try improving your power. The point is to continuously change things up and keep your body guessing. That way you’ll always be improving.
Q: Do you like to mix up your workouts? Tell us how you do it in the comments below.
