T Nation

A Question of Periodization

Over 35 Lifter
#1

I have a problem, I love all forms of weight training, bodybuilding, power lifting, oly lifting, heck even enjoy the occasional x-fit workout & bodyweight sessions. I also love sprinting, pushing my prowler, rope battles and basically being as fit as i can.

Thats not the problem though, the problem is im living in a 37 year old body with a mind that wants to train like a 21 year old. Combine this with a physically demanding job working swing shifts every week and i find myself exhausted and always in pain from some niggling injury (usually tendonitis which coincidentally is an overuse injury).

I have considered my goals for the coming year(s) and i guess like most other non-competitive athletes on here i would like to be consistently getting bigger, stronger & more conditioned than previous years, but not sacrifice one for the sake of the other. Enter periodization.

I have an average understanding of the concept, my macro planning is outlined above. My uncertainty lies in the meso cycles. I’m thinking that i need to focus on one, maybe two goals per cycle. One cycle may be focused on mass, so i will drop the conditioning, pick out a bodybuilding type workout & add in some power walking.

The next might be a strength & conditioning period, so i will do a 531 type workout (no accessory work) along with, sprints, prowlers etc for conditioning.

My question lies in the ideal cycle length as to minimize any loss from the previous cycle and maximize gains from the current one. At the moment im thinking around the 4-6 week mark but to be honest im not too sure.

Any input would be apprecited.

#2

My input would be to try one of the many subforums dedicated to exercise rather than Off Topic.

Just a thought.

Aside from that Squats and Milk! I didn’t read your post but the answer is squats and milk!

#3

[quote]Sturat wrote:
My input would be to try one of the many subforums dedicated to exercise rather than Off Topic.
[/quote]

Yeah i did think about that, but being not specific to bodybuilding, powerlifting or conditioning i wanted to avoid the ‘why is this in this section’ comments.

Squats and milk, yep that solves everything

#4

To try out the periodization of which you speak—go buy the The Juggernaught Training System.

Has all the cycles/waves in there but not in a traditional sense but addresses the issues of going from phase to phase of which you describe your trying to mitigate.

Hope this helps

Fisch

#5

The periodization bible is called the Fundamentals of Sports Training by L. Matveyev. Its hard to get a hold of and its like $300 on Amazon but there may be some open source versions floating around on the net if you look hard enough.

#6

[quote]FISCHER613 wrote:
To try out the periodization of which you speak—go buy the The Juggernaught Training System.

Has all the cycles/waves in there but not in a traditional sense but addresses the issues of going from phase to phase of which you describe your trying to mitigate.

Hope this helps

Fisch [/quote]

Hey Fisch,
Thanks for the suggestion. I actually have the juggernaut system, and was using it only a few months ago, and loved it. But with all that prowler work, hills sprints & leg work in the gym i found my knees couldn’t keep up, and that is the point of my question. I want to do all those things that the juggernaut system can offer - size, strength, conditioning, speed, but i just cant physically do this anymore without injuring myself. So i need to get smart about it & find a way the best way to periodize them so i am making constant progress in all of these areas.

#7

[quote]jjackkrash wrote:
The periodization bible is called the Fundamentals of Sports Training by L. Matveyev. Its hard to get a hold of and its like $300 on Amazon but there may be some open source versions floating around on the net if you look hard enough. [/quote]

Thanks i’ll see what i can find

#8

[quote]dudsman wrote:

[quote]FISCHER613 wrote:
To try out the periodization of which you speak—go buy the The Juggernaught Training System.

Has all the cycles/waves in there but not in a traditional sense but addresses the issues of going from phase to phase of which you describe your trying to mitigate.

Hope this helps

Fisch [/quote]

Hey Fisch,
Thanks for the suggestion. I actually have the juggernaut system, and was using it only a few months ago, and loved it. But with all that prowler work, hills sprints & leg work in the gym i found my knees couldn’t keep up, and that is the point of my question. I want to do all those things that the juggernaut system can offer - size, strength, conditioning, speed, but i just cant physically do this anymore without injuring myself. So i need to get smart about it & find a way the best way to periodize them so i am making constant progress in all of these areas.[/quote]

How many days a week were you lifting? The 2-day a week Juggernaut outline might be a better way to manage your overall training stress, particularly if you want to keep hitting conditioning work hard.

#9

I was doing the 3 day a week template with the added conditioning & plyo work.

#10

Have you checked out any of Christian Thibaudeau’s stuff. Some outstanding aticles on this site.

#11

[quote]ground control wrote:
Have you checked out any of Christian Thibaudeau’s stuff. Some outstanding aticles on this site.[/quote]

Yeah mate im an avid reader of this site. Which one’s in particular were you talking about?

#12

[quote]dudsman wrote:

[quote]ground control wrote:
Have you checked out any of Christian Thibaudeau’s stuff. Some outstanding aticles on this site.[/quote]

Yeah mate im an avid reader of this site. Which one’s in particular were you talking about?[/quote]
I’m refering more to his integrated approach. I come from an MMA background and I’m older than you so I feel your pain, literally. But personally I’ve had much better success adding strength, size and athleticism using his programs than training each one seperately. Might not be what your looking for but it’s still working well for me.
“Training for size and performance, together - as a single strategy - produces the best gains period.” CT

#13

Variation is important. But there’s no reason why you should focus on building muscle and strength separately. I recommend a Westside template. It works great, and it’s simple enough to follow if you’re just looking for results and not a lifestyle.

#14

[quote]ground control wrote:
I’m refering more to his integrated approach.[/quote]

I did try his HP mass program a while back, to be honest i cant remember the results of how i went. I will re-examine that article again.

#15

[quote]louiek wrote:
Variation is important. But there’s no reason why you should focus on building muscle and strength separately.[/quote]

Agreed, but i think any program worth it weight will always have a cross-over into both. 531 is a good example, its main focus is on building strength but there are plenty of people who have put on some decent size as well. Same as Kingbeef’s routines he posted in the bodybuilding forums, solid mass buliding programs, but decent strength gains can be had.

So for the 6 weeks im focusing on getting bigger using kingbeefs workout, surely im at least maintaining some of the strength i gained during the previous 531 cycle?

Trying to maintain a decent level of conditioning over the strength and size cycles without burning out and injuring myself is always going to be the main challenge for me.

#16

[quote]dudsman wrote:

[quote]louiek wrote:
Variation is important. But there’s no reason why you should focus on building muscle and strength separately.[/quote]

Agreed, but i think any program worth it weight will always have a cross-over into both. 531 is a good example, its main focus is on building strength but there are plenty of people who have put on some decent size as well. Same as Kingbeef’s routines he posted in the bodybuilding forums, solid mass buliding programs, but decent strength gains can be had.

So for the 6 weeks im focusing on getting bigger using kingbeefs workout, surely im at least maintaining some of the strength i gained during the previous 531 cycle?

Trying to maintain a decent level of conditioning over the strength and size cycles without burning out and injuring myself is always going to be the main challenge for me.
Very interesting topic to me. Will you be logging your workouts? I’d love to see how this works for you.

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