Introduction To Periodization

Many articles posted online about training periodization revolve around how to set up your training to "bust through plateaus" and hit your "biggest PRs ever". While periodization certainly does help you in doing both, many authors neglect to write about the "whys" and are inconsistent when using training terminologies. What's the difference between linear and daily undulating (DUP)? What's block training? I thought blocks were called phases? How do I linearly progress man? A lot of terms get thrown around without proper context, and unless you have some background in exercise science or an in-depth understanding of exercise physiology, it can get confusing. To play devil's advocate though, there are many concepts and training methods that share different names; usually due to that fact that different researchers and difference coaches around the world use them and have made them popular in their own training niche or sport.

Quick example: tempo training in the world of running (tempo running) consists of a more fast-paced run usually right at an athlete's lactate-threshold. However in cycling, tempo training is done below anywhere from 10-15 beats below an athlete's lactate-threshold. What seems like a small adjustment can be the difference between increased endurance, or poor recovery and overtraining. This may be a specific example, but I hope you get the idea.

Before we even get into the types of periodization and how to manipulate training variables, we must know WHY things are set up the way they are. Training terminology must be consistent and training modalities need to be contextualized.

With all that said, let's jump into it.