Periodization Training Question

[Candi Barr]

I've been lifting weights for about two years pretty seriously. Not to compete, just to gain strength & size. My primary sport is sea kayaking so endurance is important also. In April I started using periodization training to try to make better progress. I'll do four weeks of a 5x5 protocol for a strength phase, then four weeks of 3x10, finishing with 3 weeks of circuit training where I cycle through four compound movements, 10 reps each, rest a couple minutes & repeat. This is working well for some areas, like bench press, squats, and shoulder press, but not so well with the back exercises, chin-ups, lat pulldowns, and rows. The problem seems to be the transition between the 5x5 phase and the 3x10. I lower the weight back to where I was at the end of the last cycle, but still my strength really drops off after 5 reps and I can't finish the set with full range of motion. It takes most of the four week phase just to get back to baseline, so I'm not getting anywhere. Is this a common problem with this type of training? Any ideas?

 

[Gladiola]

Good questions - I have no idea! Never started periodizing myself - life just seemed to take care of it. I would not lift for a month while I was busy learning to teach a yoga class, etc. But I will start to as my training for competitive Olympic Lifting continues to progress.

Just bumping & I may look this up to see if I can find anything.

 

[Candi Barr]

Thanks, Spatts.

My problem with linear periodization seems to be as Tate points out in the first reference: Abilities aren’t maintained. A four-week cycle is certainly long enough to lose strength (while in the hypertrophy phase) or endurance (while in the strength phase). So skipping the hypertrophy phase and going from strength to speed may work better? Or maybe alternating week by week. I haven’t been incorporating a speed phase. I’m not sure I understand it. What sort of tempo is considered speed? It seems it would be very important to keep a controlled eccentric, right?

I may need more variety or perhaps specialization exercises for the back. I have trouble with my squat, but added one-foot bodyweight squats on a block and that’s helped a lot. Are Good Mornings significantly different from straight-legged deadlifts? The Good Mornings look scary to me – what happens if I fail? Here’s what I’m doing now, in a typical week. Any suggestions? I’m 43, 5’5”, 118 lb in gym clothes. Thanks again.

Hypertrophy Phase
Day 1: legs posterior chain
Abs hanging leg raises 3x10, wood choppers 3x10 each side
Stretch
standing calf presses, holding a dumbbell, 3x15 each leg.
leg curls 3x12
regular deadlift 3x10
straight leg lunges w/dumbbells 3x10 *
* I get big time DOMS from straight-leg hamstring exercises even though it doesn’t feel like much at the time. Strange.

Day 2: Chest, triceps & shoulders
abs 2x(hanging leg raises x10, floor crunches x20, cable crunches x10)
stretch
Bench press bar warm-up set & 3x10
Incline dumbbell press 3x10
Bar dips 3x8
One-arm dumbbell tricep extension 3x8 each side
Hang clean & push press 3x10
Lateral raises 3x10

Day 3: Quads
Stretch
Jump squats bar only 2x6
One-foot hops 1 min, stand on one foot, eyes closed 1 min, 1 min weighted stretch each leg
Squats warm-up set & 3x10
One foot squats on block, 3x10 + 10 count hold each side superset w/pull-ups 3x4
Walking lunges with dumbbells 3x15

Day 4: Back & biceps
Abs, swiss ball, rolls 3x10, full range crunches 3x10, twists w/10 lb 3x10
Stretch
Chin-ups 3x8
Hammer iso-row machine superset inner & outer handles 3x10
Lat pulldown 3x10
Dumbbell bicep curls, alternating 3x10
Wrist rotations w/dumbbell 3x8
Barbell wrist curls bar+20 lb 3x10 each flexion & extension

Strength phase is pretty similar, except I change the weight and do 5x5 for these exercises:
Bench press
Squats
Deadlifts
Hang clean & push press
Bar dips
Bicep curls
Hammer iso-row or barbell bent row