The Art of Periodization

First off, let me just remind you that our bodies areeither doing one more rep with the same weight or by
never static. This means that sometimes our energydoing the same number of reps but with more weight.
and strength are going to be higher than at other times.Rest up to three minutes between the more complex
When we are feeling low, we should realize that itslifts like squats and two minutes between the less
time to back off, and enter a different phase oftaxing exercises like curls.
training. This is what the old school bodybuilders meantPhase II
when they preached the saying, "listening to yourDuring weeks 9-16, you will divide the body into four
body." Your body talks to you in subtle ways. If youdifferent groups and train using a two days on, one
learn to listen to your body, you will keep progressingday off schedule. This will have you training each body
smoothly. Periodization is one way to train that allowspart a little more frequently to maximize hypertrophy.
you to continue making progress. Periodization isMonday: Chest, Shoulders, and Abs
defined as a process of structuring your training intoTuesday: Back and Hams
phases.Wednesday: Off
Begin by dividing a six-month period of time into threeThursday: Biceps, Triceps, and Abs
8-week phases. The first 8 weeks is the strengthFriday: Quads and Calves
phase. During this time you will train with heavierSaturday: Off
weights. The second eight-week phase will have youSunday: repeat cycle
training with weights that will promote muscle growth.The rest period during Phase II should be 90 - 120
The last eight-weeks will act to preserve what muscleseconds between sets.
you have gained and to rid the body of excess bodyPhase III
fat. Your sample six-month plan would look like this:Now it is time to fine-tune that physique by dropping
Phase I: Weeks 1-8, 4-7 Repssome fat. For starters, you will divide your body into
Phase II: Weeks 9-16, 8-11 Repsthree parts and train using a three on, one off
Phase III: Weeks 17-24, 12-15 Repsschedule. As you will notice, we are going to train legs
In phase I, you will split the body into four groups andin one session. Your workout cycle will look like this:
train each group once per week. This will ensure thatMonday: Chest, Shoulders, and Triceps
you recuperate fully from each workout and maximizeTuesday: Back and Biceps
your strength gains.Wednesday: Legs (Quads, Hams, and Calves)
Monday-chest and shouldersThursday: Off
Tuesday-offFriday: repeat cycle
Wednesday-back and hamstrings, absThe rest period between exercises for this phase
Thursday-offshould be limited to between 45 and 90 seconds.
Friday-armsIn order to make this program work, your nutrition
Saturday-offprogram must also be a priority. To make this simple,
Sunday-Quads, calvesyou will periodize the nutrition plan to correspond to the
You may notice that I have divided leg training into twotraining program. To do so, you basically begin your
days. The reason is simple--when I train quads hard, Ifirst phase with a fairly high amount of calories--all
just do not have enough energy left to hit anotherfrom clean food. Then gradually decrease your
large body part like hams. In general, perform threecalories and increase your cardio as you move from
sets of three exercises for each body part. The firstphase I-III.
set will be a warm-up or acclimation set, followed byIf you are compliant with this program, you will make
three working sets. Since this workout plan includesgains. At the end of phase III, take a week or two off
plenty of rest, you should be able to train to failure onfrom training. You will have earned it, and it will do your
each of your work sets and still avoid over-training.body good!
Avoid forced repetitions and negatives, however.Until next time, train hard and smart!
Try to improve your performance each week by