Where is your training leading you? Have you got a plan? Is your training progressing you to the end result you want to achieve?
What I mean by this is “Periodisation” this is the planning and preparation of your training plan so that it is dialled in to achieving the results you want to achieve at the time you want to achieve them rather than jumping from exercise to exercise and random workout to random workout with no real rhyme or reason
But with periodisation every exercise and workout has a purpose and reason behind it to allow you to progress to your next workout the next day and the next week if you fail to plan, your planning to fail!
For example if we where doing max effort bench press on a Monday and we were looking to progress over a 3 week Minny cycle here is a very simple way to do that “Week 1: 3sets x 7reps at 75% 1RM Week 2: 3sets x 6reps at 80% 1RM (Increasing weight from Week 1) Week 3: 3 x 5reps at 85% 1RM (Increasing weight from Week 2)” with some built in warm up sets ofcourse
As the % of our 1 rep max goes up our overall reps go down to allow progression in strength each week so over the 3 week mini cycle we will have increased our weight lifted in each rep so In turn will have challenged our strength to promote strength adaptations to happen!
By doing this for example it would be safe to say if we were to repeat the cycle again we would be starting the first week with a heavier weight than we did the first time round and improved overall strength in the bench press there was a study done on the affects of periodisation strength programs vs non periodisation plans and “The cumulative results of 81 effects gathered from 18 studies published between 1988 and 2015 indicated that the magnitude of improvement in 1RM following periodized resistance training was greater than non-periodized resistance training” (1)
So the study they did found that Yes periodisation does make a difference on how we progress in the gym and achieving our goal faster than if we were to just bounce from workout to workout!
Now if your goal is to just get more active and just feel abit better then is periodisation essential? Maybe not, But if you are planning to increase your strength, muscle mass or speed and power by a good amount or change your body composition by a significant amount to me periodisation is the best tool to use and in my experience you will get greater results from a periodised plan also this way you have a road map to your destination rather than blindly training and hoping for the results you want.
So how do you periodise your training? Well first we need to see what forms there are the main two are “Daily Undulating Periodisation” which refers to using different loads, reps, and sets in a resistance training program on different days of the week and “Block Periodisation” is where you will focus on one specific form of stimulus for a certain amount of time! But which is better well to be fair they both work great! It’s just which ever you find it easier to program for there isn’t a greater method of the two.
There was a study done on this exact topic with two groups of adolescent football players to see which way would create better results and the study found both where just as effective (2)
But either way the best results will come from using a form of Periodisation if you would like great results! If you want to look at how you can periodise your training I would love to help let’s have a chat and see the best course of action for you to take to get the best results from your training!