6. Periodization & Program Design

Now that we have covered the fundamentals, pull and push training, and compound exercises, it’s time to learn how to put this all together and design a program. 

Periodization

Periodization is the process of planning and organization training into “periods” or chunks of time. It is a logical phasic method of manipulating training variables in order to increase the potential for achieving specific performance goals.

It starts with what you want to achieve. Some questions to ask yourself include what are the goals and purposes for training? Where do you want to be? When do you want to be there? Work backwards from the questions and devise a plan to take you closer to your goal. 

Programming

Programming is generally how we make the periodization or the plan work, it is the means and methods used to achieve the goals set earlier. This is important because it allows us to make our plan work. It includes prescribing the exercises, sets, reps, intensities etc.

Designing a Program

First, you want to start with a primary goal. Examples of common types of goals include:

• For hypertrophy – sets 3-5, reps 8-12
• For basic strength – sets 3-5, reps 4-6
• For absolute strength – sets 3-5, reps 1-3
• For body composition goals – cardiovascular will take center stage
• For endurance goals (running, biking, swimming etc.) that mode of exercise will take center stage

Below is an example of what a program may look like. Remember, this is not telling you to do it this way, it is just an example of how to do it.

Example of a Strength Training Program