Periodization
of Conditioning: A Scientific Practical Approach
by Professor Angel
Spassov
The major difference between present-day athletes and
those from the past is the ability of present-day athletes
to perform their skills at a greater intensity. This
is possible because today’s athletes are much
better conditioned than those from year's past. But
what exactly is conditioning? Conditioning is the balanced
development of the following qualities: speed, strength,
endurance, agility and flexibility.
The needs of conditioning training relate mainly to
three important areas:
• Decreasing the probability of injuries
• Increasing the intensity of the applied skills
• Fulfilling the requirements of a difficult
sports calendar
The ultimate planning of long- and short-term sports
training requires a certain structure of the volume
and intensity of the training load. To solve this problem
it is necessary that the total training time be divided
into different periods. This process is commonly called
periodization. L.P. Matveev, published in 1965 in Moscow,
formulated the scientific basis of the periodization
in the book “Problems for Periodization of the
Sports Training”.
What is periodization?
Periodization is the structuring of volume, intensity,
and the means of the sports training -- depending on
the sports calendar -- for the complete development
of athletic potential. Periodization requires dividing
the total training period into smaller period time units
with certain duration and tasks. The following is a
sample periodization calendar with the three training
periods of Off-Season, Pre-Season and In-Season:
Off-Season / Fundamental
Preparation Period
1. Active Rest (one month)
2. Fundamental Training (two to five months)
Pre-Season / Direct Preparation
for Certain Competitive Events Period
1. Intensive (4 weeks)
2. Tapering (2 weeks)
In-Season
1. Mesocycles: Usually these are sub-periods
lasting from 1.5 to 3 months. Every mesocycle contains
4 microcycles:
- Initial
- Fundamental
- Intensive
- Tapering
2. Microcycles: These are the most important
units of the periodization, lasting from a few days
to a few weeks. They are:
- Initial (1-2 weeks)
- Fundamental (2-4 weeks)
- Intensive (2-3 weeks)
- Tapering (1-2 weeks)
For Long Competitive
Seasons
Sometimes in an intensive, long, competitive
season we can structure weekly cycles on the base
of microcycles. For example:
Initial – Monday
Fundamental – Tuesday
Intensive – Wednesday
Tapering – Thursday
Pre-competitive Warm-up – Friday
Competition – Saturday
Full rest – Sunday
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