An argument for periodization in your workouts
Today we’re going to talk about periodization in training. What that means for cheerleaders, as well as adults who don’t participate in competitive sports anymore. Periodization is the process of scheduling your workout routines to build skill, strength, power, conditioning and body composition. Our bodies change when we change up our routines, whether that be for weight loss, building mass or building strength. Yes, it’s important to be consistent. This means doing our workouts regularly and maintaining a healthy diet most of the time. However, in order to see regular changes, we need to mix up the types and intensity of our workouts, and in doing this our intake and nutritional needs will change too. This article will focus on the workouts.
As a cheer coach, I didn’t fully understand these principles. I knew my team needed to get stronger in general, but I didn’t give them good structure in their workouts that went with the principals of periodization. Perhaps incorporating these principles into our workouts would have set them up for less risk of injury and better progression of skill. As an adult, reflecting on my own conditioning status and goals for the next year, I will be changing my own workouts and will put together a plan for the year based around these principles. I’ve never really been a good planner so it will be fun to see how the process evolves.
At the end of the year, I like to reflect on what I want to achieve in the upcoming year. I just realized that I am 40 pounds heavier than I was when I was cheering in college. It’s crazy to thing that I thought I was overweight at that time. I thought losing weight would help me be better at stunting, but really at that time I needed better body control. When I stopped cheering, my activity went way down and my diet didn’t change. Thus a quick bump in weight gain. I started lifting and getting stronger though, so my dress size actually went down. It’s now been 30 years since I’ve been in a cheer uniform. I don’t expect that I will return to cheer weight, but I do want to lose a significant amount of weight. My clothes don’t fit, I am tired all the time and I just don’t feel good. It’s a much different reason than when I was cheering, and it will take a lot more work and dedication to achieve that goal.
How does periodization work? If we look at a high school or college cheer program as a model, we will break the year of training into 4 parts. Preseason (July-September) we will increase the intensity of sport specific training and include more strength, power and higher intensity conditioning. In season (September-March for 2 season cheerleaders), we want to maintain what we’ve built, with less frequent resistance work and more focus on agility, balance and skill. An active rest period (March- April) allows time for the body to recover both physically and psychologically. This should include lower intensity and lower volume work that may include other recreational activities. The off season (May-July) is the time to build a baseline of cardiovascular and resistance training while working to improve body composition. The time frames would vary for All-star programs, but the principles will be the same.
Although my own goals do not currently involve an athletic endeavor, I can still use these principles to guide me in a plan. December will be my active rest time. While I do believe we don’t need to live our lives by a calendar, I also know that this time of year is typically stressful in and of itself, let alone the challenges of 2020 and Covid. In January, I will be in the off-season phase. I will build strength with 4 day per week lifting workouts (2 heavy days and 2 light days) and a focus on aerobic conditioning on my non-weight training days. This will go thru March. From April through June, I will be in the pre-season phase. I will lift 3x/week and add more explosive and power exercises like jump squats and ball slams. I will change my conditioning routine to include higher intensity interval workouts like sprinting or HIIT ciruits. July through October will be my in-season. I will program in more agility and balance drills. I will strength train 2x/week and will vary my conditioning between anerobic and aerobic conditioning.
The other key component of training is adaptation. Our body will adapt to what we do. Usually it takes about 6 weeks to make a true body change, so changing a workout every 4–6 weeks is also important. In my own example above, in the off-season, I plan to start with 3 sets of 8 in January. February will be 4 sets of 6 and March will be 8 sets of 3 reps for my strength workouts. The pre-season I will change the type of plyometric and agility work each month. For plyos, I like to work 3–4 sets of 5 reps, and at this point in life, mixing up the stresses on my joints is important. During the in-season, I’ll switch to higher reps and less sets. 3x10 or 2x12 for the strength workouts.
Of course, a daily mobility routine, proper water intake, a diet based on minimal sugar and junk food, and adequate rest are also important to help you achieve your goals.
I hope this provides a guideline for the importance of changing your routine periodically no matter where you are in your fitness goals. If you are currently cheering, using these guidelines can help to build strength, maintain body composition and improve your skill level. Having a regular strength and conditioning routine, doing daily mobility work, eating foods that fuel vs deplete your body, and finding periods of active rest as well as sleep, can help prevent injury.