Periodization explained: how to plan training in blocks

Periodization is planning your training in stages instead of doing the same thing every week. The simplest version, and the one that works for most people, is a block: a few weeks where the training gets steadily harder, then an easier week to recover, then the next block starts a little higher.

A typical block

1. Week 1: a moderate number of sets, finishing about three reps short of failure.
2. Weeks 2 and 3: a few more sets, finishing two and then one rep short.
3. Week 4: the hardest week, with sets taken close to failure.
4. Deload: about half the sets at lighter effort, so fatigue drains away and you start the next block fresh.

Why it works

Hard training builds fatigue faster than fitness. If you push every week, fatigue eventually hides your progress and makes aches and stalls more likely. Planning a rise and an easy week lets you push hard when it counts and recover before it catches up. See deload week and reps in reserve.

Other kinds

• Linear: the weight goes up a little every session. Great for beginners. See linear vs double progression.
• Undulating: heavy, medium and light days in the same week.
• Block periodization: longer phases that focus on size, then strength, then peaking for a meet.

In Liftsmith

Liftsmith plans in blocks of 3 to 6 build weeks (4 by default) followed by a deload. Reps in reserve step down from 3 to 0 across a four-week block, and the deload is half the sets at easier effort. If fatigue builds early, a coach's note offers to start the deload now.