Most people are sparked to exercise by a mixture of both vanity and fear when they look into a mirror while wearing their underwear. Let’s face it, the vast majority of us are not exercising in preparation to make the 2016 summer olympics  team. Although many of us have left athleticisim in elementary to high school years we can learn a bit from the way that competitive athletes on any leval train.  You can take the methods that they use to prepare for their respective sports and utilize them to train for your life.  Exercising the same way the entire year without switching it up at all is like trying to become a world class scientist by doing 5th grade science projects only.  Your body is an amazingly adaptive machine and your exercise regimen should also be adaptive and stimulating.

Most professional athletes train for their sports seasons using periodization.  Each period is usually boken down into 4-6 phases. Each phase has it’s own unique goal or objective to prepare for optimal performance.  The interchanging of these usually 12 week cycles can transform your body, shatter plateaus, and prevent the risks associated with overtraining.  Lets look at a periodization program of a football team.  From there we can craft a program that will lead to someone who wants optimal energy, strength, functionality,vitality and visible muscle tone.

FOOTBALL Periodization

Phase 1–> March through May Strength/ Power & Hypertrophy Pase.  Focus is to gain strength and muscle mass. They also train to get connective tissues reay for the rigors of the sport

Phase 2–> June through August Cardiovascular Conditioning.  Major focus is to train the cardiovascular system for the sport.  There is also training for speed and agility drills. Drills are also introduced to expolosive power and sports specific skills.

Pase 3–> August through early December Skills/Techniques/In season.  Actual playing of the sport and maintainance of the strength acquired in the Pre season.

Phase 4–> Recovery / Off season.  Recreational sports, yoga, ballet etc.

The way that the football periodization chart is set up it allows for the athlete to grow, gather strength, transfer the strength to power, and then finally transfer it to position specific footbball moves.  When it comes to building the body of your dreams periodization is great in that you can make each phase any length that you want.  You can focus on the objectives that are important to you and fit your lifestyle and your goals.  A sample periodization chart for one year in exercise could be as follows.

General Health and Fitness Periodization

Phase 1–> Building muscle and strength for added muscle tone in the summer months. Eat a few more carbs to fuel the heavier weight training routines.  Cardio can be done 2 times a week 30-60 minutes to keep the heart functioning. 30-45 minutes of heavy weight training 3-4 times a week. Focus on getting lots of sleep

Phase 2–> Toning Phase . The entire focus of this phase is to uncover the lean muscle mass that was put on in the winter.  Cardio should be moved up to 4-5 days a week 45-60 minutes and the intensity elevated with intervals. Weight training lowered to 2-3 times a week. Perform all of your exercises at a faster rate of speed and lessen the break times. Bootcamp training and Crossfit training can be added to the regimen to kick it into overdrive.

Phase 3–> Peaking Phase. This should be the maintainence phase. The intensity of the cardio can be lowered. Use the elliptical instead of running, keep the frequency up.  Weight training/ resistance training can be done 2-3 times a week at a lower intensity.  The amount of repetitions and rest can be raised. Incorporation of pilates and possible group exercise classes would be great.

Phase 4–> Rehabilitation and Active Rest.  Focus on stretching, Yoga, Tai Chi, recreational sports leagues, funtional training.  Do these activities up to 3 times a week.  Use the other days to focus on areas of fitness that you feel are lagging.  Injury prevention? Endurance? bodyfat levels? Try everything “new” you can get your hands on.

Plan your workouts with 12-16 week objectives.  You can structure your exercise programs  in a way that will get you the results you want and keep you from injury and most importantof all boredom.  The routine that will work the best is the one the you will do. Remember that your body is an amazingly adaptive machine. An adaptive machine that requires varied stimulous in order to really change. Change your workout routines just like the seasons and you will realize your better body while squashing monotony boredom and injury.

 


Owner of Better Body Expert LLC (personal training/wellness company) Inventor of \”Better Body In A Box\”TM, Fitness Expert,Celebrity trainer Corporate Wellness Coach & presenter, Amateur bodybuilder & fitness model. 17 years of fitness experience as an athlete, personal trainer and Better Body mentor!www.BetterBodyExpert.com \”Everybody has better Body!\”
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