Block By Block.

If you’ve been keeping up with my articles, I’ve been making my way through the different types of popular periodization methods within strength and conditioning. Last article I covered Undulating Periodization (UP), which you can click here to read that if you’re feeling a bit wild.
So in this article we’ll be covering Block Periodization (BP). The model was developed by sport scientist Dr. Vladimir Issurin, and it relies on the idea of residual training effect. Which is the concept that physical qualities are retained for a period of time after they stop being trained directly (basically, train one quality hard, then maintain the benefits while developing the next). This concept gave us a training structure that focuses primarily on one or two specific modalities at a time; and are put into practice within time-frames that we refer to as mesocycles or a “blocks”.

The traditional periodization method breaks down an athletes training year (macrocycle) into these three recurring consecutive blocks:

Some coaches and athletes use this structure of training to avoid issues with recovery and adaptation that may arise from other methods such as UP: where multiple modalities are being focused and cycled through on a weekly, or even daily basis.

I’ll be honest. I tend to blend both UP and BP in my own coaching methods. And my biggest takeaway is that the structure of the blocks work really well when you’re a coach or you actively compete in a sport. Overall it’s generally easy to follow, understand, and explain. Though, like anything there are nuances and how you structure your training depends on the sport and individual(s).
But, let me make the case for block periodization… seeing as this is a BP article. Again, it’s rather simple and incredibly easy to follow and maintain. Especially for those of you that have not made S&C their career. It was developed to create a stronger training stimulus, decrease competing adaptations (like trying to increase sprint time as well as hitting your three rep max on deads), and limit unnecessary fatigue. It’s all about focusing your effort to maximize the gains in the specific modality.

If you haven’t tried block periodization yet, I recommend you do. Start with one or two cycles through the three blocks, and see how you feel, look, and/or perform. Might be just what you needed!

Hey, thanks for reading The Weekly Standard!
Before you go, I have a quick question for you…
I'm thinking about launching a strength & conditioning program through TrainHeroic with real workouts, real methods, and only $6/month. I’ll personally be programming the workouts using the same methods and periodization principles I write about here.

You'd get daily workouts, weekly adjustments, and a clear progression structure built around getting stronger, building muscle, and improving performance.