Periodization gets you out of exercise rut
15.10.11
Dear Dr. Donohue • I've been training by
lifting weights and by running for a couple of years. In the past
year, I've found myself in a rut. I'm not making the progress I
made when I first started. Have you any suggestions for me? —
P.T.
Answer • Periodization could be the answer to
your lack of progress. It's a plan you devise for your own needs
and capabilities where the volume and intensity of exercise are
varied. It wakes the body up and forces it to adapt to new
challenges. An exercise program of constant repletion of the same
exercises done in the same way is not one conducive to continued
progress.
In the early stages of a training program, people see rapid
improvement. Much of that improvement comes from the brain
recruiting other muscles to get involved, and that includes both
strength-training exercise and aerobic exercise like running.
Once a person hits a plateau, he or she has to devise a new
approach to training. For example, with strength training, you plan
a program for a period of six weeks. This requires learning what a
repetition maximum is. The RM is the amount of weight you can lift
one time only. It determines what amount of weight you begin with
and the weight you add each week.
Source: STLtoday.com