PERIODISATION FOR MAXIMUM MUSCLE GROWTH
Have you been training hard for years and eating all the right foods, only to find that you just can’t put on muscle like you used to? If so, it sounds like you’ve hit a plateau; you’ll need to change your workout program to see any further significant results.
As we increase the amount of weight we lift, our body adapts by growing more muscle so we can continue to lift more. But there comes a point where the body just becomes too good at adapting and is able to lift more and more weight without gaining significant muscle size.
To combat this plateau you need to keep your body guessing by periodising your workouts. Periodisation is breaking down a year long training program into smaller intervals each focusing on different goals. Often, training periods where the target is muscle growth are alternated with strength training periods.
Periodisation has other benefits too; doing the same exercise over and over again at higher and higher intensity can lead to overtraining and injury. Changing your workout regularly allows your body to recover from one training goal while you’re working on the next. It also keeps you from getting bored at the gym.
HOW TO PERIODISE YOUR WORKOUT
There are different ways to periodise your workout. Some people simply split the overall program into two periods and alternate them. The first being the mass building phase using a rep range of 6-12 repetitions for 4-5 sets for each muscle group. The second phase will work more on strength with a rep range of 1-6 and 3-4 sets.
Gains from each program will start to tail off considerably after eight weeks so each phase should last no more than this. Generally 6-8 weeks is considered a good period length. If a particular phase is of very high intensity then you may want to shorten that period down to 4 weeks to prevent overtraining.
More complex periodisation programs can consist of more phases involving lighter periods that focus on endurance using lighter weights with more reps.
Each period will have different rep and set ranges that are appropriate for the particular goal of that period.
Tags: muscle, overtraining, periodisation, plateau, training
