Periodization, Stress and GAS

Periodization

• Deliberate and systematic programming for an athlete.
• An organized approach to training involving progressive cycling of various aspects during a specific period.
• It is a formal training plan that attempts to achieve the potentiation of bio-motor abilities and management of fatigue/accommodation to achieve optimal performance.
• Planning that enables the use of correct loads and adequate regeneration periods to avoid excessive fatigue.
• It is a systemic and methodological planning tool, a directional template for both athlete and coach, but not a rigid concept.

Stress

• A stimulus that disrupts an organism from homeostasis.
• A force exerted on a body part, such as pulls, pushes, compressions, or twists.
• Examples: Exams, tryouts, social issues, and resistance training.

General Adaptation Syndrome (GAS)

• 1-factor model: alarm, resistance, exhaustion.
• Suggests the body's response to stress is always the same despite the stressor, involving alarm and resistance phases before supercompensation.

Theory of Supercompensation

• A brief period of improved preparedness beyond homeostasis.

Stimulus Fatigue Recovery Adaptation Theory (SFRAT)

• Fatigue accumulates in proportion to the strength and duration of a stimulus; after rest, fatigue dissipates, and supercompensation occurs.

Fitness Fatigue Model

• A 2-factor model where every stress applied results in both fitness and fatigue aftereffects, with a delay (latency) in observed results.
• Fatigue effect: ↑ severity, ↓ latency.
• Fitness effect: ↓ severity, ↑ latency.
• Aftereffects are specific to the stressor.

Factors Affecting Stress Response

• Genetics influence 1/2 of the response to training stress.
• Prior experience shapes the magnitude of a stress response.
• Planned stress from RT is one aspect of sport performance.
• Stress is contextual; response to stress affects physical response to training load.
• Adaptation to stress is highly specific and largely unpredictable, individualized by genetic, behavioral, experiential, historical, and environmental factors.

Training Concepts

• GPP (General Physical Preparedness): Base of support > "fitness".
• KPI (Key Performance Indicators): used to understand what is most valuable in that sport/position to determine reps, sets, and characteristics of strength (hypertrophy, speed, endurance, etc.).
• SPP (Specific Physical Preparedness): Directly related to or influential on performance.
• Comp (Competition): Account for sport-specific workload, rely on KPI, address missing stimuli using residual training effect.
• Transition: Recovery/regeneration, dictated by environmental demands.

Models of Periodization

• Traditional (linear).
• Summated microcycle (block).
• Conjugated sequencing.

Load Recovery Interaction

• Fatigue (acute-decreased capability) → Recovery → Supercompensation → Decrease to pre-load levels.

Traditional (Linear) Periodization

• Structured around the inverse relationship of volume and intensity.
• Development of multiple training targets concurrently or in parallel.
• Can have linear periodization within an annual cycle while having multiple peaks.
• Pros: Good for less experienced athletes, long periods of basic and sport-specific preparation.
• Cons: Period of accumulated fatigue, negative implications on sporting performance, not ideal for most sport competition schedules, not good for advanced athletes who require a higher training load.

Summated (Block) Periodization

• Integrated and sequenced training targets.
• Programming complementary training factors in a cyclical nature.
• Reflects performance demands of a specific time within the annual plan.
• Sequential mesocycles build upon adaptations realized in previous training blocks.
• Commonly programmed in 4-6 week blocks, aligns well with annual calendar and sport seasonal schedules.
• Accounts for RTE (Residual Training Effect) time frame.
• Planned flexibility around sport-specific or life stressors and ability to adjust planned training volume in response to the daily state of the athlete.

Block Periodization Phases

• Accumulation: Foundational period, basic athletic abilities, high volume, lower intensity, 2-6 weeks duration.
• Transmutation: Sport-specific abilities, moderate volume & intensity, training targets have shorter RTE but greater applicability to performance, 2-6 weeks duration.
• Realization: Shortest effect but most relevant to competition, greater emphasis on recovery, higher intensity, lower volume, 1-2 weeks duration.
• Pros: Concentrated loading, good for intermediate-advanced trainees who require significant stimulus for adaptations, training of complementary training targets, the ability to provide stimulus sufficient to drive physiological adaptation while decreasing the risk of overtraining.
• Cons: Intensity of each concentrated block may be too stressful for novice trainees to tolerate, shifted focus may disrupt gradual adaptation characteristics of novice trainees.

Conjugated Sequencing Periodization

• Vertical & horizontal training target.
• Vertical = manipulating emphasis on a specific training target during the mesocycle (accumulation/ transmutation/ realization).
• Horizontal = sequential development of training targets throughout a mesocycle and annual plan, develops the training target to have emphasis within the overall annual plan and training context. (GPP> SPP> competition> Transition)
• Pros: Develops 1 training target while maintaining others, there is a lower level of fatigue than it concurrent methods, limits stagnation, overtraining, & boredom, effective for individuals with a high training age.
• Cons: Training blocks may not be long enough to realize full training potential, significant planning is required, it's appropriate for higher training age only.

Preliminary Considerations to Programming

• Physiological, biomechanical (train them to improve their biomechanics on field), tactical (Program late phases of SPP or transition or comp that relates to the tactical aspect of skill on field, court, etc), current level of preparedness/ training age.
• Work backward, identify specific performance correlates, specific to general How can general support specific?
• Number of competitions & timeline, team or individual sport, the significance of each game or comp, peaking for comps - when does athlete get to recover?

Annual Planning Considerations

• Physiological timelines of adaptation for each quality?
• Which qualities are general?
• Specific, etc. Can they train during the comp phase or maintained or reversed?
• Does schedule allow for response to stress/fatigue/adaptation?

Action Steps to Creating a Macrocycle

• Determine the number of macrocycles needed within the annual training plan.
• Subdivide the annual training plan into specific macrocycles.
• Subdivide the macrocycle into main periods of preparatory, competition, and transition phases.
• Determine the length of the general and specific prep and precompetitive and competitive phases.
• Determine when performance is to be optimal and use the peaking index to indicate it on annual plan.

Action Steps for Creating a Mesocycle

• Divide the annual training plan into individual mesocycles.
• Determine the training factors to be targeted in each mesocycle.
• Sequence & integrate the individual training factors by defining the emphasis.
• Estimate the workload pattern for each mesocycle.
• Indicate where recovery or unloading weeks are to occur.
• Indicate where performance assessments will occur.

Macrocycle and Mesocycle Design

• Organizing - Implementing - Adjusting.

Action Steps for Creating a Microcycle

• Determine the allotted time for training.
• Prioritize the training factors based in each day of the microcycle in the context of the mesocycle.
• Note the number of competitions and travel days in the microcycle.
• Determine the type of microcycle to be employed and the number of recovery days.
• Orient training so that it aligns with the emphasis determined in the meso- and microcycles.
• Use organizing- implementing- ADJUSTING.
• Determine if attempting to create a "tangible" or intangible" adaptation. Tangible= higher training load Higher intensity and / or volume = higher fatigue. Intangible= skill-based OR minimal dose = lower fatigue.

Cardinal Rules for Training

• Training too much leads to overtraining, causing reduced or cessation of training, constant tiredness, and impaired practice quality.
• Frequently changing goals/training programs leads to a lack of consistency and limited realization of physiological adaptation.

Allostasis

• It is a complex set of integrated emotional, physiological, immunological, and psychological processes that intimately collaborate to establish a new set of internal conditions best fitting current circumstances.

Planning with Allostasis in Mind

• Training loading parameters.
• Epigenetic predispositions.
• Legacy of previous stress exposure (including training history).
• Transient biological, psychological, and emotional stress.
• Transient social and environmental variables.

Factors Affecting Stress

• Genetics have a major effect on how someone responds to and handles stress.
• Factors: Genetic inheritance, personal predispositions and traits, stress history & resilience, prior training and injury history, and current stress status (psycho-emotional state, cognitive state, environmental stressors, residual fatigue, nutritional factors).

Neural Adaptations to Resistance Training

• Early strength increases are mainly due to neural adaptations (e.g., improved coordination and learning, increased activation of prime mover muscles).
• Cross-over effect: Can train the uninjured side to benefit the injured side.
• RT allows MU to maintain consistent firing intervals at lower rates= maintain forceful contraction for longer periods of time.
• Higher threshold MU (requiring more neural input) able to fire longer before firing intermittently shutting off.
• Velocity EXP > HRT (Upper L training explosive counter movement jump increases max force of rate development) HRT > EXP (Upper R just heavy resistance- lower rate of force development but peak force increases) EXP> HRT @ early & peak onset
• Concept of inhibition and facilitations Common rule of thumb= an individual should possess something before doing plyometrics- a request amount of strength/ a min threshold ability to squat 1-1.5 time body weight Reflex potentiation- Get stimulus to the muscle faster- greater stimulus over less time reflex potentiation.
• Increased synchronization of synergists and antagonists.

Hormone Response to Resistance Training (RT)

• RT is one of the most influential methods of altering acute hormone concentrations.
• Genetics will be a massive influence on the hormonal response.
• Optimal programming for hormones depends on motor unit programming, exercise selection, intensity, volume, rest, and nutritional intake.

Testosterone

• Produced in the testes (men only), adrenal glands, and ovaries (females only).
• Only the 2% of unbound "free" testosterone has an effect on muscle hypertrophy.
• Testosterone increases protein synthesis and inhibits protein breakdown rates.
• RT elicits increases in total testosterone in males, conflicting results to show minimal increases in females.
• Free testosterone increase in resistance vs endurance training Certain training factors will have a greater influence on testosterone.
• Sequencing of exercise (complex multi joint exercises first-> single isolated muscle group exercises), Intensity or volume.
• When resistance is constant- higher volume will elicit more testosterone when reps are constant then higher loads will elicit a better testosterone response.
• Females- low volume circuit training increase at 12 wks/ decrease baseline at 24 weeks Periodized high volume multi set prog increase at 12 weeks/ significant increase at 24 weeks.

Human Growth Hormone (HGH)

• Stimulates the uptake of amino acids into muscles.
• Secreted by the pituitary gland during sleep.
• During RT, HGH isoforms with extended half-lives allow for sustained action on target tissue, including skeletal muscle and can also be associated with the upregulation of IGF-1.
• Temporary elevation of G ~30min post RT.
• Intensity & volume: Multi sets, reduction in rest, greater volume will increase a response in GH, high lactate levels associated with high GH levels with RT.

Cortisol

• 'Stress hormone' > stress is stress is stress (can already come in with elevated cortisol level in your body what we do in the gym will increase the level).
• Detrimental to muscle development.
• Reduced protein synthesis (the last 2 hours are trying to improve this).
• Possibly buffered by CHO.

Insulin-like Growth Factor 1 (IGF-1)

• Provides the main anabolic response for the whole body.
• Decelerates proteolysis (muscle atrophy) and promotes hypertrophy by increasing the rate of protein synthesis.
• Mechanically induced and released.
• Small/no change over short term and overreaching protocols.
• Studies observing long-term training protocols in women observed resting levels increased after 4-6 mo.

Hypertrophy

• The enlargement of an organ or tissue from the increase in the size of its cells.
• Hypertrophy process: Sarcolemmal bound mechanoreceptors convert mechanical forces into chemical signals that regulate the activation of anabolic and catabolic pathways.
• Hennemans size principle- Relates to how we recruit the muscle fibers to apply mechanical stress to elicit hypertrophy adaptation.
• There needs to be some sort of mechanical stimulus to elicit a mechanical signal.
• Type 1 muscle fibers are more oxidative and have a very high training status in most people because they are used constantly.
• Type 2 muscle fibers are used infrequently (never in some) and therefore have a lower training status and are much more responsive to training.
• The closer to muscle failure while doing exercises will elicit much more type 2.
• The magic 5 steps: The last 5 reps leading to failure is where you will get those last 10-15 % of type 2B muscle fibers

Reps for Hypertrophy

• 5-12 Nothing less than 5 70-85%(heavy), 50-70%(moderate) intensity.
• 3-4 or 5-10 sets.
• 2-3 or 1-2 interset rest.

Primary Mechanisms That Affect Muscle Growth

• Mechanical tension.
• Muscle damage.
• Metabolic stress.

Muscle Tension

• Easy to accomplish from eccentric component of exercise. 3 keys to mechanical tension: 1.)The nature of tension (active or passive) 2.)The role of external resistance 3.Effects of fatigue.

Nature of Tension

• Active tension = achieved by forceful contraction of muscle via external resistance.
• Passive= passively lengthening or stretching muscle Hypertrophy can occur with stretching.
• It will not signal same anabolic pathways and receptors as mechanical tension actively but still can occur.

The Role of External Resistance

-The amplitude & duration of excitation coupling specific to extent of MU firing freq Influenced by % external resistance > Force is sensed by muscle fibers themselves the mechanical forces perceived is what is going to initiate ITF response, testosterone response, the more force= the more recruit of muscle fibers

Effects of Fatigue

• An increase in fatigue decreases contraction velocity.
• The working muscle fibers become unable to produce the required force to do the work which leads to higher threshold motor unit being recruited.
• Slower speeds= more actin-myosin cross-bridging= more mechanical tension on the individual fibers.

Muscle Damage

-Response related to acute inflammatory response (phagocytes are released, regeneration= mm PRO uptake and anabolic pathways are stimulated).

Muscle Damage: Eccentric vs. Concentric

• Eccentric increases muscle fiber length.
• Concentric increases muscle fiber diameter.

Metabolic Stress

• Significant hypertrophic effect. Metabolic stress results in the buildup of lactate, hydrogen ions (Acid) and phosphates, and can get from restricting blood flow causing a shortage of oxygen increase metabolites (can get the response without doing max lads of sets- common in rehab.
• Fatiguing sets that produce metabolic stress are directly linked to mechanical tension > higher threshold MU need to be recruitedAs we drive metabolic stress the muscle has less of an ability to generate force and so we must create more force- more MU recruitment and higher threshold MU to get more muscle fibers to generate the force required)

Programming Variables to Facilitate Muscle Hypertrophy

• Intensity, volume, exercise selection, and rest intervals. %RM, SRPE, RIR.
• Moderate (6-12) the volume also plays a factor- Higher volume multi sets protocols superior to single set protocols. (eg. split routines- upper body & lower body) can increase total training volume in a week while avoiding increasing fatigue Periodized approach to manage increases in volume.

Rest Intervals (Hypertrophy)

• 3 broad categories Short (90s).

Performance Modeling

(part of exercise selection) -Without using the term periodization / programming- exercise election and what we put on the spreadsheet. -Systems based approach: Consciously organized series of processes arranged to accomplish a predetermined goal. Greater organization= greater transfer of training.

Steps of Performance Modeling

• Goal setting, needs analysis, designing a test battery, and selecting exercises.

Goal Setting

Contextually relevant & realisticcomparable team standards.

• Literature Include the athlete and the coach "Interdisciplinary approach".
• Objective AND quantifiable "actionable measures" , ongoing evaluation (SMART goals).

Needs Analysis

"preliminary assessment of the specific demands of and unique characteristics of the sport being prepared for" Performance correlates: Biomechanical demands, physiological demands, normative data, and injury epidemiology.

Testing Battery

Normative data vs peer data Testing vs monitoring Training, and gives us an idea how that person is on that specific day- testing is a snap shot.

Exercise Selection

• Link to needs analysis and performance assessments,Timing of the program, What to do for exercise selection if in comp - time is less exercise selection is based on how much time they have in the gym- what part of the annual plan they are in and what is the goal?
• Considerations in exercise selection: Foldability and proportions, and other factors.