COACH CHRISTMAS
My Story. My Mission.
Hey REPers, Coach Christmas here with some thoughts on creating advanced programming.
In previous articles, we’ve talked about ways to make effective programs. In this article I want to share with you how to periodize your students’ training to help them view their fitness goals as a marathon, not a sprint.
What does it mean to periodize a program?
Periodization has three major cycles
Macrocyle
A student’s full season of training. When I’m training my athletes, I view this as the four months I’ll have with them before they start their season.
Mesocycle
Zooming in, each month has a particular training phase. For example, the first month, we work on strength, the second month we work on power, third month we work on speed, and the final month we work on endurance.
Microcyle
Student’s Academic Year
Case Study
Alyssa is a Grade 10 student of yours. You worked with her in Grade 9 and you enjoy teaching her! She also plays basketball in the summer for the local rep team. Alyssa comes to you and wants to work on being not only a better basketball player but overall a better mover. She wants to feel strong and confident not only in basketball but in life.
Macrocyle
You, after reading this article and being the best Phys Ed teacher the school has ever seen, sit down with Alyssa and plan what her academic year will be like. High school runs from September to the end of June so you have 10 months to work with her.
Mesocycle
You’ve scheduled what the year will look like. Alyssa loves it. She wants to know how together you’ll structure her November/December as well as January/February phase, mostly because of exams, Christmas/New Year break and second semester.
Microcyle
Alyssa is loving this plan so far! You are, after all, the GOAT Phys Ed teacher at your school. Alyssa wants to know what kind of exercises she can expect to be doing in her first few months under your guidance. You explain to her that your exercise selection will be based on her assessment results. She can however expect to see exercises that will follow all the 7 Core Movements.
Macrocyle Format
- Sept/Oct: Assessment 1 and General Strength Focus
- Nov/Dec: Assessment 2, Strength & Power Hybrid Focus
- Jan/Feb: Assessment 3, Power & Speed Hybrid Focus
- Mar/Apr: Assessment 4, Speed & Strength Hybrid Focus
- May/June: Assessment 5, Endurance & General Strength Hybrid Focus
Mesocycle Format
- November: 3 training days/week
- December: 2 training days/week
- January: 2 training days/week
- February: 2-3 training days/week based on exam schedule
Microcyle Format
- Gait: Pro Agility Left and Right or 200m Run
- Hinge: Single Leg KB Hinges
- Squat: Dumbbell Split Squats
- Push: Single Arm Dumbbell Presses
- Pull: Seated Cable Rows
- Rotate: Plate Russian Twists
- Lunge: Lateral Goblet Lunge