Tim Ziegenfuss, Ph.D., CSCS

    As anyone who has trained on the same program for more than six or eight weeks can attest, staleness and monotony can hamper muscular gain. This staleness even plagues training studies that seek to investigate the effects of nutritional supplements. Adaptations occur, gains plateau, and motivation wanes. And the effect is not just psychological. Because the body adapts to different stimuli at different rates, we can alter our training every couple of weeks to emphasize various physiologic changes and set ourselves up for future phases (you'll see what I mean).

    The fact is, the concept of changing workouts on a regular basis is fundamental to a training practice known as periodization. My goal with this article is not to describe the mechanisms behind periodization, but to provide a practical method for beginning and intermediate weight trainers to try a periodized workout regime. I think you'll find it a refreshing change if you're an intermediate lifter looking for a different approach and a logical start if you're new to training. Of course, this program is not perfectly suited to everyone, but it will provide a basis for readers to try and/or modify with the help of a trainer. Remember to play it safe. Check with a physician or other health professional before undertaking any training program.

Adaptation Phase (two weeks)

    The purpose of this phase is to strengthen connective tissues, improve lactate tolerance and clearance, and  facilitate technique mastery. Repetitions are kept high (between 15 and 20) while the weight load and rest periods are kept low (50-60% of 1RM and 30-60 seconds, respectively). The tempo of execution should center around the eccentric phase (i.e., 4 sec [eccentric], 1 sec [pause], and 2 sec [concentric]). A 5-10 minute warm-up (bike, treadmill, etc.) should precede each workout and five minutes of abdominal training should conclude each workout. The possibility of overtraining during this phase is minimized by completing only 2 (Wednesdays) to 3 (Mondays and Fridays) sets of each exercise and NOT training to failure. 

Suggested supplements: multivitamin, anti-oxidant blend.

Strength Phase (six weeks)

    This phase improves nervous system coordination (i.e., agonist contraction and antagonist inhibition) and stimulates hypertrophy of type II fibers. Repetitions are low (between 3 and 5) while the weight load and rest periods are high (80-95% of 1RM and 2-3 minutes, respectively). Cardiovascular training is limited to one hard session per week to reduce the potential interference between strength gains and aerobic gains. To maximize strength increases, the tempo of execution should utilize the stretch reflex (i.e. 2 sec [eccentric], 0 sec [pause], and 1 sec [concentric]). Again, warm-up and abdominal training should precede and conclude each workout. During weeks 1, 3, and 5, perform 8 work sets of each exercise, except for arms on Fridays (you can get away with 4 sets of each exercise during this phase).  Also, train to concentric failure on the LAST set of each exercise. A few (2-3) negative-only repetitions can follow the last concentric repetition of the final set, but avoid the urge to do forced reps – these can plunge you into overtraining and will be used later.  During weeks, 2, 4, and 6, perform 5 sets of 5 repetitions for each exercise using an 80% load and the same tempo of execution as discussed above. 

Suggested supplements: multivitamin, creatine, androgen blend (primarily 4-diol/19nor-4-diol).

Weeks 1, 3, 5...

Monday	Wednesday	Friday
Flat Bench	Squat or Leg Press	Shoulder Press
Weighted Pull-up	Stiff-legged Deadlift	Preacher Curl
Seated Calf Raise		Lying Tricep extension
Treadmill Walking (4-8% grade)		Standing Calf Raise

Weeks 2, 4, 6...

Monday		Friday
Squat		Incline   Bench
Weighted Dip		Barbell Row
Lat Pulldown  (to front)		Standing Calf Raise
Shrug		Stiff-legged Deadlift
Seated Calf Raise		Upright Row
Treadmill Walking (4-8% grade)

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