Undulating Periodization is not a new term and in fact athletes have been using it in some fashion for years. Before we talk about its benefits and how it compares to more traditional periodization, let’s go over some terminology. Periodization is basically your program design strategy, including but not limited to how many sets and reps, how many days per week, types of load used, stuff like that. People tend to be most familiar with linear periodization. Linear periodization tends to follow several phases of training that build on one another. For example, a typical 12-week linear periodization program would look like this:
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Phase
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Weeks
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Intensity
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Sets x Reps
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Hypertrophy/Endurance
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1-4
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50-75% 1RM
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3-6 sets x 10-20 reps
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Basic Strength
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5-8
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80-90% 1RM
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3-5 sets x 4-8 reps
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Strength/Power
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9-12
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85-95% 1RM
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3-5 sets x 2-5 reps
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As you can see, the program begins at a low intensity and progresses into a much higher intensity. This progression helps bring a new or untrained athlete safely into intense training. If you are new to training or have not lifted in several years and you try to throw a 200 pound weight over your head, while you may technically be strong enough to handle this weight, your tendons, ligaments and joints may not be able to handle the load thus putting you at risk for injury. Even from a cardiovascular standpoint, heavy lifting will put a great deal of stress on your system and starting with that kind of intensity will make it difficult to optimize your results. Not to mention you will be sore beyond belief. While these are just a few of the benefits, it is easy to see why a program like this could be beneficial. The downside is that these programs tend to be incredibly boring. You essentially do the same workouts 3-5 times per week for 4-6 weeks at a time. Boredom can kill a good workout. Another major downside is that you don’t always have 12-16 weeks to prepare for a competition. Opportunities might come up with only a few weeks of notice and if you are in the wrong training phase, it’s going to be very difficult to get your body into the right gear for the competition.
The question then becomes, how do you simultaneously maximize strength, power and endurance? The answer is by utilizing an undulating or non-linear periodization program. Undulating periodization allows you to train all three phases simultaneously by randomizing your routine. Depending on how many times you are training per week and whether or not you do full body workouts or upper and lower body workouts on separate days will determine how complicated your program will be. A simple program where you rotate three different types of workouts would look something like this:
Workout A: Hypertrophy/Endurance
Workout B: Basic Strength
Workout C: Strength/Power
The question then becomes, how do you simultaneously maximize strength, power and endurance? The answer is by utilizing an undulating or non-linear periodization program. Undulating periodization allows you to train all three phases simultaneously by randomizing your routine. Depending on how many times you are training per week and whether or not you do full body workouts or upper and lower body workouts on separate days will determine how complicated your program will be. A simple program where you rotate three different types of workouts would look something like this:
Workout A: Hypertrophy/Endurance
Workout B: Basic Strength
Workout C: Strength/Power
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Value
|
Day 1
|
Day 2
|
Day 3
|
|
Week 1
|
Workout A
|
Workout B
|
Workout C
|
|
Week 2
|
Workout A
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Workout C
|
Workout B
|
|
Week 3
|
Workout B
|
Workout A
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Workout C
|
|
Week 4
|
Workout B
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Workout C
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Workout A
|
|
Week 5
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Workout C
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Workout B
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Workout A
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|
Week 6
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Workout C
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Workout A
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Workout B
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As you can see there is a ton of variety in this program and your body and mind really wont get used to this routine. Since this is such a basic program, there are so many ways to make this more interesting. You could split it into days of upper and lower strength and upper and lower speed and have one full body workout per week as well. That would give you quite a bit of variety and freedom in your program. Utilizing undulated periodization also means that you don’t have pick and choose between your favorite exercises, you can usually fit most if not all of them in.
The next question is, how effective is undulating periodization in comparison to linear? What’s the point of doing it, if it sucks by comparison? Lucky for us, this topic has been studied in some depth and while there does not appear to be a clear winner, it would seem that undulating periodization is at least as effective as linear. So why bother with something that is just as effective as the traditional norm? Well smarty-pants, those studies were not all encompassing for martial arts training. Most of them simply looked at strength gains after a certain period of training. They did not account for how that fits in with a martial arts training program AND how developing that strength changes other systems like speed and endurance. Undulating periodization allows you train all of the systems required without compromising one or the other. I already mentioned that linear periodization typically requires a peaking phase at the end, so it is not super practical unless you know without a doubt exactly when you will be competing. Undulating periodization will allow you to be a well-rounded athlete all of the time, you will always be near peak performance.
The last question is, what should I do? While I obviously tend to favor undulating over linear periodization but there are considerations one must make before deciding. I think a huge factor is how much weight training experience do you actually have? If you are untrained, returning from a long layoff or an injury, linear periodization is probably your best bet. This will allow you to ramp up intensity, learn the techniques the right way and help avoid injury. Then after a few months you can switch to undulating if you so choose. If you are an experienced lifter and have a good handle on the techniques you will be doing, then undulating would be a great way to take your training to the next level. Either way, try them both out and decide which one you like more yourself.
The next question is, how effective is undulating periodization in comparison to linear? What’s the point of doing it, if it sucks by comparison? Lucky for us, this topic has been studied in some depth and while there does not appear to be a clear winner, it would seem that undulating periodization is at least as effective as linear. So why bother with something that is just as effective as the traditional norm? Well smarty-pants, those studies were not all encompassing for martial arts training. Most of them simply looked at strength gains after a certain period of training. They did not account for how that fits in with a martial arts training program AND how developing that strength changes other systems like speed and endurance. Undulating periodization allows you train all of the systems required without compromising one or the other. I already mentioned that linear periodization typically requires a peaking phase at the end, so it is not super practical unless you know without a doubt exactly when you will be competing. Undulating periodization will allow you to be a well-rounded athlete all of the time, you will always be near peak performance.
The last question is, what should I do? While I obviously tend to favor undulating over linear periodization but there are considerations one must make before deciding. I think a huge factor is how much weight training experience do you actually have? If you are untrained, returning from a long layoff or an injury, linear periodization is probably your best bet. This will allow you to ramp up intensity, learn the techniques the right way and help avoid injury. Then after a few months you can switch to undulating if you so choose. If you are an experienced lifter and have a good handle on the techniques you will be doing, then undulating would be a great way to take your training to the next level. Either way, try them both out and decide which one you like more yourself.