Get Better Results from Your Workouts With This Time-Tested Method

Ever wonder why some people seem to get better results out of their workouts than other people? Chances are, if you talk to a gym rat who knows what they’re doing, they’ll tell you about the strategy behind their workouts — periodization.

Kind of like how babies learn to crawl before they learn to walk, a good workout program should build on itself in a systematic way. Another way to think about it is like gears on a 10-speed bike (or in a car). You start out in the lowest gear, which gets you ready for the next gear, and so on.

There are all sorts of ways to build periodized programs, but just so we don’t get in the weeds, I’ll focus on only one way: a workout program built for my typical client.

This person in is in their 30s or 40s and wants to exercise to feel stronger and more energetic. They wouldn’t mind building muscle and getting a little leaner, too! They work, have a home life and a social life and don’t want to spend all of their time in the gym. So, their program must be simple and effective!

The program includes phases where the desired outcome is one of three things — stabilization, endurance, or strength. The phases typically last between two and eight weeks, depending on the client’s goals and how their body is responding to the workouts. Let’s go into what these phases are.

Stabilization Phase

In the stabilization phase, the goal is to help the client move better. That means doing a bit more mobility work than usual, as well as using single-sided exercises and corrective exercises to address muscle imbalances. these muscle imbalances and mobility deficiencies can cause injuries down the line, so it is important to begin to address them during the first phase of the program. It’s also pretty normal to focus a bit extra on core exercises here.

Key features:

  • 1-2 sets of each exercise

  • 10-15 repetitions per set

  • Single-sided exercises whenever appropriate

  • Balance work

  • Corrective exercises

  • Emphasis on exercises for core (abs, glutes, hips, & shoulder girdle)

  • Plenty of rest — 60-90 sec.

Endurance Phase

The goal of endurance training is to build tolerance to exercise — this means shorter breaks for rest, longer exercise sessions, isometric exercises, more reps, and compound lifts that use a lot more energy than those in the stabilization phase. There is a cardiovascular effect in this phase, with interval training protocols like HIIT and Tabata commonly used, so your weight workouts start to feel a bit more like cardio. It is pretty common to include calisthenic exercises (like jumping jacks or burpees) in endurance phase workouts.

Key features:

  • 1-3 sets of each exercise

  • 15-20+ repetitions per set

  • AMRAPs (acronym for As Many Rounds/Reps As Possible)

  • Isometric exercises (like wall sits) with longer hold times

  • Tabata and HIIT (High Intensity Interval Training)

  • Circuit training

  • Less rest — 10-60 sec.

  • Cardio effect

Strength Phase

Building muscle and increasing overall strength is the main focus here. Yes, you’ll see strength gains in the other phases, but this phase is laser focused on making your muscles bigger and stronger. You’ll see increased sets, higher weights, and lower repetitions. You’ll also see longer rest periods — anywhere from 90 seconds to 3 minutes. These heavier lifts deplete the muscles’ energy stores, and it takes longer for them to recover. Sometimes superset or compound sets are used, when two exercises are done back-to-back before a longer rest period. You will also see more straight sets — this is when you work on all your squats before you move on to the next exercise.

Key features:

  • 3-6 sets of each exercise

  • 6-12 repetitions per set

  • Single sets and super sets

  • Emphasis on Personal Record (PR) for each lift

  • More rest between sets — 90 seconds to several minutes

How Do I start Periodizing?

It doesn’t have to be complicated. Some of the best exercise programs are straightforward, so it can be fairly simple to start periodizing your workouts.

The first thing you need to do is select your exercises. An easy way to do this is to select one or more movements from the 7 foundational movement patterns: push, pull, squat, lunge, hinge, twist and carry. Then, add a few core exercises for the abs, glutes, and shoulder girdle.

The Big Picture

Each of these phases builds on the last one, and the entire training cycle can be repeated to keep you progressing. Sure, the variations on those movement patters will change over time, as your body adapts to each phase. But the basic template is there, ready for customization and progression.

This is an example of how movement patterns are progressed by using different variations that fit the requirements of the training phase.

How To Make It Personalized

If you really want to get specific, have a fitness professional help you with an overhead squat assessment. The overhead squat assessment is a great tool to discover muscle imbalances and help program corrective exercises into someone’s program.

Keep in mind that this is a very simplified version of a complex and nuanced process that can take a professional trainer years to master. But that doesn’t mean that you don’t deserve to have a look under the hood!

When you understand something better, you have a greater appreciation for it. Imagine how much more you’ll appreciate a great workout when it’s part of something bigger than just a workout!

weight training, weight lossGary Berglundperiodization, workouts, exercise, periodized program, fitness expert, custom workout, workout program, home workout