The Significance of Sports Periodisation

Periodisation is a means of organising and managing training to provide a greater likelihood of successful performance through year on year improvement and planned management of peak performance.

Sports Periodisation is the clear-cut road map to your destination that helps prepare your engine for the right performance at the right time. It helps you manage volume, intensity and most importantly recovery over a period of time. Sports Periodisation can be categorised into 5 phases as described below:

General Preparation 1 (February - March)
General Preparation 2 (April - June)
Specific Preparation (July - September)
Main Competition (October - December)
Review (January)

Each phase can be explained with the key development areas mentioned below to give you a clear idea on how to train at each phase to get the best possible results and perform at the highest level with the best of your abilities.

There are 5 key development areas which require constant attention when it comes to sports periodisation and they are:

Technique
Speed
Strength
Endurance
Flexibility

The following charts will help you get a better understanding on how you can go about each one of them when it comes to your yearly training.

Periodising technique over a training year:

When it comes to flexibility, one should never forget that it is paramount when it comes to athletic performance. Doing all of the things above and neglecting proper stretching routine would lead you nowhere. You would never want to develop those muscular imbalances which can lead to serious injuries and can hamper your performance. Taking care of your muscles, tendons and ligaments are as equally important as taking care of other areas because you won’t want to see a decrease in your athletic performance. Therefore, a good warm up and stretch should be performed before and after each training session as no matter what the sport, proper flexibility is key if you want to perform at your absolute best.

Here’s a short video, where James Hillier Head Coach, Reliance Foundation Odisha Athletics High Performance Center, explains the concept of Sports Periodization and its importance

Sports Periodisation, when used strategically and with the right guidance, has the potential to transform a potential medal winning athlete into a world champion. The regular “pause-review-rework-improve” cycle is one of the tools an athlete can make use of throughout the training year to reach at the peak performing levels.

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