---
id: periodization
name: Periodization
aliases: [Training Periodization]
category: principle
applies_to: [all_systems]
related: [progressive_overload, sra_curve]
sources:
  - title: "Periodization: Theory and Methodology of Training"
    author: "Bompa & Buzzichelli"
    credibility: expert_consensus
---

# Periodization

Periodization is the planned manipulation of volume, intensity, and specificity over longer time scales to manage fatigue and peak performance at a target date.

## Core Definition

The body cannot tolerate high intensity and high volume indefinitely. Periodization alternates phases of accumulating and dissipating fatigue so that long-term adaptation continues while overtraining and stagnation are avoided.

## Common Models

- **Linear** — volume decreases and intensity increases over time; the classic pre-competition ramp
- **Undulating** — volume and intensity vary within a week or even a day (DUP)
- **Block** — training is divided into multi-week blocks focused on a single quality (accumulation → transmutation → realization)
- **Conjugate** — multiple qualities are maintained simultaneously, rotating max-effort and dynamic-effort days

## Three Time Scales

| Scale | Duration | Content |
|-------|----------|---------|
| Macrocycle | Months to a year | The full season or training goal |
| Mesocycle | 3–6 weeks | One training block, often ending with a deload |
| Microcycle | About a week | The weekly distribution of training |

## How Systems Differ

Systems favor different models — powerlifting often uses linear or conjugate, bodybuilding often uses undulating or block. Those differences are recorded in each system's `index.md` and `programs/`; this entry defines only the principle itself.