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In my last post in this series, I opened us up to the ideas that make up program design. There are five key components to a well-designed program; Management of training stress; Periodization models; Training cycles; Exercise selection; and Skill development. Today we’ll delve a little deeper into the micro, macro and meso training cycles that make up a periodized program.
Microcycles are the Monday-Friday training weeks. In the microcycle we want to make sure we are thinking about our HIGH, MEDIUM, LOW approach High/Medium/Low gives us enough stress for adaptation but also allowing for adequate recovery. Along with training stress, one of the program components we are most sensitive to in the microcycle is exercise selection. Exercise selection within the microcycle is the thoughtful management of movement patterns as well as the type of contractions we are performing. We are careful to train multiple movement patterns in multiple planes while employing different types of contractions. We need to be conscious not to overuse any particular movement pattern. For instance, a barbell deadlift, a kettlebell swing, and a box jump are all different exercises but they are all the same hip-dominant pattern. Including these 3 exercises in consecutive training days may look like variety but in reality, the same muscle group is being used back-to-back-to-back. Overuse of movement patterns isn’t just about injury prevention, it’s about effective management of training hours. Most athletes will have between 3 and 5 hours per week to train, if we spend 3 of those hours on the same body part or movement pattern then we are leaving a lot on the table!
Macrocycles are an entire training block, typically lasting anywhere from a few weeks up to several. At CrossFit Vernon we use an 18-day rotating schedule applied to a 5 day training week – a macrocycle at CrossFit Vernon lasts just under a month. The main goal of the macrocycle is to leverage the benefits of progressive overload. You can think of progressive overload like getting a tan. If you spend too much time in the sun, you’ll get a sunburn, too little and you don’t develop any tan at all. You want to spend just the right amount of time in the sun so that you tan but don’t burn. Eventually, your tan will stagnate, though. Progressive overload principle has you increasing your time in the sun so that you develop a deep, dark, bronze without ever getting a sunburn. The same is true with training, 15 minutes a day starts out as the right amount, but eventually, we need to increase our training stress to continue to drive adaptation. In the macrocycle, we carefully manage volume and intensity to progressively increase our training-stress.
Meso cycles are yearly or multi-year training plans. At CrossFit Vernon, our mesocycle revolves around the CrossFit Open. The mesocycle focuses on peaking specific qualities that will be in demand during the CrossFit Open. Though we never know exactly what we will be doing in the CrossFit Open, we do know with reasonable certainty the exercises we will do and the format of workouts we’ll be doing. It’s our responsibility for safety as well as performance to make sure everyone is ready for those 5 weeks of fitness tests. The CrossFit Vernon mesocycle can be broken down into 4 phases; in the ‘Pre-season’ we train to build volume and aerobic capacity as well as incorporating exercises that aren’t typically used in CrossFit competition; During the ‘In-season’, we practice and build capacity and proficiency in CrossFit specific movements; the ‘Competition-season’ is where our goal shifts to manage exercises and training-stress so we can maximize performance on weekly tests; lastly, ‘Post-season/Off-season’ is a short period where athletes can step away from intense training to allow their bodies to recover.
“Hold on a minute”, you might be thinking… “What if I just want to get a good workout? I don’t need all this fancy micro, macro, and mesocycle stuff. I’m not here for competition”. The evidence is well established in showing the benefits for all levels of athletes to use a properly periodized program with phases of higher and lower intensity or volume as well as rotating exercise selections. So, even if you’re not a competitor, thoughtful management of training is still extremely beneficial for progress and longevity in training.