Periodisation: organising the season in blocks
Split the season into phases with different goals and raise the load in a controlled way, with recovery weeks.
The idea
Nobody improves by always training the same way. Periodisation organises the year into phases: base (easy aerobic volume), build (more threshold and VO2max work), specific (what the race demands) and a taper before the main race.
In block periodisation, each block of 2 to 6 weeks focuses on a few abilities instead of training everything at once. It's useful for people short on time: fewer goals per block, more stimulus for each one.
In practice
Raise your weekly load gradually. A ratio between the load of the last 7 days and the average of the last 4 weeks (acute:chronic ratio) of roughly 0.8 to 1.3 is associated with a lower risk of injury; spikes above 1.5 increase it.
It's common practice to include a lighter week every 3 or 4 weeks to absorb the work.
Set your main race first and count backwards: the phases fit into the time you have.
How Zenvit uses this: Your load ratio appears in your daily summary and in the Form Index; above 1.5 the app treats it as a red warning and takes you out of the rankings until you recover.
Sources
- Issurin VB. New horizons for the methodology and physiology of training periodization. Sports Medicine. 2010;40(3):189–206.
- Gabbett TJ. The training–injury prevention paradox: should athletes be training smarter and harder? British Journal of Sports Medicine. 2016;50(5):273–280.
General information for amateur athletes; not a substitute for medical advice or a coach.
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