THE ROAD TO HIGH PERFORMANCE

                                                    Marcos Pizzorno, MSc.

THE IMPORTANCE OF PLANNING AND PERIODIZATION
There are a number of factors that determine and influence the rate of development of the
capacity of athletic performance. Among these factors, the TRAINING LOAD during
sessions and COMPETITIONS, takes center stage.
Under the effects of these loads, transformations in the functional physical and mental
systems, are produced, triggering higher levels of performance. But, in order to carry this out
successfully, it's necessary to know that in the process of training there are many laws to be
considered and use properly.
Following these laws, we have the PRINCIPLES OF TRAINING.
They don't work isolated, as they constitute an effective and interactive system. They
determine all the aspects, tasks and contents, as well as the training means, methods and
organization.
On this last point, knowledge of planning and designing structures towards specific goals,
are of great importance to achieve high levels of performance.
There are Biological and Educational Principles.
The BIOLOGICAL PRINCIPLES include the "adaptation of the human organism to
particular efforts." We have: Overload Principal, Load Progression Principle, Variety
Principle, Loading-Recovery Optimizing Principle, Principle of Repetition and Continuity,
Reversibility Principle, Periodization Principle, Priciple of Periodic Regeneration, Principle
of Individuality, Principle of Specificity, Principle of Specialization and the Training
Alternation Compenents Principle.
The EDUCATIONAL PRINCIPLES highlight the importance of "teaching and learning"
during the training process, and see the Coach as an Educator. Motor Skills are teached and
acquired through Methodological Approach of adequate communication with teaching
instructions and guidelines, which are of a greta importance to ahtletes's motivation. They
are: Principle of the Conscious, Planning and Systematization Principle, Mental
Representation Principle and Principle of Feasible.
Deep knowledge of Training Principles and Planning Structures supported by advance of
modern sport scientific assistance should be a standing point of reference for Coaches and
Trainers, especially regarding the Conscious and Complex application of the Laws of
Training Development Process and its benefits, reflected in the success of competitive
results.
MAIN GOAL:
- Knowing, assimilate and use the principles and planning structures to improve athletes's
training performance.
SPECIFIC GOALS:
- Classify the principles according to their orientation
- Apply them to specific situations in the training process
- Interpreting the theoretical foundations on which the various planning units are based on
(session, microcycle, mesocycle and macrocycle)
- Distinguish the most relevant and differential aspects of planning units, between a
Conventional Planning Design and Contemporary Planning Design
- Understanding and applying Planning Units to dynamic and changing situations in the
process of sports training
- Develop and implement the project in a very realistic way, as it takes place in everyday's
life, in the short, medium and long term (depending on each athlete's needs, evolutionary
stage and discipline)
To this end, we coaches have very important RESPONSABILITIES as:
- Be clear about the context in which the tasks are developed, as its essential for our stability
and continuity for an extended period of time
- The Level of Commitment towards the Goals
- Be aware of Progressive planned workloads
- Controlling variables that affect performance
- Regular and frequent participation of athletes
- Implement a consistent and proper training planning and monitoring process through a
careful control of training load factors, in which improvement and wellness are always
present
- Ensure and guarantee Supercompensation and Recovery to athletes prior to competitions
- Prevent Overtraining (Process that happend when an inadequate management of stress
agents on the athlete take place. The Physical, Psychological and Emotional factors involved
in this state, contribute to chronic decreasing of athletic performance)
To understand and assimilate the importance of the Elite Athlete's Long Term Development
(Initiation/Formation, Development, Performance/high performance, and Sports Mastery)
the TRAINING PROCESS must follow fundamental guidelines that ensure a proper
Planning Structure.
There are concepts and keys to find the way to this exciting but not less complex task:
- Having a database of information for each athlete
- Coaching Skills and Knowledge
- Athlete's Capacities
- Performance Analysis
- Process's Mechanisms of Regulation
- Systematized Progression
- How to operate the Mechanisms that Regulate the Process
- Goal Settings
- Planning
- Periodization and Preparation Program (Frequency, Duration and Intensity)
- Competition Program
- Individualisation
For this to make sense, the Training Loads must be precisely tailored to the needs and
characteristics of each discipline, as well as to the contexts and evolutionary stages of each
athlete(individualization)
It is therefore important to consider Training Load's Characteristics:
- Nature or Kind of Load (General, Specific / Potential)
- Magnitude of Load (volume, intensity, duration)
- Orientation of the Load (Selective, Complex)
- Organization of the Load (Distribution, Interconnection)

This will allow us to select the Training CONTENTS, referring to the specificity of the tasks
(Example: Aerobic / Anaerobic)
Training STRATEGY will determine how these contents will be distributed, taking into
account the development of each organism at all stages.
This is done through Sports Planning and Periodization (read further) using Macrocycles,
Mesocycles and Microcycles.
In order to produce these necessary changes, we count on the TRAINING TACTICS.
For that, we should use the most rational means to organize Microcycles and Training
Sessions.
Therefore, training METHODS and EXERCISES should be selected for this purpose.
The contents will be chosen and selected according to the INDIVIDUAL TRAINING
LEVEL(Basic, Specific, Competitive) depending on their evolutionary stage.
The approach for the organization of the contents of different levels of training should be
carried out with the following criteria:
– Using Wide Variety of Basic Technical and Tactical Skills in the Basic Level (BL)
without excessive training intensity
– Using Specific drills involving fatigue management in Technical and Tactical Skills at
the Specific Level (SL)
– Using Technical and Tactical Skills in competitive situations, and under the competition
itself
According to this, we identify THE TRAINING ZONES / AREAS and the FACTORS OF
THE TRAINING LOADS.
To be more specific, they can be identify as, for example:
- Basic Endurance is the Training Load Factor. Aerobic Lipolytic and Aerobic Glycolytic
are the Training Zones/Areas.
- Speed Endurance is the Training Load Factor. Aerobic Power, Lactic Capacity and Lactic
Power are the Training Zones/Areas.
- Speed is the Training Load Factor. Non-lactic Capacity and Non-lactic Power are the
Training Zones/Areas.
- Basic Strength is the Training Load Factor. Strength Conditioning, Maximum
Intramuscular Force and Maximum Hypertrophy Strength are the Training Zones/Areas.
- Explosive Strength is the Training Load Factor. Cyclic Explosive Force and Non-Cyclic
Explosive Force are the Training Zones/Areas.

But to implement and control the variables, principles, methods, means and the management
of the training process, we can not ignore the PLANNING AND PERIODIZATION OF
TRAINING.
One of the main factors to consider along the training Season is the LONG TERM
PREPARATION STRATEGY.
Preparation for Youth Athletes should be more widespread and multilateral with fewer
competitions. Planning and distribution of load should be based on long-term trends of
individual progress. A more specific aspect of the strategy for Long Term Preparation is the
Olympic “Four Year” Plan.
So, considering what we just mentioned, we can choose a Classic/Traditional Planning (LP
Matveyev) or a Contemporary Planning (Navarro Valdivieso and others 1999)
The first type focuses on the biological training and uses 3 Periods. One Preparation Period
divided in General and Specific, one Competitive Period, and one Transition Period.
The Second type simplify the structures, not necessarily using periods and phases, and much
more flexible and easier to adapt to the modern sport, due to the greater amount of
competition per season, show time and TV business.
Whatever is the type you use, both have in their structure, the following organization:
– A Multiyear structure composed of Several "Training Seasons"
– Each Training Season has one or more "Macrocycles"
– Each macrocycle is composed of several "Mesocycles". Depending on the model of
planning, it may include periods and phases
– Each Mesocycle consists of several "Microcycles"
– Each Microcycle is composed by the "Sessions"
– Each Session is the "simplest Training Unit"
Classic/Traditional Planning:
According to Matveyev's theory of periodization, physical condition should be guaranteed
by wavelike variations of the Total Volume and Intensity of Training Load, so that all tasks
of training are applied parallel and simultaneously (in a training unit)
This concept consists of one or two Macrocycles. Each one has a Preparatory Period
(divided in Mesocycles General/Accumulation Preparation and Specific/Transformation
Preparation) and Competitive/Realization Mesocycle.
This type of planning is ideal for young (beginners) athletes in the forst 2-4 years of training.
This adaptation process (in training and competition) is based on more or less long
assimilation and internalization periods of training regimes to which they will gradually get
use to.
This is a critical period in which coaches should pay particular attention to athletes's
boredom and burn-outs possibilities, and even worse, to Overtraining cases.
You may only take next step to contemporary planning, when conditions, testing, and
general and special evaluations indicate that our athlete is ready to do so.
Contemporary Planning:
It arose because of the need for a new approach and perspective of training, due to
substantial increase in the number of annual competitions and to TV Business and
Showtime.
Consist in “Dealing with a huge amount of competitions during the season, while meeting
the obligations of Training Preparation, towards improving and maintaining good sports
form and preventing the chances of having worse and more injuries".
All this, due to less time of rest and recovery.
These constraints led to a change in the concepts of sport form, a substantial reduction in the
use of unskilled preparation strategies, the use of load's management throughout most of the
season based on higher intensities and volumes, compatible with the requirement (almost
permanent) of higher levels of performance.