YOU MIGHT NOT BE ABLE TO DO IT ALL AT ONCE. BUT… YOU CAN HAVE IT ALL.
Most of us want to achieve more than one goal with our training. We want to get strong. We want to build muscle. We want to work on our weightlifting technique. But also PB our squat, bench, or deadlift. Maybe commit to more stretching because that would be good for mobility, and also we should probably do some cardio right.. Because fitness..
But can we do all these things at once?
As a coach, my thought process on this has changed over the last few years. Mainly because as an athlete I want all of these things.. Now, from a physiological and programming lens, all of these traits do require slightly different prescriptions in volumes, loads, and exercise selection..and require specific skills, and most importantly require time to develop or master. Additionally, other variables need to be taken into account such as time management, fatigue & stress management, motivation, and nutrition.
So, some of us might be able to manage all of these variables at once. However, it may be a slightly smarter and more manageable approach to appropriately periodise our training. This will get us on track to hitting goals and developing all of these traits over our training career, whilst also staying sane, having a life outside of the gym, and remaining as injury and pain free as possible.
Periodising your training
When I talk about periodisation, essentially all this means is manipulation of training focus/es and variables over time, moving us towards the outcome or goal we want. Generally we will talk about periodising training ‘blocks’ which are essentially just referring to 4-8 weeks of programming.
So let’s use a practical example, if our current goals are to build muscle, improve our snatch technique, add 30 kg to our back squat, and hit a clean PB.. we can definitely achieve all of these things. And a periodised program will be focused on building the capacities that are required to do so, over time.
As a newer/beginner athlete
Now all of these example goals are relatively compatible - so programming can be written accordingly to achieve these. And if you are newer to resistance training ie. 1-2 years of training experience, gaining strength, muscle and skill all at once is achievable. Within the same training block we can program technical snatch and mobility work at the start of our training sessions, ensure we are including higher intensity cleans and other supplementary work multiple times a week, follow this up with some heavy back squats in one session and front squats in another, and some accessories at higher volumes for muscle building. From block to block, not much may need to change. But periodising our tools of progressive overload, and slightly changing primary focus over time is ideal.
As a more experienced athlete
But, as we gain experience in the gym and become more advanced, gains in our strength, skill, and hypertrophy can be harder to come by - so it may be more efficient to periodise these goals. We could focus on hypertrophy, and snatch technique work for a few blocks with higher volumes and lower intensities, and then move into strength focus work and hit those squat and clean goals. Prior to potentially putting it all together with a weightlifting focused block if stepping on the platform is your end goal.
Gaining is hard but maintenance is easy.
The thing to know is that strength, muscle and technical skill takes time, dedication, and hard work to gain, however, once we have it - it is much easier to maintain. And in most cases it's pretty hard to lose, unless you completely stop training. This is great news, because it means with appropriate programming of volume and intensity, we can focus on specific gains in one area, and when it is time to change training focus, prescribing a minimum effective dose will ensure we maintain these gains, while progressing the new training focus.
So, how do you know when it is time to switch up your primary focus?
There are a few variables we should weigh up to inform the decision to change programming focus when entering a new training block, these include:
Length of current training block: I’d generally not recommend changing focus every month, however if you have put in a solid effort for 2-3 training blocks then perhaps a change would be beneficial.
Progress you are achieving: if you are still seeing progress, why change things up? Stick with it and ride out the gains as much as you can.
Feeling stagnant or plateaued: if you have been consistent with your training for a few blocks and aren’t feeling like you are achieving progress, maybe it’s time to shift focus.
Motivation and psychological well being: sometimes a new training program and focus is just the thing to spark excitement and motivation.
Busy/quiet periods & associated stress levels: if your life is stressful outside of the gym, managing overall stress by manipulating training frequency, volume and intensity in the gym is important and your training program/focus can reflect these needs.
Competition goals: If you are looking to compete, you better start getting more specific to those goals around 12 weeks out.
Key takeaways, TLDR;
As beginners we can probably work towards achieving all of our goals within a single training program. But as we increase in training age, expertise and experience it may be better to periodise training, and emphasise one training focus at a time.
No matter your training age or goals, you do not need to be wildly swapping programs every 4, 6, or 8 weeks to achieve numerous goals. Taking a proactive and informed approach to periodisation is probably better
Even if/when you change training focus, remember gains take hard work and effort to achieve, but strength, skill and hypertrophy is relatively easy to maintain.
-Coach Brooke
