Linear periodization is a training method in which you start out with poundages that are moderately heavy, and weight is gradually added to your lifts each week for several weeks. One of the most frustrating things about using a linear periodization strategy is that the constant change in poundages can make it difficult to know how your strength is progressing during the cycle.
If you have repeated a linear periodization cycle several times and have a lot of experience in terms of how many reps you can normally do with different poundages, then you may have a pretty good feel as to whether or not you are making progress. However, if you truly want to gauge your progress throughout the cycle, your only option is to include some form of consistency within the cycle. One strategy you can use for this is to use the same poundage for the same number of reps on the first set of each workout throughout the cycle. All other sets are based on a successive increase of weekly poundages that have been pre-planned. Let me explain how this works:
1st Set = 5 Reps
The first work-set for each exercise is performed for the maximum weight that you can use for five even paced reps in which every rep looks the same in terms of form, rep speed, and pace. The percent of your single rep max that will allow this will vary from person to person and from exercise to exercise, but it will likely range somewhere between 77% and 82% of your single rep max. Use the same weight for five reps throughout the cycle. If the weight starts to feel easier to lift as you progress through the cycle, it is a sign that you are getting stronger. If the weight feels the same throughout the cycle, you are not getting stronger or weaker. If the weight feels more difficult to lift at some point during the cycle, you are getting weaker.
Anyone can have a really good day in terms of strength and energy, or a really bad day if you happen to be low on strength or energy. Don’t panic if you have one bad day in which five reps feels heavier than normal. However, if five reps feels heavier and more difficult to lift for three workouts in a row, you have probably hit a stretch in the training cycle that is not productive. If this were to happen, you would need to make adjustments. The adjustments you may need to make will be discussed in greater detail later in this article.
Weekly Loading Poundages and Percentages
After doing five reps with 77% to 82% for your first work-set for a given exercise, change the weights for the rest of the sets to fit the weekly poundages that would normally be used for a linear periodization cycle. An example of weekly increases in weight is listed below in conjunction with a ten-week training cycle:
Week 1: 8 reps with 70% of your single rep max
Week 2: 8 reps with 72% of your single rep max
Week 3: 8 reps with 75% of your single rep max
Week 4: 5 reps with 77% of your single rep max
Week 5: 5 reps with 80% of your single rep max
Week 6: 5 reps with 82% of your single rep max
Week 7: 5 reps with 85% of your single rep max
Week 8: 3 reps with 87% of your single rep max
Week 9: 3 reps with 90% of your single rep max
Week 10: max reps with 92% of your single rep max
How Many Sets?
You may be wondering how many sets to perform as you progress in weight from week to week. Since you start with 5 reps with the same weight for your first set of every workout, I would recommend that you perform one to three sets for the poundages and percentages that fit into the ten week schedule as listed above. I recommend that you stop repeating sets anytime it becomes apparent that your strength is starting to decline for a given exercise.
When to Make Adjustments
If it becomes apparent that there is a stretch within your linear periodization cycle in which you are losing strength, be aware that your strength may rebound with added strength as you progress towards the end of the cycle. If so, don’t worry about a temporary decrease in strength unless it hurts your strength when reaching the end of the cycle. In contrast, if it becomes apparent that a strength loss in the early or middle stages of the cycle is undermining your ability to reach peak strength by the end of the cycle, you need to make adjustments because you want your strength to be at a peak at the end of the cycle. If your strength isn’t at its highest point at the end of the cycle, you must determine the point, or points, in the cycle when your strength starts to decline, and figure out why it is down so that you can make appropriate adjustments.
Adjustments to the Start of the Cycle
Assuming you are doing the right number of sets by repeating sets according to your capacity to remain at full strength, and you are doing the right number of workouts per week, the two biggest culprits for a decrease in strength at the start or middle of the cycle are as follows:
1. Your training intensity isn’t high enough as you are not pushing close enough to max reps to failure. My advice is not to worry about this as your strength will likely rebound because of the automatic increase in intensity that occurs as you add weight from week to week.
2. You may lose strength because your training intensity is too high for optimum recovery. My advice is to decrease the number of reps per set as much as necessary to recover so that you don’t lose strength.
Adjustments to the End of the Cycle
Losing strength at the end of the cycle usually occurs due to one or two of the following reasons:
1. The low number of reps per set at the end of the cycle can lead to an insufficient amount of training volume which can fail to stimulate strength gains. This will likely occur when you reach the point in the cycle where you are only doing three reps per set. The lack of volume can be corrected by doing back-off sets with lighter weights for five to eight reps after working up to one top set of three reps. You may need to add lighter back-off sets at some point within the last three weeks of the training cycle.
2. It is possible that the intensity grows high enough to exceed your capacity for recovery. One reason this can happen is that you may be too close to hitting max reps to failure with heavy weights. The way to correct this is to decrease the amount of reps you perform for each set. Try doing one or two reps per set instead of three. You can also do a mini cycle within the same week by doing three progressively heavier workouts instead of using the same heavy weight for each workout within a week. For example, if you are scheduled to do three reps with 90% for all of your workouts during week nine, but the intensity is killing your strength because it is too high, you can utilize the following schedule of three workouts for a given exercise:
Day 1 of week 9: Do sets of 5 reps with 80%
Day 2 of week 9: Do sets of 3 reps with 85%
Day 3 of week 9: Do sets of 3 reps with 90%
If you are only doing an exercise twice per week, you can skip day 2 in the example above and just do sets of 5 reps with 80% as listed for day 1, and sets of 3 reps with 90% as listed for day 3.
Of course, not every one uses linear periodization, but if you do, and you want to know how strong you are throughout the cycle, you have the option of tracking your strength according to the method presented in this article. May God bless you with the best of training.