Reverse periodization: an interesting approach to making progress during the winter, by Karoly Spy
1. Introduction
The days are getting shorter, it gets dark earlier and earlier, and temperatures are cool; these two factors make it difficult to complete long training sessions during the winter.
So how should you train during the winter to prepare for the following season and, above all, continue to improve? ?
Coaches are accustomed to dividing the sporting season into several training periods; this is commonly known as “training periodization.” In endurance sports, particularly cycling and triathlon, coaches traditionally plan a so-called “base” period (or foundation period, depending on the terminology used) during the winter, in which they focus training on long, low-intensity work. This phase, which can last between 8 and 12 weeks, serves as the aerobic base and is generally designed to prepare the body for the following periods, which will place greater emphasis on intensity.
Is this approach useful for athletes in the Northern Hemisphere?
- First problem
An athlete is expected to train for long hours at low intensity even though it is cold outside and the days are short. For a working athlete, fitting this type of session into their schedule is extremely difficult. An indoor trainer and treadmill can certainly help, but spending 4 hours on an indoor trainer or 2 hours on a treadmill at low intensity is still not easy.
- Second problem
At the end of this base period, the coach moves on to the “build” period and gradually reintroduces high-intensity training. In other words, training shifts from exclusively low intensity to training that includes high intensity! This is when a minor issue can arise. An athlete who has spent long hours training at low intensity is asked to perform high-intensity work even though they are not fully prepared to handle it. This exposes the athlete to a higher risk of injury!
- Third problem
Using traditional periodization, athletes preparing for long-duration events (>4 hours of effort) are expected to do the greatest amount of aerobic base training during the winter, then add quality work and reduce the amount of aerobic base training. It is important to understand that performing well in long-duration events (>4 hours) requires consistent aerobic base training (≈80% of training time) throughout the year, along with high-intensity training (≈20%). As you will have understood, I am referring here to the polarized or pyramidal training approach.
2. What the science tells us
Stephen Seiler, a Norwegian sports scientist specializing in training periodization and polarized training, conducted very interesting work on the training hierarchy (Seiler’s Hierarchy).
This training tool can help coaches direct training toward the most beneficial and effective approach for improving an endurance athlete’s performance.
This hierarchy of endurance-training needs ranks the eight fundamental training practices according to their impact as demonstrated by scientific studies.
Let’s take a brief look at this hierarchy. :
- The most important foundation of training would be to complete a high volume of training. For Seiler, the most beneficial approach for improving endurance performance is to do a lot of low-intensity training. So this would mean that the low-intensity “base period” is an important foundation. ? Yes and no, because HIT work should not be overlooked, as it is the second tier of the pyramid.
- High-intensity work is the second tier of the pyramid. Indeed, combining low- and high-intensity work makes it possible to maximize the specific metabolic adaptations needed to improve endurance performance.
- Managing the weekly distribution of training intensity (TID) is considered important. Depending on the approach used, 60 to 80% of training should be devoted to low-intensity work and 15 to 40% to moderate- to high-intensity work.
- Training periodization consists of dividing a sports season into several training periods. The effects of this approach are probably overstated. There is not just one approach to use (traditional periodization); several periodization approaches can be just as effective. The most important thing is to reduce athletes’ training monotony and prevent injuries as much as possible.
- Micro-periodization, such as using a cycle of 3 weeks of training + 1 recovery week: ⚠️⚠️ Attention, this is going to bust a myth! Scheduling 1 recovery week every 3 or 4 weeks has only a very modest effect on improving endurance performance. The key is to manage the training load day by day by monitoring the balance of the autonomic nervous system (ANS) in order to obtain a positive response to training (progress) and reduce periods of negative responses (fatigue, ANS imbalance …).
- Marginal gains can include the use of training strategies (hypoxic training, nutritional manipulation, or heat training) that strengthen the body’s adaptation to training stress and improve endurance performance.
- Regular training at race-specific pace improves the body’s efficiency so that it can perform at its best in the targeted event.
- When training is properly managed, an athlete’s fitness level does not change significantly during the final 2 weeks before a target event. However, an excessively high training load before a major target event can negatively affect performance. Tapering is therefore the art of slightly modifying training in terms of volume and intensity to put the athlete in the best physiological condition, enabling them to improve their performance by 1 to 3% for a targeted event.
3. Reverse periodization
The traditional approach to training periodization has been called into question in recent years in favor of reverse periodization. This approach, better suited to endurance athletes living in the Northern Hemisphere, is gaining more and more followers, both among professional cycling teams and triathlon coaches.
- What does reverse periodization (RP) involve?
Reverse periodization concentrates a large amount of high-intensity work during the winter period, then progressively adds longer low-intensity sessions, along with specific tempo work as the warmer weather arrives and competitions draw near.
IP can provide a real breakthrough in progress during the winter period, while also making training less monotonous and more enjoyable. We train less but with greater quality, which is perfectly suited to the cooler, shorter days.
The aerobic base comes before high intensity!
Many coaches will say that HIT sessions cannot be carried out without an aerobic base. Precisely, polarized/pyramidal training provides this aerobic base (≈80% of the work at low intensity), as does pyramidal training (≈70% at low intensity). Moreover, it is not necessary to use excessively high intensities during sessions, as this risks injuring athletes. The main determinant of endurance performance is not VO2max alone, but also energy cost. Training too fast is therefore unnecessary for improvement; above all, it exposes the athlete to an increased risk of injury. Ultra-endurance races (>4h) are not speed competitions; athletes must first be able to raise their fatigue-tolerance threshold (the subject of a future article).
RP is not simply a matter of reversing the periods; it is above all about continuously combining work at different intensities (low, medium, and high), arranging the sessions differently to move from quantity to quality. What does that mean in practice?
Different approaches can be used during RP. Personally, I like to make HIT sessions easier at first by using a 1:1 work-to-recovery ratio (effort duration = counter-effort duration) to accustom the body to this intensity. Then, progressively, we maintain the same intensity and reduce the recovery period.
For example :
- At the beginning of the winter period: 6*4’ @106–110% critical power (CP) / r 4’ @55–75% CP
- At the beginning of the summer period: 6*4’ @ @106–110% CP / r 2’ @55–75% CP
3. Experience report
I have been using this training approach for several years with the athletes I coach. I have observed consistent progress during both the winter and summer periods, especially in achieving their goals. It is also important to see athletes enjoying a training process that is not monotonous.
4. Conclusion
An evidence-based training approach validated in the field makes it possible to implement different and innovative training programs. The main objective is to keep the athlete in a positive progression phase throughout the season by offering non-monotonous training.
Be careful: traditional periodization is not bad; it can be beneficial depending on the athletes’ profiles and the discipline being prepared. As they say, there is not just one truth in training; that would be too easy.
Reverse periodization may potentially be more suitable for endurance athletes (triathlon, cycling, running, etc.) during the winter, especially with shorter days and cold temperatures.
- Founder of KS-Training in 2007 to support athletes in their performance goals
- Founder of the GUTAÏ Training app (2016–2021)
- Coach trainer
- Technical advisor for the Franche-Comté Triathlon League (2005–2007) and the Provence-Alpes Triathlon League (2007–2012)
- Athletics club coach (Vitrolles, OM Athlé, SCO) and triathlon club coach
Visit his website: https://ksendurancetraining.com/
Discover the original article HERE.