Hi CT
I’m a big fan of your work since I found T-Nation in 2007.
I don’t think you’ve ever directly addressed periodisation in your articles, but I’d like to know what’s your take on the subject.
Do you recommend alternating between intensification and accumulation phases? How do you make this fit with ramping? Do you personnaly use a template like Robertson’s (base week, a volume week, an intense week, and a de-load week) or something different. What should we change from block to block?
Thank
Even 140 characters would do 
Thib doesn’t really use traditional periodization, that’s more of a powerlifting/weightlifting thing.
Traditional periodization has you change your volume/intensity every week leading up to a compitition.
Thib, being what I would call a bodybuilder, at the moment, does what many other bodybuilders do - arranges his ‘periodization’ into blocks of several weeks.
If you decided to do something like the 'base week, volume week, intense week, there is nothing ‘wrong’ about that, but I don’t think that is what Thib does.
Firstly, base weeks are usually just for ‘adjustment, deloading or getting used to the program’… many people simply dont deload, so personally i think this is kind of useless. If block training, I like sticking to the block for 3 weeks minimum, otherwise I don’t progress, or I have nothing to compare to (compare 1st week to 3rd week). Because you are interested in Thib, Thib does this in his an_old_article_suddenly_make_important_again article.
What should we change from block to block?
Intensity vs volume is the most basic change - High volume and med intensity, med volume and high intensity, low volume and very high intensity.
Of course over the course of a year your overall volume should be slightly increasing each cycle, no matter what kind of training you are doing…
Forevernade
Well, I do “periodize” my training to some extent. But to me periodization simply means dividing the training year into different periods of different emphasis.
The way I normally do this with “physique” individuals is a specialization approach. I divide the training year into phases of spec work for 1-2 muscle group(s) and overall work.
My “periodization” when it comes down to volume, intensity and frequency is autoregulated: I adjust everything to fit how my body is responding.
For example, I don’t pre-plan “hell weeks” (5-10 days of super intense/high volume training) or “deloading weeks”. But if I feel strong and have the time I might do a blitz (like I am now) where I will drastically increase my training workload for around 10 days. Then I will “back off”. But the backing off might simply be a return to regular training, or it could go as far as taking a week off, always depending on the working state of my body.
Remember that training is just a tool to stimulate a physiological response. Even with the best knowledge, it is impossible to predict far in advance what the body will need to progress and when it will need to take a break. Constant monitoring and autoregulation are the keys to long term success.
Thanks for that CT.
Your same chunk of advice can be applied to many questions. Though I wonder what kind of hell you are going through repeating yourself so much? 
listening to your body, thats something you don’t hear about too often. (my first post by the way!)
[quote]whogivsadamn wrote:
listening to your body, thats something you don’t hear about too often. (my first post by the way!)[/quote]
No because saying it… even if it’s true … makes the coach less important than he wants to be and takes away from the visceral need that some individuals have of being on one super scientific program.
CT
You say you don’t periodize with physique individuals, do you take the same approach with ‘athletes’ (not that bodybuilders aren’t athletes)? Especially if they wish to peak for one event?
Thanks.
[quote]jk270 wrote:
CT
You say you don’t periodize with physique individuals, do you take the same approach with ‘athletes’ (not that bodybuilders aren’t athletes)? Especially if they wish to peak for one event?
Thanks.[/quote]
I said that I don’t use periodization in the traditional sense. I do ‘periodize’ with physique athletes because I often use a specialization phase approach.
With athletes I do ‘periodize’ in the sense that I change the focus of training every 4-6 weeks. BUT the basic principles used are the same, I just add or remove some methods and vary the loads.
I always use autoregulation, so the daily program is never written in stone in advance. If anything, athletes need autoregulation more than physique athletes because they are doing a lot of training outside of the gym (track, conditioning, practices) and thus their energy in the weight room will fluctuate wildly.
I know this thread is like a year old, but CT are you saying, block periodisation is the way to go for physique individuals?
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