La información expuesta en este documento, proviene de la siguiente referencia:

 Capítulo 1 (es extraida del capítulo 1 del libro:

Bompa, T., Blumenstein, B., Orbach, I., & Hoffman, J. (2019). Present stte of the art. En T. Bompa, B. Blumenstein, J. Hoffmann, S. Howell, & I.Orbach (Eds.), Integrated periodization in sports training & athletic development: Combining training methodology, sports psychology, and nutrition to optimize performance (pp. 22). UK: Meyer & Meyer Sports (UK). Ltd.

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12 INTEGRATED PERIODIZATION IN SPORTS TRAINING & ATHLETIC DEVELOPMENT

Chapter 1

PRESENT STATE OF THE ART
Tudor Bompa, PhD / Boris Blumenstein, PhD / Iris Orbach, PhD / James Hoffman, PhD

INTRODUCTION

For far too long, research in sports science and the methodology of training have focused, often in isolation, on
their specific areas of concern. Researches in exercise physiology, sports psychology, and the science of nutrition
have evolved separately, without considering that their focus should be on those who could benefit from them: the
athlete and coach! And the athlete is a complex being with specific requirements and in need of professional/
scientific services.

To be effective and meet the needs of the athletes, sports sciences must consider the specific objectives of training
and the manner in which training is planned and periodized. However, some of these sports scientists are seldom
aware that athletes and coaches need their help throughout the year! Not just before a competition. Or after failing
to meet planned performance/testing objectives when some scientists may be needed to heal eventual psychological
wounds.

Furthermore, an athlete involved in competitions may reach the objectives much easier when sports scientists and
coaches collaborate together. Under these conditions human physiological potentials can be drastically improved
and overcome athletes’ limitations. However, athletic improvements cannot be realized without a complex fueling
of the body and mind.

Recognizing the complex needs of the competing athletes, the first proposal to integrate all aspects of sport training
was made and registered as an intelligent property in 1997 and published in 1999 (Bompa, 1999). An integrated
plan has been suggested along with periodization of motor abilities, nutrition plans to use, and the kind of
psychological strategies to develop and refine. However, latest research, especially in nutrition, has changed quite
visibly. As a result, our suggested models regarding integrated periodization made for specific sports do incorporate
everything what is new in the science of nutrition and sports psychology.

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Present State of the Art 13

PERIODIZATION AND INTEGRATED PERIODIZATION
DEFINED

Already accepted as a classical term in the science and methodology of training, periodization is the foundation
of planning the annual training programs for athletes. The etymology of the term originates from the word period,
which refers to a specific division of time. In the theory of training, it refers to a phase of training. This is why periodization
is often referred to as phase-based training. Finally, in sports training, periodization is regarded as a method
by which training is divided into smaller phases, easier to manage training programs.
The term periodization has been, however, borrowed from other sciences, such as history (antiquity, medieval history,
etc.) or literature (Shakespearian, Victorian literature, etc.).

As a training concept, periodization, not exactly in the present form, has existed for long period of times. Although
its origin is unknown, in its unrefined form it, has existed since the ancient Olympic Games (776–393 BC). Several
manuals on planning and training have been written by Flavius Philostratus (AD 170–245). According to Philostratus,
Greek Olympians have used an annual plan with the following periods:

1. Preparatory phase for the Olympic Games, where some informal competitions have been planned
2. Competitive phase, or the Olympic Games
3. Rest period

Conceptually, what most coaches do nowadays is not much different than the ancient Olympians except that our
sophistication is based on advancements in science and methodology and that the competitive phase in many
sports is longer and with higher number of competitions.

As a complex training concept, periodization does not refer only to how an annual plan is divided into different
phases (figure 1.1), but most importantly, it refers to the periodization of motor abilities (figure 1.2) such as speed,
strength, power, agility, and endurance.

Annual Plan
Training
phase
Preparatory Competitive Transition
Macro cycles
Micro cycles
Figure 1.1 Periodization of training phases during an annual plan

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14 INTEGRATED PERIODIZATION IN SPORTS TRAINING & ATHLETIC DEVELOPMENT

Training
phase
Preparatory Competitive Transition
Periodization
of strength
AA MxS P/A Maintenance of power AA
Legend: AA = Anatomical adaptation MxS = Maximum strength P/A = Power/agility
Figure 1.2 Periodization of strength/power during an annual plan

If we appeal to our imagination, we may consider Philostratus also as the early proponent of integrated periodization,
since he proposed that a coach must also be a psychiatrist!
Another proponent of close relationships between mind and body was the Roman physician Claudius Galenus, or
Galen (AD 129–217), who in his book The Art of Preservation of Health proposed that those who exercise should
also have a good nutrition and that after exercising one must have a bath to relax the body and mind. Equally important,
Galen suggested how to treat psychological problems using talk therapy so that the individual can share
his secrets and passions.

While Galen and Philostratus have recognized the complex qualities needed by athletes and coaches (training,
nutrition, and psychiatry), some 1,800 years later, experts in the field are still working in isolation from each other!
Although nutrition experts and psychologists work directly with some athletes, most athletic needs are not yet integrated
year-round.

Not only that but sports scientists consult athletes often in disregard of periodization of training and the objectives
of each training phase. Unless coaches, sports scientists, and athletes work together to meet the goals of a specific
training phase, athletes’ performance may not be maximized. This is the reason we must integrate all the aspects
that are needed in sports training. Therefore, we have taken the audacity of proposing this book to you, the reader.
CONFUSION BETWEEN PERIODIZATION
AND LOADING

Although its existence is over 2,500 years long and its effectiveness constantly demonstrated by top athletes, there
are still some individuals who actually question periodization. If periodization is disputed, so should training, planning,
and organization or even the physiology of adaptation! Unfortunately, periodization is sometimes confused
with loading patterns!

There are some authors and sports scientists who promote a periodization fallacy in the sense that they discuss
linear and undulatory (or wavelike) periodization! Sometimes this confusion goes as far as even escaping scientific

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Present State of the Art 15
scrutiny and, as a result, being used in titles of theses for graduate studies! Incredible where an innocent confusion
can lead to!

As specified above, periodization strictly refers to phase-based training! And training phases, or periodization, cannot
be linear or undulatory! In fact, periodization is nothing else but a sequence of training periods (therefore the
term periodization), or phases. Each of these phases has specific training goals with the final scope being to take
athletes’ potentials to the highest level possible prior to and during the competitive phase.
As a flexible concept of planning, periodization also has several variations from the main model, depending on the
specifics of sports and the schedule of competitions an athlete participates per year. There is no linear or undulatory
periodization! These two terms refer only to the methodology of loading the training program for an athlete or
team. Not to periodization!

While periodization has been briefly defined above, the methodology of loading has several variations.
De Lorme and Watkins (1951) were among the first to refer to progressive loading, which in later years has been
transformed into the linear method, or the method of constantly and daily increasing the load of training. Linear
loading is specifically visible in bodybuilding training, this loading pattern being one of the reasons the athletes in
this sport are constantly overtrained! The physiological principle of progressive adaptation is often disregarded by
individuals who promote linear periodization and still believe in more is better! As for undulatory loading method,
this was promoted by Bompa in 1956 in Romania and published in the United States in 1983 (Bompa, 1956).
Figure 1.3 Step training load over a time period
Reprinted by permission from T.O. Bompa, Periodization: Theory and Methodology of Training, 4th ed. (Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 1999), 48.

The progression of the load of training is made in steps. But if you link the top of each step over several cycles,
you obtain an undulatory shape, while performance is intended to consistently improve. However, as illustrated by
figure 1.3, undulatory loading is strictly the result applying step loading over a longer period.