Periodization
Structuring training into deliberate phases — base, build, peak, taper — instead of training the same way, at the same intensity, every week.
Periodization is the practice of structuring training into distinct phases rather than repeating the same weekly pattern for months. The classical model — tracing back to mid-20th-century Soviet sports science, associated with Leonid Matveyev — moves from a base phase (higher volume, lower intensity) through a build phase (volume tapering down as intensity rises) to a peak and taper before competition.
Why the shape matters more than any single week
A single hard week produces fatigue and, with recovery, a fitness gain. The same hard week repeated indefinitely produces diminishing returns and rising injury risk, because the body needs the shape of load — building, then unloading, then building again — to keep adapting rather than just accumulating fatigue. Periodization is the deliberate design of that shape over a training block rather than letting it happen by accident.
Alternatives to the classical model
The classical base-build-peak sequence isn't the only approach. Block periodization concentrates training on one quality (say, threshold work) in a focused block rather than spreading it thin across the whole plan. Reverse periodization — starting with higher intensity earlier and building volume later — is popular for shorter-course racing where the classical long, slow base phase is less clearly necessary. Different systems disagree on the details; they agree that training stress should change shape over time.
Who this actually applies to
Periodization sometimes gets treated as an elite-athlete concern — complex phase planning for someone with a coach and a season calendar. The underlying principle is much more general: don't run the same hard week over and over for months, build load in a shape that lets you peak on purpose rather than by luck, and let volume come down before it matters most. That applies to any plan longer than a few weeks, not just a professional's periodized season.