Periodisation is the cyclical division of a training program into individual training phases to maximise training success. It simply means regularly varying your training program and individual training parameters, such as repetitions, sets, tempo, and rest, in order to ensure constant progress.
Recent scientific evidence argues that there are 3 main mechanisms responsible for muscle hypertrophy:
Mechanical Tension – Active: Contraction of a muscle fibre during the contraction of its motor units before a source of external resistance.
Passive: Stretching of muscle fibres caused by an external force or an eccentric contraction. Both forms originate muscle anabolic signalling pathways through their respective mechanoreceptors. Maximised with loads around 85%-100% of our RM.
Metabolic Stress – Effect of the accumulation of metabolites (such as lactate, hydrogen ions and inorganic phosphate) on muscle fibres.
This phenomenon occurs mostly in workouts with medium-high number of repetitions or in which blood flow restriction occurs (caused deliberately or due to constant tension)
Maximised with low to moderate loads and high volumes (and short rest intervals)
Muscle Damage – Muscle damage involves damage to the muscle fibres themselves, whether in myofibrils, cytoskeleton, sarcolemma or extracellular matrix. This phenomenon causes an inflammatory response, and thus the fibre regeneration process.
Maximised with moderate loads and volume.
