Active.cm Triathlon Home Page. Joe Friel. 10 Week Olympic Distance Training Program for Beginners. What Does 'Periodization' Mean and How Does It Work? | Trifuel. If you have ever wondered how the Russians were kicking our butts for three decades in sports, here is the answer. Yes, there were some Eastern Block women that looked like they could play for the Pittsburgh Steelers, ‘Steel Curtain’, and maybe that wasn’t natural, but the answer is something called 'periodization’. Tudor Bompa, who is considered the ‘Father of Periodization’ refined the ideas of Russian sports scientists in the early 1960s. During the 1940s the Russian scientists tried dividing the training year into different training periods. Previously, the training was to maintain the same constant stresses year round. Could you imagine doing the same workouts week in and week out?
The new method was to create some periods of training that were easier then the others to promote rest and to let the body grow stronger. The first phase of training is called the Preparation (Prep) Phase. The Base Phase can last anywhere from twelve to twenty four weeks. Ramp Up Your Running for Olympic-distance Racing. Core Exercises for Cyclists and Triathletes - Plank and Variatio.