Yesterday I did a Q&A on Instagram and received a really interesting question regarding how we periodize for our younger or youth athletes❓

Technically, we do periodize because we switch up what we are doing with an athlete from phase to phase, but what we do is really, really simple.

For the vast majority of the younger athletes we work with we program basic and fundamental movements. We deadlift, chin up, bench press and split squat…A LOT. We change the emphasis of training from one phase to another, typically starting with a high rep phase (~8 reps), followed by a lower rep phase (~5 reps) and then an eccentric and/or isometric phase (~5 reps with an emphasis on tempo). We rotate through the phases with each phase lasting 3-4 weeks.

But the real success has less to do with our super simple periodization and has more to do with the fact that these athletes are coming in consistently 2-4 days a week and training fundamental movements correctly while working hard. No periodization scheme is going to work with an athlete that is training once every two weeks. No periodization scheme is going to work with an athlete performing exercises terribly. Almost all periodization schemes are going to work when paired with appropriate intensity and consistency.