If you’re feeling a growing sense of stagnation with your exercise routine as well as lockdown this may help…the exercise side of things anyway. It generally takes 6 – 8 weeks of training in a specific modality to see the results of your labour so if you’ve been focussing on your fitness in your allocated exercise time from the start of lockdown it’s the right time to give your programme a shake up.

Regularly mixing up your exercise plan is crucial to achieving results. Periodisation is a method to plan phases of your training to optimise different aspects of your ‘fitness’ thereby maximising your gains whilst also reducing the risk of injury or overtraining….and getting bored!

4-6 week periodisation phases to typically cycle through include a stability phase focusing on consolidating your core connection, peripheral joint stability and proprioceptive awareness. Followed by a strength phase, prioritising load over stability to increase muscle strength and finally, if appropriate, a power phase.

Here’s some examples of how you might progress exercises from a stability phase (12-20 reps 1-3 sets)  into a strength phase (8-12 reps 2-4 sets):

• Single leg alternate dumbbell shoulder press –> Standing barbell push press
• Scaption on a single leg –> Standing kettlebell overhead press
• TRX fly on one leg –> Bodyweight press ups (or decline to increase load)
• Single leg squat –> Kettlebell goblet squat
• Single leg Romanian deadlift –> Romanian deadlift
• TRX hanging bodyweight lunge –> Dumbbell lunges

For more info on tailored exercise training programs drop me a line via the contact page.