In the early days of linear periodization, most lifters did not use percentages to calculate their weekly weights, nor did they use RPE or reps in the tank. Planning a cycle started with determining the amount of weight you wanted to be able to lift for a single rep at the end of a cycle. The next step was to determine the length of the cycle and to select the amount of weight that you could lift for 10 reps at the beginning of the cycle. If you were doing a 12 week cycle, you would plan on adding weight in fairly equal increments from week to week over the course of 12 weeks. The increments of added weight would need to be the right amount to cause you to reach the final weight you want to lift at the end of the cycle.
This method for planning a linear periodization cycle still remains a common method today. A more detailed explanation for how to plan a training cycle using this method is explained in the steps that are presented below:
Step 1
You must determine your goal for the amount of weight you want to lift for a single rep when you reach the last week of the training cycle. For example, if Joe has a current max bench press of 300 pounds and wants to increase his strength by 10 pounds, then his goal is to bench press 310 pounds when he reaches the end of the training cycle.
Step 2
You must select an appropriate weight when starting the training cycle. In this example, the training cycle will start with 10 reps per set. If we continue to use Joe as our example, he will need to know ahead of time how much weight he can bench press for 10 reps while still leaving 2 to 3 reps in the tank. This will allow him to add weight the next week while still being able to perform 10 reps. Joe’s training experience has shown him that he can bench press 200 pounds for 10 reps with 2 to 3 reps in the tank.
Step 3
When you have determined the starting weight that will be used for the first week, you must subtract it from the amount of weight that you want to use the final week. If we apply this to Joe’s case, his starting weight of 200 pounds will be subtracted from his final weight of 310 pounds according to the following equation:
310 – 200 = 110 pounds.
This information tells us that Joe will be increasing the amount of weight he uses by 110 pounds from the start the cycle to the end of a 12 week cycle.
Step 4
The fact that Joe will increase his weights by 110 pounds over the course of a 12 week training cycle will help him to figure out how much weight he should add to his bench press each week. However, it is important to keep in mind that even though a 12 week cycle will be used, Joe will not start adding weight until the second week, which means that weight will be added for 11 out of the 12 weeks. Since the amount of weight added across the whole cycle equals 110 pounds, he will divide 110 pounds by 11 weeks in order to determine how much weight should be added each week. This calculation is shown below:
110 ÷ 11 = 10 pounds.
The equation shows that If Joe adds 10 pounds per week to his lifts, he will finish his cycle with a bench press of 310 pounds.
With this information, Joe can plan out his 12 week training cycle as follows:
Week 1: 200 pounds for 10 reps
Week 2: 210 pounds for 10 reps
Week 3: 220 pounds for 8 reps
Week 4: 230 pounds for 8 reps
Week 5: 240 pounds for 8 reps
Week 6: 250 pounds for 5 reps
Week 7: 260 pounds for 5 reps
Week 8: 270 pounds for 5 reps
Week 9: 280 pounds for 3 reps
Week 10: 290 pounds for 3 reps
Week 11: 300 pounds for 1 rep
Week 12: 310 pounds for 1 rep
Potential Problems
One problem with the formula stated is that when you perform the division part of the formula, the number calculated may turn out to be an awkward number in terms of adding weight. For example, If you were going to add 130 pounds over the course of a 12 week training cycle, you would need to divide 130 pounds by 11 weeks. This calculation would show that you should add 11.81 pounds per week. This would be an awkward amount of weight to add each week, but there are two solutions that you can use to help you solve this problem:
Solution 1: Change the Length of the Cycle
Do a 14 week cycle instead of a 12 week cycle. When using a 14 week cycle, weight will be added starting the second week, which means that weight will be added for a total of 13 weeks. This is perfect if you are increasing the weight by 130 pounds from the start to the finish of the cycle because 130 pounds divided by 13 weeks equals 10 pounds per week. Most gyms have 5 pound plates that will allow you to do this.
You could also back up to 195 pounds the first week of the cycle and do a 10 week cycle where you add 15 pounds per week. In this case, weight would be added for 9 out of 10 weeks which add up to 135 pounds and would take you from 195 to 330 pounds over the course of 10 weeks. The cycle would be performed as follows:
Week 1: 10 reps with 195 pounds
Week 2: 10 reps with 210 pounds
Week 3: 8 reps with 225 pounds
Week 4: 8 reps with 240 pounds
Week 5: 5 reps with 255 pounds
Week 6: 5 reps with 270 pounds
Week 7: 3 reps with 285 pounds
Week 8: 3 reps with 300 pounds
Week 9: 1 rep with 315 pounds
Week 10: 1 rep with 330 pounds
Solution 2: Vary the Increments of Added Weight
If you want to stick with a 12 week cycle, an alternative is to add 10 pounds most weeks, but add 15 pounds every third week, which occur at weeks, three, six, nine, and twelve. This would add up to 130 pounds of added weight by the end of the cycle. If you were to apply this strategy, your cycle would be performed as follows:
Week 1: 200 pounds for 10 reps
Week 2: 210 pounds for 10 reps (added 10 pounds)
Week 3: 225 pounds for 8 reps (added 15 pounds)
Week 4: 235 pounds for 8 reps (added 10 pounds)
Week 5: 245 pounds for 8 reps (added 10 pounds)
Week 6: 260 pounds for 5 reps (added 15 pounds)
Week 7: 270 pounds for 5 reps (added 10 pounds)
Week 8: 280 pounds for 5 reps (added 10 pounds)
Week 9: 295 pounds for 3 reps (added 15 pounds)
Week 10: 305 pounds for 3 reps (added 10 pounds)
Week 11: 315 pounds for 1 rep (added 10 pounds)
Week 12: 330 pounds for 1 rep (added 15 pounds)
The point of this is that you may need to do some tinkering with the amount of weight that you add each week or you may need to adjust the length of the cycle.
Planning your weekly poundages correctly is essential if you want to succeed with linear periodization. The method explained in this article is just one way to plan out your weekly poundages for a linear periodization. The details provided will help you to be precise about your planning, which is necessary, because precision matters when it comes to formulating a successful plan. Best of training to you.