What’s up friends - welcome to today’s issue of sunday coffee.
Unfortunately, yesterday was a tough day. Went to play some basketball for my workout, and 3 games later, I went to make a routine crossover and immediately felt like someone had jumped on the back of the shin.
I ruptured my achilles.
So, I’ve been thinking about this picture a lot.
I was watching the game when Kobe tore his achilles. It’s a career ending injury for a lot of athletes - but it wasn’t for him, not even close.
We don’t get to choose the cards we’re dealt - but we do get to choose how we play our hand. I’m optimistic about my recovery and while I’m not exactly happy about it, I’m excited for this to be part of my story 1 day.
I hope it helps inspire you in some way.
Anyways, last week we covered the philosophy behind Hybrid Training. This week we’ll be building on that by walking you through how to build your own yearly training plan, aka, your own macrocycle.
Why build a macrocycle?
If you aim at nothing, you hit nothing. It's true that if you never set a goal you never fail to reach it. Life might be comfortable but I believe that to be a true waste of potential.
A macrocycle is a year long training plan designed to help you reach your goals without burning out or injuring yourself along the way.
It’s something elite athletes have used for thousands of years dating all the way back to Ancient Greece and the Olympics.
They’re designed to move the body through certain ‘phases’ of training that build on each other so that you can be in peak performance condition when the day comes for you to reach for your goal.
"In order to improve the technique of difficult movements, these were broken down into their various phases - as is still the case today -, beginning with the preliminary movements and eventually reuniting them in the complete execution”
As an example, think about if you wanted to run a marathon, but hadn’t run very much in years. You wouldn’t start your training with a 26.2 mile run would you?
No, you’d start small and build up from there as your body got more and more used to running long distances.
If you wanted the best time possible…
you’d work on being able to run 26.2 miles (building your gas tank)
then being able to run 26.2 miles a little faster (making your gas tank more efficient)
maybe to improve your time + durability you’d hit the weights to get stronger
and of course you’d have to make sure your form is solid so that you’re not wasting energy during the run
But you don’t want to try to do all of this at once. The body responds when you’re training is sending it a clear message - to develop 1 physiological adaptation at a time.
So, to do all of this, you would build a macrocycle to help you do all of these things over a period of time - in this case, let’s say a year.
Like building a pyramid or a house, you’d set up your training in phases - starting with a strong foundation and building up from there.
These phases are called ‘mesocycles’ - and they are the pieces that make up a macrocycle. There are 4 main ones I’m going to cover, let’s get into each of ‘em below.
From Ross Edley’s - ‘Blueprint’
The 4 Mesocycles
A macrocycle is a look at your entire year. These are usually broken down further into mesocycles that are between 8-16 weeks on average.
I personally like to keep my mesocycles @ 12 weeks because this lines up with both the seasons and quarters of the year.
Note: macrocycles are built around goals, and will thus be different for everyone. The examples below are for meant to be general to give you an idea of what I mean.
1) Base - Winter
Duration: 12 weeks
Training Focus: The winter season is ideal for building a solid foundation of fitness by increasing your work capacity. The base mesocycle lays the groundwork for more intense training phases to come. Start with low intensity, while building your volume up.
Examples of Training:
Low-intensity cardio (Z2): Long, steady-state cardio sessions in z2 like jogging, cycling, or swimming to enhance aerobic capacity.
Strength Training: Emphasis on building foundational strength through compound movements like squats, deadlifts, and bench presses.
Flexibility and Mobility: Incorporate yoga or dynamic stretching to improve joint range of motion.
Physiological Emphasis: Developing cardiovascular endurance, building a foundation of strength, and enhancing flexibility to set the stage for more specialized training.
2) Build - Spring
Duration: 12 weeks
Training Focus: With the foundation in place, the build mesocycle intensifies training to stimulate muscle growth, power, and overall performance. Things like Z2 steady state cardio may stay in your plan, but the intensity will be increasing in this phase to build on the your strong base that you’ve built by increasing your work capacity - as the volume begins to decrease towards the end.
From Ross Edgley’s book - ‘Blueprint‘ (linked below)
Examples of Training:
Hypertrophy Training: Resistance training focused on muscle hypertrophy with moderate weights and higher repetitions (8-15). Medium intensity, medium volume.
Power Workouts: Plyometrics, explosive movements, and powerlifting to enhance strength and speed.
Interval Training: High-Intensity Interval Training (HIIT) for improved cardiovascular fitness + a more efficient gas tank.
Physiological Emphasis: Stimulating muscle growth, increasing power, and pushing cardiovascular limits through higher-intensity workouts.
3) Peak - Summer
Duration: 12 weeks
Training Focus: As summer arrives, it's time to peak and prepare yourself to perform at your best. The peak mesocycle fine-tunes performance, hones skills, and ensures peak condition for specific goals or events. Overall, intensity stays high but volume decreases.
Examples of Training:
Sport-Specific Training: Tailor workouts to mimic the demands of specific sports or activities.
Skill Refinement: Focus on refining techniques and addressing weaknesses.
High-Intensity Training: Fine-tune cardiovascular fitness with challenging interval workouts.
Physiological Emphasis: Optimizing performance through sport-specific training, refining skills, and maximizing cardiovascular and muscular adaptations.
4) Recover - Autumn
Duration: 12 weeks
Training Focus: Autumn brings with it the recoverr mesocycle, a crucial phase to allow the body to recuperate from the intensity of the previous cycles - setting yourself up for a great next year by taking it easy with both intensity and volume of training.
Examples of Training:
Active Recovery: Lighter activities like walking, swimming, or cycling to promote blood flow without excessive stress.
Mobility and Flexibility: Yoga and targeted stretches to maintain joint health.
Mental Restoration: Incorporate meditation or mindfulness practices for mental rejuvenation.
Physiological Emphasis: Allowing the body to recover, repair, and recharge for overall well-being. This phase is essential for preventing burnout and promoting longevity in training.
Wrap-Up
Today, we covered how and why you should write yourself a macrocycle plan to better progress as an athlete and a person in 2024.
We broke down what a macrocycle is and the 4 key components of one - those are:
Base
Build
Peak
Recover
As always, thanks for being a part of our growing community - and have a wonderful Sunday 🙂
Dane
Resources
‘Sports Training in Ancient Greece and its supposed Modernity’ - Journal of Human Sport and Exercise
‘Blueprint’ - Ross Edgley