How to Conduct Responsive Periodization Studies “More” Properly

As coaches, we always seek to improve our practices to achieve the highest upside from the athletes with minimal downside. One of the core principles in achieving this goal is the principle of individualization, or adapting the training program to athletes’ preferences, adaptation rates, and current state.

There has been a recent increase in interest in these topics, particularly with the development of affordable technologies, such as heart-rate-variability (HRV), jump plates, and so forth. The premise is simple: if athletes train at the most optimal time when their organism is ready and receptive to training loads, maybe we can squeeze out more adaptation with less cost (i.e. downside).

Some early research is already showing certain benefits of doing so. But we shouldn’t jump to conclusions immediately. In the video below, I am sharing some of my critiques of the available research, and I am proposing a few strategies to make more valid causal claims. Check it out and let me know what you think about the proposed method.