Outstanding article by Derek Evely on Modern Trends in Periodization. Evely explains the Tschiene and the Abandonment of Traditional Stages along with the Bondarchuk System.

"If any periodization model best represents what most leading coaches working with elite athletes are doing today, it is the model proposed by Peter Tschiene. Tschiene put forward an approach that essentially abandons previous methods using general to specific preparatory stages in favor of a “complex” methodology: a system where all abilities are trained to a relatively high degree throughout the entire yearly cycle (transition phase excepted). Others, such as Charlie Francis, have called this approach “Vertical Integration”.

Often misleadingly called (in my opinion) “Block Training” or “Block Periodization”, the system developed by Dr. Anaoliy Bondarchuk turns everything we know about periodization on its head; rather than compose seasonally-specific cycles the lengths of which are pre-determined by traditional divisions in the calendar, the Bondarchuk method gauges an athlete’s adaptation response (via results in training) and subsequently determines two key responses in an athlete. First, the scope and regularity in which steady workloads lead to the development of sport form (peak condition), and second, the nature of each individual athlete’s reaction to training. It is from these measurements that the structure of periodization of determined.

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Source: www.hmmrmedia.com