Goal setting and periodization

I usually write blogs about sports nutrition, but this time I want to talk about goal setting and periodization in sports. During my time as an elite athlete, I learned a lot about goal setting and planning my workouts to perform optimally. I like to share this experience with you. At the end of a season or year, I often set goals for the coming year. I look at what races are out there, where my strengths were, and how I can challenge myself or make the best use of my accumulated strengths.

Let's say I have a sports goal on August 10: a hilly cycling event in the Ardennes of 160 km, where I really want to peak. How do I prepare for this in the best possible way? I start by analyzing my strengths and weaknesses:

Strengths:

• Recoverability
• 1-minute value (explosive power)

Areas of improvement:

• Condition
• 10-20 minutes power

With this analysis, I am going to build my training schedule. Below I explain my approach for each phase.

I always start with the goal as a starting point and then work backwards in time. In this way, I determine exactly when to begin my preparations to achieve the goal.

Taper phase (8 days)

For cycling, I often use a shorter taper phase than for running events because you recover faster from bike training. During a taper phase you give your body more rest, but keep tension on the muscles. I train about 40% less and on Tuesday, when the race is on Saturday, do another short interval workout, such as 10 times 30 seconds at high pace with 1 minute rest. The day before the race, I often ride my bike and do 5-8 sprints at 80% intensity to keep the tension on the legs.

For running, you can possibly do last workout on Thursday. For running events, I often choose a taper phase of 10-14 days.

Peak phase (3-4 weeks)

The peak phase is all about intensity. During these weeks I don't necessarily train the most hours, but I increase the intensity considerably. This means a lot of interval and block training. The goal is to maximize my performance without the risk of overtraining.

Build phase (8-12 weeks)

The build phase focuses on building strength and conditioning. During this phase, I focus on my 10-20 minute power intervals. I try to do these intervals uphill as much as possible. If I don't have mountains in my area, I make sure that I am in my climbing position on the bike during some blocks. I don't do all blocks this way, but I alternate to keep variety in my training. Each week I add a little more intensity or make my intervals longer. An example:

• Wednesday: 5 times 5 minutes with 3 minutes rest, trying to do the 5-minute blocks faster each week.
• Saturday: longer intervals, increasing from 10 minutes to 20 minutes.

Every fourth and eighth week is a deload week, during which I train 30% less to let my body recover. As Joop Zoetemelk said, "You win the Tour in bed." In week 5, I start another training week similar to week 3. If you still have a lot of time until your event, you can choose to extend this build phase from 8 weeks to 12 weeks.

Basic training (8-12 weeks)

The basic phase is designed to build fitness and endurance. Many zone 2 workouts (low heart rate, where you can talk) are key. Each week I increase the volume and build this up, for example:

• Week 1: 120 km
• Week 2: 140 km
• Week 3: 160 km
• Week 4 (deload): 120 km
• Week 5: 160 km
• Week 6: 180 km
• Week 7: 200 km
• Week 8 (deload): 140 km

For running, I keep a maximum build-up of 5% per week because of the impact load. For cycling, you can increase this a little faster because the load on joints is lower. In this phase I also work on my pedaling frequency and aim for a cadence of 90-100 to improve efficiency.

Integrating sports nutrition

During the build phase, I practice my sports nutrition strategy. The goal is to build up to 80 grams of carbs per hour (or more) and 0.5 liters of fluid per hour. By practicing this early in training, I make sure my body gets used to this and is ready for race day. By eating more during workouts, I improve my energy levels and recovery. As a result, I get more out of my workouts.

With this approach, I am well prepared for my goal and can work towards a peak performance in a focused way. How do you plan your workouts to achieve your goals? Do you have any questions? Feel free to ask them below in a comment or send us an email!

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