Topic: How necessary is periodization for continued progress?

[Albert B. Gonzalez]

WELL PUT CHRIS!  when its time to lift in competition and you step on that platform all the training logs,coaching , progess , well wishes , former pr's that have been wrapped around you like a cucoon completely disengrate and you r alone... ALL ALONE!

[Arturo Gómez]

I think there are two different concepts:
1) the emphasis in an excercise, or in a group of excercises in a moment, because is more or less necessary (for exemple if you makes 150 in front squat and 135 in c+j, obviously you will give preference a squat trainig, and in other period you will focus in technical excercise)
2) the use of oscilations in total work for stymulate phisical response. This point i think have not yet a closed true theory.
The outliers (in a experimental design you expect a normal distribution in each group if the individuals are sufficiently homogeneous) suggest factors non considered in the study.

[Andy Dick]

The thing about periodization, from my view, that makes it a terrible idea for weightlifting is that it attempts to control the uncontrollable, to plan the un-plan-able, and generally places the plan above reality and above the lifter's own interests. Weightlifting is a form of combat and I think as in war, all plans pretty much go out the window upon confronting the enemy.

I agree with what you say Chris, once the program is put above the lifter it is doomed to failure.  In my eyes this falls on the fault of the coach not the program.  Where I am coming from is the program is a plan.  Just like in war there is always a plan but once the first shot is fired it can all go out the window (but not always, there are times it can go exactly or very close to according to plan).  The coach needs to adapt and adjust, but to not plan it just as detrimental.  That is why a coach is heralded for results in their athletes not always the plan.  For the sake of argument, say the Bulgarian training method is the best out there, if not applied properly or put above the athlete it can be just as detrimental to the lifter.  But to say avoiding periodization all together because you can't control what happens on the platform to me is oversimplifying the problem.  Any sport competition is this way with any plan.  You can have the best players, the best strategy, be at the top of your game, but still lose the match to a myriad of factors.  It happens all the time.

[Arturo Gómez]

No periodization, nor constant or randomical planification, would be applied in the totalitary form that periodization was applied in weightlfting.
Happily, i think we all acord.
Remains the question if (by each singular athlete)  is really necessary a variation of training load, and if this variation is necesary made by means of more or less technical exercises, o by means of by exemple, pulls.

[Albert B. Gonzalez]

is this discussion from a coaches p.o.v or a lifters p.o.v? because as a lifter im not seeing the benifet of someone elses plan and the evidence seems anectdotal

[Matt Erdman]

I am in agreement with Andy and Arturo. I think it is best to plan ahead and focus (not exclusively) on different areas at different times. The only times my plans have failed significantly was due to injury or personal life conflicts. I lifted weights for years without much improvement until I found a program by Pavel Tsatsouline (ironically it was a bodybuilding program) that was structured and periodized. In a couple months people could actually tell I lifted weights. 

Arturo,
Varying the load is a good question. I used to do it just because I thought it was the right thing to do. With powerlifting you can see that the overall training volume is fairly constant until a competition is near. I found that I prefer keeping the volume constant until I feel that I am wearing out, and then I cut it back until I feel better. Naturally the volume will vary during different phases, but within those phases I don't bother to adjust it unless I need the recovery.

Albert,
I think most people commenting here are both. At least coaches for themselves. The benefit of someone else's experience will depend on the lifter's experience. The first structured program I used was very successful because it was based on extensive knowledge of how the majority of people respond to training. My own training was ineffective because I had no clue about any training variables or how to tell what I responded to. There are pitfalls on both sides. A coach may become complacent in his own system and blame the athlete if he doesn't respond well. A lifter may get stuck in his favorite form of training and not be able to accurately assess when he needs to make changes and what they should be.

[Andy Dick]

is this discussion from a coaches p.o.v or a lifters p.o.v? because as a lifter im not seeing the benifet of someone elses plan and the evidence seems anectdotal

From my perspective it is both.  I am a lifter but I also am a HS S&C coach.  Through high school, college, and now I have seen many different programs.  Periodization is a school of thought held by many S&C coaches based off of research into what training protocol can we try to implement to reach the maximum gains.  I write my own programs and those for many other athletes it the high school.  I have never had an athlete question or believe I am holding them back in any way.  Also, unless you are writing your own programs you are using someone elses plan.  If anything is anectodal it is what I see much of weightlifting programs being...that because one country saw success with a certain program then that must be the best.  Disregarding that many countries have produced top quality lifters with different plans as well as how much you do not know of other "training aids" that may have been applied to help said program be successful.  Periodization in my opinion is the attempt by coaches to use the research we have available to produce an effective training plan.  Further more to be honest for the period of time when I did not follow a periodized program when I was having a coach write my programs for me it always resulted in injury for myself.  Especially as of late with my knee.  Which is partically why I have moved myself back to a periodized approach.

ADDITION: I am getting great joy out of this site and topics as of late because this is the meat and potatoes I have been looking for in good discussion about training methods and philosophies of weightlifting.

[Albert B. Gonzalez]

thanks for the clarification andy i can see now that im in over my head when it comes to this topic and ill respectively concede any futher questions i have. btw i never feel like my coach is holding me back neither.