Programing and Periodization for Individual Sports

Despite the controversy surrounding periodization, it has been assumed over the years as the key tool in training planning for the development and achievement of high-level performance, in individual sports. Given the enormous density of nowadays competitive calendar and the athletes’ responsibilities towards their sponsors, the challenge is to train with quality, managing fatigue through specific training programs that correctly handle the load applied to the athlete. The scientific boom experienced today and the availability of information from areas such as physiology, biomechanics, biochemistry and sports training, allowed to overcome myths, improve training prescription/control and the development of new approaches to training periodization in elite athletes. The model presented here has as main characteristics to be timeless and dimensionless. That is, each “momentum” depends exclusively on the athlete’s body feedback in relation to the training loads, indicated by the biomarkers used. The duration of “momentums” and “macrocycles” depends on the athlete’s performance, ballast and physiological wear (internal biomonitored load). The purpose of this chapter is to present an overview of the components to be considered in individual sports training, their control and how the theory is translated into practice.