When most trainees think about periodization, they think about changing reps, increasing load, or moving from an accumulation phase to an intensification phase. Those decisions help organize a productive training program. With an avid lifter, I also want to establish how the outcome of one program will support the next and how those programs connect across an entire year.
In the KILO system, undulating periodization is central to that planning process. Within a 12-week macrocycle, we alternate accumulation and intensification phases to develop the strength qualities associated with a specific training goal. Across the year, we apply the same principle of planned variation by changing the emphasis from one macrocycle to the next.
This gives each program a purpose within the long-term plan. A trainee may want more muscle, greater strength, or better athletic performance. The annual structure allows me to pursue that priority while developing the supporting qualities that can help the lifter continue progressing.
Establishing the Year’s Emphasis
The first decision is the general goal for the year. At KILO, that emphasis can be balanced development, hypertrophy, absolute strength, relative strength, or power.
Hypertrophy refers to increasing muscle size. Absolute strength is the ability to produce maximum force, irrespective of bodyweight. Relative strength considers force production in relation to bodyweight. Power involves producing force quickly.
These goals influence each other. Additional muscle can contribute to a greater capacity for force production. Improved strength can support heavier loading during subsequent hypertrophy work. A stronger lifter may also have more force available to apply during power training, provided the program develops the ability to express it quickly.
The year’s emphasis determines how I organize those relationships. For someone whose main priority is muscle growth, I want enough time dedicated to hypertrophy while including strength work that supports future progress. For someone pursuing relative strength, I place more emphasis on improving force production while monitoring the relationship between performance and bodyweight.
The same periodization model can therefore serve different trainees. The sequence changes according to the outcome we are trying to achieve.
Giving Each Macrocycle a Specific Goal
The annual plan contains four 12-week macrocycles. Each macrocycle has a specific goal and contains two six-week blocks. Each block includes an accumulation phase followed by an intensification phase, with each phase lasting three weeks.
This structure gives the lifter enough time to develop a quality through repeated exposures. It also provides clear points for reviewing performance and adjusting the next part of the plan.
The macrocycle goal influences the volume, intensity, exercise selection, and training methods used throughout those twelve weeks. A hypertrophy macrocycle generally includes more repetitions and a greater emphasis on accumulating productive muscular work. A relative strength macrocycle gives more attention to heavier loading and the quality of force production.
Both still contain accumulation and intensification phases. An intensification phase within a hypertrophy macrocycle serves the hypertrophy goal by accentuating muscular tension. An accumulation phase within a relative strength macrocycle prepares the trainee for the heavier work that follows.
The phase name alone does not describe the complete program. I need to know the macrocycle goal to interpret the purpose of the loading prescription for the given mesocycle.
Alternating Goals Across the Year
The following sequences illustrate how we organize different annual priorities within the KILO system.
Each sequence provides a starting framework. I still consider the lifter’s experience, current capacity, limiting factors, and response to previous training before deciding how to apply it.
The hypertrophy-focused year provides a clear example. The first macrocycle establishes a concentrated exposure to muscle growth. The second shifts toward absolute strength, giving the trainee an opportunity to improve force production through a different combination of volume and intensity.
The third macrocycle returns to hypertrophy. At that point, I can use the performance developed during the strength work to guide the new loading prescriptions. The lifter revisits the goal with updated capacities and another opportunity to accumulate productive work.
The final relative strength macrocycle provides a heavier emphasis while allowing me to assess how strength has progressed throughout the year. Across the training year, hypertrophy remains the main priority, with the other macrocycles contributing to its development.
For a relative strength-focused year, alternating absolute strength and relative strength provides a different relationship. The absolute strength macrocycles allow broader development of muscular and force-producing capacities. The relative strength macrocycles direct more attention toward expressing strength efficiently via significant improvements in neural capacity.
Adjusting Training Demands to Address Limiting Factors
Alternating macrocycle goals changes the type of work the lifter performs and the demands that receive the greatest attention.
During a hypertrophy macrocycle, the trainee spends more time accumulating repetitions and developing the capacity to tolerate productive training volume. During a strength-focused macrocycle, the prescription generally moves toward heavier loads, fewer repetitions, and lower training volumes.
This variation allows me to revisit important qualities while changing the dominant training demand. It also helps me identify what should receive more attention next.
For example, a lifter may become proficient with heavier loads but struggle to sustain performance across several working sets. A subsequent macrocycle with a greater volume emphasis gives me an opportunity to address that limitation.
Another trainee may tolerate volume well while making limited progress with heavier weights. A more concentrated strength exposure can help direct the program toward that need.
The decision comes from the relationship between the annual goal and the lifter’s current performance. I want the next macrocycle to solve a relevant problem and support the work that follows.
Changing the emphasis also requires continuity. I still need appropriate exposure to the primary movements and supporting qualities that are relevant to the trainee. Exercise selection for the assistance and remedial work help maintain that connection while the primary training demand changes.
Planning Active Recovery into the Calendar
Between each 12-week macrocycle, I include one week of active recovery. Four macrocycles provide 48 training weeks. Adding four active recovery weeks creates a complete 52-week annual structure.
The first macrocycle runs from weeks 1 through 12, followed by active recovery in week 13. The second runs from weeks 14 through 25, followed by active recovery in week 26. The third runs from weeks 27 through 38, followed by active recovery in week 39. The fourth runs from weeks 40 through 51, with week 52 providing the transition into the next year.
I plan these weeks from the beginning. They give the lifter a scheduled reduction in training demand and provide a useful point for reviewing the completed macrocycle.
Active recovery can include walking, easy conditioning, mobility work, light movement practice, or low intensity isolation work according to the trainee’s needs. The activity should support recovery, with a workload that leaves the lifter prepared to begin the next program.
This transition also helps distinguish the end of one training goal from the beginning of another. I can review the results, establish new references, and make the next prescription with a clearer picture of the trainee’s capacity.
Using Performance to Guide the Next Macrocycle
The annual plan establishes the programming direction, while the training log helps me determine the appropriate starting point for each new macrocycle.
I review completed loads of each rep schemes as well as the lifter’s ability to tolerate the prescribed work. After each macrocycle, I calculate updated estimated 1RM values from training performance to guide subsequent loading.
The parameters I prioritize follow the goal. During hypertrophy work, I consider changes in muscular development alongside performance and volume tolerance. During strength work, I assess maximal strength outcomes. During power work, I need evidence of improved explosive performance alongside the strength foundation supporting it.
A planned sequence may require adjustment when the trainee’s response reveals a different need. The framework gives me a reason for making that adjustment and helps preserve continuity across the year.
The same principle applies beyond a single annual plan. As the lifter develops, the next year can revisit familiar goals with different starting capacities, loading prescriptions, and priorities. Progress does not require every macrocycle to carry a higher relative intensity than the previous one.
Undulating periodization gives me a way to organize those changes. Each mesocycle contributes to a macrocycle, each macrocycle contributes to the year’s emphasis, and the completed year provides information for the next long-term plan. That connection allows the trainee to pursue a clear priority while continuing to develop the qualities needed to support it.
Continue Learning with KILO
Explore the periodization principles covered in this article through these KILO courses and resources:
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Study: Periodization Course
Learn how to organize accumulation and intensification phases, manage volume and intensity, and structure macrocycles for hypertrophy, strength, and power. -
Study: Comprehensive Periodization Course
Expand your understanding of linear, undulating, and wave periodization models, including how to time their application to support different training goals. -
Apply: Long-Term Periodization Database
Reference nine four-year undulating periodization models, with A-series rep schemes organized by training level and volume tolerance to support your long-term planning. -
Listen: Riding the Waves: The Pros & Cons of Phase Undulating Periodization | Between 2 Racks | Episode 72
Join KILO as they discuss the benefits and limitations of phase undulating periodization, clarify accumulation and intensification, and explain its application to long-term training.
