Unload weeks are a deeply ingrained concept within traditional training periodization models. There are several recipes when designing a week of unloading, although the usual thing is to find reductions in training volume of up to 50% and modifications in the habitual movement patterns.
However, understanding the download week as it has been commonly understood tends to give precision problems. I explain. The inclusion of download weeks within traditional periodization models (top-down) assumes that the athlete will need that unloading week at that time. “What if the time was a week ago?”, “What if the time was a week from now?”
The concept of the pivot week is, in essence, “the same” as the unloading one, but within a different philosophy regarding training periodization (bottom-up model). In this philosophy, we do not have an established training program for the next 8, 10 or 12 weeks, but rather decisions are made on the fly based on an established micro-cycle of training that can be subjected to changes.
In this sense, pivot weeks include when and where they do It is lacking depending on whether the athlete shows signs of joint pain, discomfort or depending on whether their performance declines for two consecutive weeks.
Be that as it may, in this article We explain the objectives that a pivot week pursues and in passing we explain what it does not consist of.
What goals does a pivot week seek?
Next we are going to talk about the objectives we seek when we include a pivot week in our training. It is important to note that as the name suggests, a pivot week is a transition week between one training block and anotherIn other words, it is not a question of including the pivot week to continue with the same training program that we had followed up to that moment.
The idea is that the pivot week serves as a link between what we have been doing and what we are going to do.
Dispel accumulated fatigue
This is the first objective that a pivot week pursues and, in fact, it comes closest to the usual understanding we have about traditional download weeks.
Through an individualized reduction according to the athlete of the total training load We seek to reduce the accumulated fatigue during the previous training block and thus prepare for the start of the next.
Re-sensitize the athlete to the stimulus
Repeated bout effect It is a concept that we can find in the scientific literature on sports science that refers to the phenomenon that takes place when we expose ourselves several times to the same stimulus. With the first exhibitions we are able to improve and adapt to it, but there comes a time when we stop responding like the first day or we simply stop responding.
Cutting the training block and introducing a pivot week at this point can help us re-sensitize ourselves to the stimulus that will be coming in the next block. For this we can include variants of the usual exercises or even significantly different set and rep protocols.
Maintain earned fitness and strength
One of the common problems with the application of the unload weeks understood in a traditional way is that the cut in the training load is usually so high that the athlete loses his state of form in the face of the beginning of the next block of training.
This causes that when you return to training normally, a lot of time is wasted simply recovering the previous state.
In this way a balance point must be found when reducing the training load and re-sensitizing ourselves to the stimulus. There are athletes who will have to reduce the training load very little so as not to lose too much rhythm for the next block.
Increase motivation and desire to train
Although it seems silly it is not. Pivot weeks can be used to do different things or play sports that you have not practiced before.
This serves the athlete on the one hand to disconnect and on the other to “miss” their usual sport.
And it is that although I consider that discipline and commitment are more important than motivation, having tools to keep motivation high is also important.
Extend the sports career
The pivot week is the ideal time to practice movements that we do not usually practice or perform variations that we do not usually include in our regular workouts.
It turns out that although the technique is correct, the fact of repeating the same movement pattern throughout our sporting life can lead to greater joint wear.
In this way, modifying the way in which our joints are subjected to a load can be an excellent way to dilute this wear over time. So it is a great time to include unilateral work, with accessories different from the usual ones, from other angles or stabilization or in other planes of movement.
Develop other energy pathways
Finally, in the context of strength training, it is very useful to include in the pivot weeks efforts other than the usual ones that involve other metabolic pathways for obtaining energy, such as low or medium intensity cardio (LISS, MISS) and long duration, interval training or even circuit work.
This can help us to enjoy a better state of fitness at the cardiovascular level and that translates into better capacity for work and recovery.
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