Name: __________________________________
Training Cycle Period: ____________ Date: ________________
Planning Project
Directions: Here you will be working to develop a training plan using a macrocycle, mesocycles, and microcycles.
This is not a training plan that you need to actually follow, it should simply exist as a possibility. For organized
sports, you probably won’t be able to follow a training plan because your coach is in charge of your workouts. If this
is the case, consider submitting this to your coach as a possible training plan that they can follow! If you do not do
an organized sport, or train a lot on your own in the off season of your sport, make a plan that you could follow!
1. Select your sport or activity for which you will develop a training plan.
2. Try to focus on an end goal as the purpose of this training plan.
• Identify what this goal is AND when you should be accomplishing this goal. Is it the championship
competition or tournament at the end of a season?
3. Identify the total timeline, work backwards from your end of season competition.
• Some organized sports have a set amount of time that athletes are allowed to formally train for.
i. The NCAA allows a training season of 22 weeks. This means that during the 22 weeks, your
coach may require athletes be present at up to 20 hours of training per week. Outside of this
22 weeks, only 8 hours of training per week may be required.
4. Identify the main phases of your training. First determine the length of time of each phase, then work to
determine the actual calendar dates. If you are part of an organized sport, look up the calendar. If you train
on your own, figure out when you would like to try to accomplish your goal.
• When does the preparation (preseason) phase begin?
i. How long does the general preparatory phase last?
ii. How long does the specific preparatory phase last?
• When does the competition phase begin?
i. Consider if your sport features a competition “season” (as football might) or if your sport
feature a competition final performance (as swimming or track might).
• When does the transition phase begin?
5. Identify the subphases of your training cycle.
• The whole plan is your macrocycle.
• Next, work on mesocycles.
i. Some phases will have fewer or more mesocycles.
ii. Identify a goal of your mesocycles and how this will contribute to your overall goal of the
macrocycle
• Next, work on the microcycles of each mesocycle.
i. For each microcycle, identify a mini goal of the week
ii. Determine how you will accomplish this goal
iii. For each day of the microcycle, determine what needs to be done. You don’t need to outline
specifics of the workouts, but you should have a general goal of this.
• For example: “Monday- lower body weights, focusing on high reps and low weights
with the goal of building muscular endurance while still featuring resistance”
◼ Don’t forget to include the transition phase! Prepare something to do following the competition phase.
◼ Don’t forget to consider overtraining and undertraining!
6. Find the best way to visually represent this training cycle (i.e. turn it in)
• One idea (but not what you are required to do): Make a powerpoint presentation where each slide is
a microcycle and you identify an overall goal with specifics day by day. Groups of slides labeled
with a mesocycle and the overall training goal of the mesocycle. Groups or slides also then part of a
preparation phase, competition phase, or transition phase.
Rubric:
1) Identify the sport / activity for which the training plan is designed for:
2) A. Identify the goal for this training cycle.
B. Explain how you will know if your goal is accomplished?
3) Identify overall time constraints (with some supporting reasoning
why you chose that length of time).
4) A. Identify the length of time of the preparation phase along with
calendar dates. Include general (conditioning) and specific phases
B. Identify the length of time of the competition phase along with
calendar dates.
C. Identify the length of time of the transition phase along with
calendar dates.
5) A. Identify the various mesocycles along with goal and calendar
dates.
B. Explain why the goal of each mesocycle will help you to achieve
the overall goal of the macrocycle.
C. Identify the each microcycles, goal of the microcycle, and what is
done on each day of the microcycle..
Overall Grade: _____________ / 10