Periodised Training Blueprint

Overview

In this second lesson of a 3-lesson unit, students use what they learned about training types and key training principles to design an effective, periodised training program for a sport. They will link aerobic, anaerobic, strength and flexibility work to different phases across a season.

Learning intentions

• Students will learn how periodisation structures training across a season using macrocycles, mesocycles and microcycles.
• Students will be able to design a basic training program that shifts emphasis between training types over time.
• Students will connect programming choices to training principles from Lesson 1, including progressive overload and specificity.
• Students will justify why each training type matters in each phase of the chosen sport.

Success criteria

• I can describe how phases in periodisation change training emphasis over time.
• I can create a periodised plan that includes aerobic, anaerobic, strength and flexibility training.
• I can justify which training types I include in each phase using training principles.
• I can give and receive peer feedback using a checklist.

Curriculum links

• Understand how training improves performance and how different training types support specific adaptations.
• Apply principles of safe, effective training design, including progression and specificity.
• Communicate and justify health and wellbeing decisions using evidence-informed reasoning.
• Practise planning, monitoring and evaluating strategies that support performance and injury prevention.

Lesson structure (60 minutes)

1. 0–8 min: Motivation video + discussion

• Show a short motivational video of elite athletes from different sports training. Prompt: “Why do you think their training looks so different from each other?”
• Students turn-and-talk, then share one idea to the class: differences come from time of season, sport demands, and training focus.

2. 8–18 min: Periodisation explained (macro/meso/micro)

• Teach periodisation as a structured plan for an entire season (macrocycle), broken into training blocks (mesocycles), then scheduled sessions (microcycles).
• Use a simple example: off-season builds foundations; pre-season develops fitness and strength; in-season maintains performance while managing fatigue.

3. 18–30 min: Training phase emphasis (aerobic/anaerobic/strength/flex)

• Explain how training emphasis deliberately shifts through the season, for example:
• Aerobic: stronger base during earlier phases to support recovery and endurance.
• Anaerobic: increased focus closer to competition to improve high-intensity capacity and repeated efforts.
• Strength: progressive development and then maintenance to support power, collision tolerance and injury resilience.
• Flexibility/mobility: targeted work aligned with movement needs across the year.
• Use a sport case study (e.g., an NRL player): pre-season emphasis on aerobic base and strength; in-season shifts toward anaerobic conditioning and skill maintenance with careful recovery.

4. 30–40 min: Map planning in pairs (choose a sport)

• In pairs, students choose a sport they know well (or are currently participating in). Provide a one-page template with phase labels (early/base, build, peak/competition, transition/recovery).
• Students identify the main sport demands (endurance, repeated sprints, strength/power, movement quality) and predict which training type will be most prominent in each phase.

5. 40–52 min: Build the draft program (include all four types)

• Students complete the template for their sport, selecting at least one training focus per phase from each of the four types across the full plan.
• Require a short justification box: “Why is this training type emphasised in this phase?” Link to progressive overload (how training should progress) and specificity (how training matches the sport).

6. 52–57 min: Peer feedback checklist

• Pairs swap plans with another pair. Students use a simple checklist:
• Does it include all four training types across the program?
• Does the plan show periodisation phases and changing emphasis?
• Are justifications linked to training principles (progression/specificity)?
• Is it realistic for the sport context (general season needs)?
• Feedback should include one “keep” and one “improve”.

7. 57–60 min: Exit question (set up Lesson 3)

• Whole-class prompt: “How would you know if your program is actually working?”
• Students write a 1-sentence response and hand it in (this leads into monitoring and tracking in Lesson 3).

Resources

• Periodisation diagrams (macrocycle/mesocycle/microcycle) on slides or posters
• Sport case study fact cards (e.g., NRL-style season phases)
• Periodised training program template (phase labels + justification fields)
• Peer feedback checklist sheet
• Timer for transitions and drafting stages
• Markers or sticky notes for phase emphasis mapping
• Quiet work area options for students who prefer reduced peer noise
• Optional example template (partially completed) for modelling

Assessment

• Formative assessment: teacher circulates during drafting to check that students include all four training types and can justify phase emphasis.
• Peer assessment: checklist evidence of whether the program shows periodisation and alignment with training principles.
• Exit response: one sentence answering how they would know the program is working (used to connect to Lesson 3).

Differentiation

• Support: provide pre-made program templates with clearer phase labels, sentence starters for justification (“This phase focuses on… because…”), and a checklist of what to include.
• Support: offer a reduced-choice sport list with common season timelines and demand prompts (e.g., running/field sports, court sports).
• Extension/Challenge: require advanced learners to justify each training decision with specific links to training principles and the sport context (e.g., what performance indicator would improve in that phase).
• EAL/SEN: allow responses using structured frames (single sentence + key term bank) and permit drawing/diagram labels to demonstrate understanding.

Extension (optional)

• Students plan a detailed four-week mesocycle for a specific athlete preparing for an upcoming competition.
• For each week, they identify:
• the training type focus (aerobic, anaerobic, strength, flexibility/mobility),
• approximate volume (e.g., low/medium/high sessions or minutes),
• approximate intensity (e.g., easy/moderate/hard),
• and a brief justification linking decisions to periodisation and Lesson 1 principles.
• They also include one recovery element (e.g., lighter session, technique-focused day, or flexibility emphasis) to show safe training design.