planning for the year

I did some searching on this forum, and didn’t find anything. But what are some thoughts for planning for the year? Personally, my programming is going to end the week before Christmas, and I’m already thinking about next year. The past three years I’ve completed several programs for strength focus when one ends I’ll try something new but nothing really planned out.

Would there be any benefit to planning for the year? Do any of you plan out an entire year? I don’t, or haven’t I just pick a program that looks good and run it to the end then pick something else.

I’ll dip my toe in here, but the way I do it for my lifters is based upon what the year might bring. For instance, for the time from now til about mid-January, I assume with holiday parties and kids functions and what not, there is going to be some missed time in the gym. So I program for this time a little more conditioning (keep the weight off for the Christmas buffets) and less of a focus on the strength gains. I don’t program to maintain, but a lot more gradual and sustainable if a session is missed progress.

So if you put the focus on “seasons”, you could say Feb-May is pure strength and mass, June-Aug or Sept is beach body time and Oct to Feb is small gains and condition. Just a thought, hope it helps.

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I’m just gonna leave this here… Mike T talking about emerging strategies, otherwise known as taking your training one micro-cycle and one block at a time. Definitely a bit of a rabbit hole to go down, but one I’ve been thinking about a lot lately. It kind of flies in the face of everything we’ve heard about periodization and top down programming over the years… and imo in a way that is very freeing and kind of a sigh of relief. It’s so simple, so intuitive, and so natural that it might just be crazy enough to work: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WdGP120e4B0

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I am no Mike T, nor @PWard at that; however, I used to try to plan quite a ways ahead. Never really worked for me as: 1. Life gets in the way and wrecks my plans which then frustrates me, and the circle of frustration begins, or continues.
2. Little to no consideration for how the current training block went as “the plan says this”. I now choose a training program, stick to it, and in the last week or so I start considering my performance (both in terms of weights/goals/stuff and adherence (life gets in the way; kids, wife, family, travel, etc)). At this point I think about what the new short term goal is that feeds the longer term goal and thus the appropriate program together with the appropriate dietary program (cut/maintain/gain).

“A Jedi must have the deepest commitment, the most serious mind. This one a long time have I watched. All his life has he looked away…to the future, to the horizon. Never his mind on where he was. Hmm? What he was doing.” (emphasis mine) - Yoda Empire Strike Back

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Of course I do! Planning for the year can help you stay focused and motivated while also giving you a sense of accomplishment when you reach your goals.

Yes, there can be great benefits to planning for the year! It gives you the opportunity to set goals, create structure in your training, and map out how you want to progress throughout the year. Planning can also help you stay organized, motivated, and accountable. For example, you could look at your current fitness level and decide what areas you want to focus on in the upcoming year. You could break up the year into smaller chunks and plan out specific exercises and programs that you want to tackle in each period. You can even use a template from 123calendars.com to stay organized. This way, you can track your progress and make sure you’re staying on track to reach your goals.

Rough outline for my training year:

Summer all I do is rest, ok?
New Years all I do is stretch, ok?
Valentines Day I have intimate relations, ok?
We’ll see what’s bout to happen next, ok? (<— Emerging Strategies. Got that from Mike T.)