Transition(postcompetitive period)

Transition period is also called postcompetitive, cause it starts right after the competitive period is completed, or when the athlete hasn’t got any significant competition in front of him.

Transition period is necessary part of macrocycle. It mustn’t be accepted as a period where there is no any kind of training work. That type of transition period is used earlier, but now it is past. Due to more reasons, primarily for training process continuity, in this period training work is done, but different of the one that is made in preparation and competitive period. Differences exist due to different goals and assignments in each period. Differences can appear among various transition periods, cause, for example, features are not the same for macrocycle where it belongs.

Basic goal in transition period is complete rest of an athlete, physical and psychological recovery and training level maintenance on determined level. In transition period following goals should be realized:

1)      Decrease in summary load size by volume and intensity. Volume of work is three times smaller than for preparation period.

2)      Completely leave individual trainings of maximal load.

3)      Maintain training level that is not lower for more than 10% related to training level in competitive period.

4)      Make corrections in physical, technical and tactic preparation; important for following season.

5)      Lessen the number of trainings in microcycle that shouldn’t be more than 4-6.

6)      Heal injuries made during season.

7)      After hard competitive period, 7-10 days of complete rest in natural conditions(mountain, sea). In this time period is not trained. Athlete should take a walk, swim lightly, apply recovery methods…

8)      Change training resources by applying more various resources of basic preparation. Athlete can recreatively apply some other sport.

9)      Change place of training and keep trainings as much as possible more in natural surround(forest, open ground, near river…).

10)  In basic physical preparation use as much as various exercises that are not used earlier in training.

11)  Individual trainings should be complex character cause these trainings are more interesting, easier to handle from aspect of load and influent the athlete wider.

12)  Eventual competitions in this period has to be friendly, revial or recreational character, without bigger demands.

13)  In the end of transitive period, starts the preparation for preparation period of the next macrocycle. Loads gradually increase, and also the specificity of training.

14)  In sport branches in which tactic influents more significantly on the result, basics of tactics for following season are set.

15)  Make the analyse of the last season and create training process correction based on it.

16)  Create goals and assignments or the next macrocycle and make training plans.

Transitive period lasting can be very various. It is usual that it lasts 4-8 weeks, but there are types with shorter and longer lasting. Very different can be the structure, too. Sometimes that is only one mesocycle of renewel-maintaining mesocycle. In other cases, these are two mesocycles. In first one the athlete rests, and in the second preparation starts for the next macrocycle. There are three mesocycles, if transition period lasts for a very long time.

Transitive period can also be various. There are three types or variants:

First type changes passive and active rest. After hard competitions athlete rests 1-2 months. Nevermind of this access leads to decrease of functional possibilities, it is complete in top athletes training that have longer sports  traineeship, and are found in the phase of abilities maintenance.

Second type is completely different. When competitive period is completed, athlete recovers few days actively or passively, and then continues with training. Trainings are relatively hard and similar to the trainings at the beginning of preparation period. On the first look, this type is unlogic related to goals and assignments of transition period. However, this type shouldn’t be forgotten compeletely. Praxa shew that it is correct access if it is worked about the athletes that, from any reason, didn’t have hard season, weren’t trained by planned loads or didn’t have complete season.

Third type is compromise between the first two. In it numerous resources of active rest are applied, but athlete loads and that non-specifically, with the goal to maintain the level of basic sports form components. This type is the most often and the most efficient, cause it solves two basic assignments of transition period.

In transition period athlete mustn’t be in sports form – it has to be dropped in order to create new form, and build it. But, as already mentioned, high level of training should be kept as the fundament of sports form. At young athletes, that still progress, training level in transition period has to be bigger than in previous macrocycle. That means that the athlete in new season, or new macrocycle, goes from bigger level, which is assume for higher level of sports form and better sports results. 

"Basics of sports training", Vladimir Koprivica