Flexible Non Linear Periodization- “Brand new concept” – Not.

Flexible Non Linear Periodization is a new concept according to research published here. The concept is that if your athlete turns up to the gym fatigued, not having slept, or feeling ill or stressed, you adapt the workout to that situation.  You don’t inflict the prescribed periodized workout onto the athlete.

Let me think about that for a second… yes, that is what I thought- FNP is simply another word for COACHING. I sometimes wonder what little world these academics live in.  Most of the research quoted that supports periodization models, or the benefits of practising the 2nd pull in the Olympic Lifts is done in a little bubble of academia, not familiar with the real world of athletic development and coaching.

The authors think that this is a brand new concept, because in their review of literature, not other researchers have used this flexible approach.  They state that “FNL periodization is a new strategy that should theoretically maximize athletic performance in numerous sports and physical performances”.

Last year I was in part of a group session of peer review with a “distinguished academic”. Each coach had to put up their programme that they had been working on with their athlete. Apart from one coach, who actually expressed a bit of a mish mash and making do around the many travels and problems of the athletes, the rest of the programmes looked like they had been cut and paste from the beginners guide to periodisation. They all looked very neat and tidy, but I doubt if anyone of them had actually been implemented.

When planning for your athlete, it is important to have an overview, and an idea of what you want to get from that workout, that week and that month, as well as the overall development of the athlete. But the single most important part of coaching, is communicating with the athlete and then being flexible enough to adjust accordingly. That does come with experience.