What You'll Learn
Learn how to organize your workouts into training cycles to create focused programming blocks with specific goals and progressions.
What Are Training Cycles?
A training cycle is a focused period of programming with specific goals. Common cycle types include:
- Strength cycles: Focus on building max strength over 4-6 weeks
- Conditioning cycles: Emphasis on metabolic capacity
- Skill cycles: Technical movement development
- Competition prep: Peaking for competitions or events
- Base building: General fitness development
Why Use Cycles?
Cycles help you:
- Create focused programming with clear progressions
- Communicate intent to athletes about what they're working toward
- Track movement exposure within specific training blocks
- Customize recovery rates for priority movements within this block
- Surface priority movements at the top of the element picker
Creating a New Cycle
Step 1: Define the Cycle
- Navigate to Cycles in your dashboard
- Click "New Cycle"
- Set a name (e.g., "Spring 2025 Strength")
- Choose start and end dates
- Select which program it belongs to
Step 2: Set Cycle Elements
Cycle elements are movements you want to emphasize during this period:
- Add key movements for this cycle's focus
- Optionally adjust the recovery rate for each movement (overrides the default)
- Cycle elements appear first in the element picker when building workouts
Step 3: Program Within the Cycle
As you create workouts during the cycle:
- The element picker separates cycle-priority movements from others
- Recovery tracking uses cycle-specific rates for tracked elements
- The cycle view shows all workouts scheduled within the date range
Example: 6-Week Strength Cycle
Cycle Name: "Winter 2025 Strength" Duration: January 6 - February 17 Focus: Building back squat, deadlift, and press strength
Cycle Elements:
- Back Squat
- Deadlift
- Strict Press
- Bench Press
These movements appear at the top of the element picker when building workouts, and recovery tracking uses any custom recovery rates you've set for them.
Viewing Cycle Progress
The cycle view shows:
- Tracked elements: Which movements are prioritized, with their recovery rates
- Workouts in cycle: All workouts scheduled within the cycle's date range
- Calendar link: Jump to the calendar starting from the cycle's start date
Transitioning Between Cycles
When ending a cycle and starting a new one:
- Review the completed cycle's data
- Note which movements were emphasized
- Plan the next cycle's focus
- Create new cycle with different priorities
- Limberjack maintains recovery tracking across cycle transitions
Cycle-Free Programming
You don't have to use cycles. Some coaches prefer:
- Day-to-day programming without formal cycles
- Flexible training that adapts to athlete needs
- Continuous variety without structured blocks
Limberjack supports both approaches. Recovery tracking works whether you use cycles or not.
Best Practices
Cycle Duration
Most coaches find 4-8 week cycles work well:
- Long enough to create adaptation
- Short enough to maintain athlete engagement
- Aligned with common competition schedules
Cycle Element Selection
Choose 4-8 priority movements per cycle:
- Too few: Not enough focus
- Too many: Loses the benefit of emphasis
Overlapping Goals
You can run multiple concurrent cycles:
- Strength cycle for core lifts
- Skill cycle for gymnastic movements
- Conditioning cycle for engine work
Next Steps
- Getting Started - Create workouts within your cycles
- Understanding Recovery Rates - How recovery tracking works in cycles
- Importing Workouts - Import historical cycles