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Managing Training Cycles

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
  • Plan variety by ensuring movements get adequate attention
  • Measure effectiveness by comparing cycle results

Creating a New Cycle

Step 1: Define the Cycle

  1. Navigate to Cycles in your dashboard
  2. Click "New Cycle"
  3. Set a name (e.g., "Spring 2025 Strength")
  4. Choose start and end dates
  5. 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
  • Set target frequencies (e.g., "Squat 2x/week")
  • Limberjack tracks whether you're hitting these targets

Step 3: Program Within the Cycle

As you create workouts during the cycle:

  • The calendar shows which cycle you're in
  • Recovery tracking is cycle-aware
  • Element picker highlights cycle-priority movements

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 (2x/week target)
  • Deadlift (1x/week target)
  • Strict Press (2x/week target)
  • Bench Press (1x/week target)

Throughout the cycle, Limberjack shows you whether you're hitting these frequency targets and how recovery is looking for these priority movements.

Viewing Cycle Progress

The cycle view shows:

  • Frequency tracking: How often each cycle element has been programmed
  • Recovery status: Current recovery state of priority movements
  • Calendar overlay: Which weeks are part of this cycle
  • Element usage: Patterns showing balance or bias

Transitioning Between Cycles

When ending a cycle and starting a new one:

  1. Review the completed cycle's data
  2. Note which movements were emphasized
  3. Plan the next cycle's focus
  4. Create new cycle with different priorities
  5. 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

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