Periodization of Strength Training for Sports

Tudor O. Bompa, PhD, revolutionized Western training methods when he introduced his groundbreaking theory of periodization in his native Romania in 1963. He has personally trained 11 Olympic medalists (including 4 gold medalists) and has served as a consultant to coaches and athletes worldwide.

Bompa’s books on training methods, including Theory and Methodology of Training: The Key to Athletic Performance and Periodization, have been translated into 19 languages and used in more than 180 countries for training athletes and for educating and certifying coaches. Bompa has been invited to speak about training in 46 countries and has been awarded certificates of honor and appreciation from such prestigious organizations as the Ministry of Culture of Argentina, the Australian Sports Council, the Spanish Olympic Committee, the National Strength and Conditioning Association (2014 Alvin Roy Award for Career Achievement), and the International Olympic Committee.

A member of the Canadian Olympic Association and the Romanian National Council of Sports, Bompa is a professor emeritus of York University, where he began teaching training theories in 1987. In 2017, Bompa was awarded the honorary title of doctor honoris causa in his home country of Romania.

Carlo A. Buzzichelli is a PhD candidate at the Superior Institute of Physical Culture and Sports of Havana (Cuba). He is a professional strength and conditioning coach; the director of the International Strength and Conditioning Institute; a consultant for Olympic track and field athletes in Cuba, Italy, and the Philippines; an adjunct professor of theory and methodology of training at the University of Milan (Italy); and a member of the President’s Advisory Council of the International Sports Sciences Association (ISSA). Buzzichelli has held seminars and lectures at various universities and sport institutes worldwide and was an invited lecturer at the 2012 International Workshop on Strength and Conditioning in Trivandrum (India), the 2015 Performance Training Summit in Beijing (China), the 2016 International Workshop on Strength and Conditioning in Bucharest (Romania), the 2017 Track and Field National Team Coaches Forum in Havana (Cuba), the 2018 Philippines Academy of Rehabilitation Medicine Conference in Manila (Philippines), the 2018 International Conference on Football Science in Florence (Italy), the 2018 International Conference on Combat Sports Strength and Conditioning in Warsaw (Poland), and the 2019 International Workshop on Strength and Conditioning in Gwalior (India).

Buzzichelli’s coaching experience includes the 2002 Commonwealth Games; the 2003, 2017, and 2019 World Track and Field Championships; and the 2016 Summer Olympics. As a strength and conditioning coach for team sports, his three senior teams in two different sports (volleyball and soccer) have achieved a total of five promotions in five seasons. As a coach of individual sports, Buzzichelli’s athletes have won more than 50 medals at national championships in four sports (track and field, swimming, Brazilian jiujitsu, and powerlifting), set 10 national records in powerlifting and track and field, and won 15 medals at international competitions. In 2015, Buzzichelli coached two Italian champions in two different sports; in 2016, two of his athletes earned international titles in two different combat sports.