In this interactive online course you will learn about advanced strength training techniques and how to use them. The course is supplemented by the text Periodization Training for Sports, Second Edition by Tudor Bompa, PhD. The course includes several supplementary information tables, a glossary of key terms (hyperlinked to the lessons), and an online final exam.

The course will help you learn advanced techniques that emphasize the muscular strength and hypertrophy techniques that will help you to develop a precise program that meets individual athletes’ sport-specific goals. In this course, you will move away from a one-program-fits-all approach toward one in which fine-tuning occurs. As the learner, you will assume the role of a newly promoted strength and conditioning coach after having been a fitness instructor for Acme Fitness, Inc. for the past three years. As a strength and conditioning coach, you will spend three days with a virtual mentor who will introduce you to clients and ask you to interact with them as you would in a real-life situation. Your mentor will lead you through the following situations and exercises.

Day 1: Needs Analysis — You will review the components of a needs analysis by determining your clients’ training status and goals, applying the biomotor abilities classification system, identifying which primary energy pathways your clients will use, and performing an analysis of their movement patterns.

Day 2: Principles of Progression — As you work with your clients you will learn the principles of periodization, identify the different phases of a periodization program, and learn how to organize the different phases to achieve the performance-related goals of each athlete.

Day 3: Developing Individualized Programs — During Day 3 you will develop the specific macrocycles of the periodized strength training programs for each of your athletes. You will then apply guidelines to each macrocycle so that you understand the relative contribution of the different aspects of training to ensure your athletes achieve their specific goals.

Finally, you’ll take the online course test, which covers material from the interactive study guide and from the course text.