A coherent training week isn't improvised session by session : it's designed as a whole, where each session has a role relative to the others. This article, part of the athlete tracking guide for sports coaches, details the planning principles that hold regardless of the sport.

Principles that hold regardless of sport

Three principles structure a coherent week, independent of sport : alternate intensity-dominant and volume-dominant sessions to avoid stacking two demanding days on the same quality back to back; plan at least one full rest day; and follow a heavier week with a lighter one rather than accumulating indefinitely. See Calculate Training Load for the metric that lets you actually verify this distribution.

Distributing intensity and volume across the week

In practice, this means avoiding two very intense sessions on the same quality (two heavy strength sessions, or two high-intensity cardio sessions) without enough recovery between them. A technical or low-intensity session between two demanding ones allows recovery without cutting training altogether.

Where to place rest days

The full rest day ideally follows the week's most demanding session, not an arbitrary end-of-week slot out of habit. For an athlete training five to six times a week, two spread-out rest days often work better than a single isolated one.

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Adjusting the plan to load actually completed

A plan that stays fixed regardless of what actually happens loses its value : if an athlete significantly exceeded their usual load one week, the following week should account for that, rather than sticking to a plan written weeks in advance with no adjustment. See Acute/Chronic Load Ratio for spotting this kind of variation, and Managing Multiple Athletes for organizing this adjustment across several athletes at once. On the solo-athlete side, Deload Weeks in Strength Training details the same logic applied to an athlete training without a coach.

Key takeaways

  • Alternate intensity and volume, plan at least one full rest day, follow a heavy week with a lighter one.
  • Avoid stacking two demanding sessions on the same quality without enough recovery.
  • The rest day follows the most demanding session, not a fixed habit.
  • Planning adjusts to load actually completed, not just what was scheduled.

Frequently asked questions

Should the rest day fall on the same day every week?

Not necessarily the same day: what matters is that it follows the week's most demanding session, not that it falls on a fixed day out of habit.

How many high-intensity sessions per week?

It depends on the sport and level, but two very demanding sessions on the same quality, less than 48 hours apart, are rarely a good idea.

How do you know if a week was too heavy?

By comparing completed load to the athlete's usual load, on a rolling average rather than session by session.

Should you rework the whole plan if an athlete misses a session?

Not systematically; a single missed session is rarely worth making up for by doubling up. It's the trend across several weeks that matters.

Is a deload week part of normal planning?

Yes, on a regular basis rather than as a reaction to fatigue that's already set in.