CPSS Training Theory and Periodization 3 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: Which training variable is most directly manipulated to create progressive overload in resistance training?
- Exercise selection
- Rest interval duration
- Training volume load (sets × reps × load) (Correct answer)
- Grip width
Correct answer: Training volume load (sets × reps × load)
Volume load is the primary quantifiable overload variable; systematically increasing sets, reps, or external load drives progressive adaptation.
Question 2: In undulating periodization, variation in training stimulus occurs:
- Within a single session
- Between microcycles only
- Within the microcycle (day to day) (Correct answer)
- Only between mesocycles
Correct answer: Within the microcycle (day to day)
Daily undulating periodization (DUP) varies intensity and volume targets across sessions within the same week rather than waiting for a new mesocycle.
Question 3: The principle of specificity states that training adaptations are most pronounced when the training stimulus closely matches the:
- Athlete's weakest physical quality
- Demands of the target sport or performance task (Correct answer)
- Volume of previous training cycles
- Competitor's training methods
Correct answer: Demands of the target sport or performance task
SAID (Specific Adaptation to Imposed Demands) principle holds that physiological adaptations are specific to the metabolic and mechanical demands of the training stimulus.
Question 4: A basketball player's annual plan contains fall pre-season, winter in-season, and spring off-season phases. These three phases correspond to:
- Accumulation, transmutation, realization
- Preparatory, competitive, and transition periods (Correct answer)
- Macrocycle, mesocycle, microcycle
- GPP, SPP, and competition
Correct answer: Preparatory, competitive, and transition periods
The three classical macrocycle periods are preparatory (pre-season), competitive (in-season), and transition (off-season/active rest).
Question 5: What does the term 'training density' refer to in periodization?
- The number of training sessions per week
- The ratio of work to rest within a session or microcycle (Correct answer)
- The total volume load over a mesocycle
- The percentage of 1RM used in a session
Correct answer: The ratio of work to rest within a session or microcycle
Training density describes the ratio of work to recovery time, indicating how closely training sessions (or repetitions) are packed together.
Question 6: Which periodization concept describes the planned accumulation of fatigue before a deliberate unloading phase to reveal supercompensation?
- Functional overreaching (Correct answer)
- Non-functional overreaching
- Overtraining syndrome
- Residual fatigue cycling
Correct answer: Functional overreaching
Functional overreaching is intentional short-term overload that produces temporary performance decrements followed by supercompensation once the load is reduced.
Question 7: In strength training periodization, a 'wave loading' scheme (e.g., 6-4-2 reps across three sets with increasing load) primarily aims to:
- Maximize metabolic stress per session
- Potentiate heavier sets via post-activation potentiation (Correct answer)
- Reduce session duration
- Prioritize muscular endurance
Correct answer: Potentiate heavier sets via post-activation potentiation
Wave loading exploits post-activation potentiation (PAP): heavier, lower-rep sets prime the neuromuscular system so subsequent waves can be performed at higher loads.
CPSS Training Theory and Periodization 3
Which training variable is most directly manipulated to create progressive overload in resistance training?