So I gave some thought to the question that I raised in my fall fitness plan and finally figured out a really good training periodization based on a January-June home season (and based on actually having played and trained for a couple of seasons now.) Which all might get changed next season, stay tuned. I have the technology, ladies, I can rebuild him—
| Period | Month | Strength | Speed | Agility | Blocking | Scrimmage | Bout |
| Break | Jul | X | |||||
| Base | Aug | X | X | X | |||
| Build | Sep-Oct | X | X | X | X | ||
| Pre-Peak | Nov-Dec | X | X | X | X | ||
| Peak/Taper | Jan-Jun | X | X | X | X |
Strength is off-skates strength training for muscle activation and injury prevention. Speed would start with skating form and gradually build from moderate to extensive to intensive endurance for skating fitness. Agility is learning and practicing non-contact skating skills, from basic to fancy. Blocking is learning and practicing contact skating skills, covering a range of skill- and position-specific focuses. Scrimmage is learning and practicing the game. Bout is what we do it all for, playing the game in front of thousands of spectators.
Starting this week and in upcoming weeks, I will be writing a series of anatomy study guides and can tell you right now that they're all going to end with "and you need to work on this muscle for playing derby because you use it for blah-di-blah-blah," and you may be thinking, there are a hundred million things in derby that I need to work on, not to mention street teaming and volunteer hours and track duty, how the hell am I supposed to fit in working the freaking small muscles of my back, and the answer is, periodization. You train all year round, but different things at the right time of year—for best results, and also for keeping it fun.
