What is 4x7

Updated 2 May 2013

4x7 is the official periodization model in CST.

Another commonly used synonym for "periodization" is "cycling".

Why Cycle

Instead of giving you the reason straightaway, let's take a look at what people usually want.

"I want to gain ten pounds of muscle and lose twenty pounds of fat. Oh i also want to get strong. And i want to run faster. And also to jump higher. etc etc..."

So they do weight training in addition to cardio (or HIIT for the better informed ones), and a lot of other training mixed in.

An example of this kind of "i want it all" programming may look like this:
Monday: weights
Tuesday: cardio
Wednesday: weights
Thursday: cardio
Friday: weights
Saturday: cardio
Sunday: sports (eg soccer)

If you have just started physical training, achieving some of these goals may be easy. Even if you train without any specific goals or proper training program, you will make progress in the first few weeks to months. Then you would hit a plateau.

Along the way some people would think that they are "hargainers". Some people train the same way year after year, lift the same weight year after year, look the same year after year, and get nowhere. At least some are enthusiastic enough to continue this active lifestyle. But a lot of people drop out. How many times have you heard people say "i used to work out", "i used to lift weights" or something to that extend?

So then, to avoid this lack of result, we need to have a plan to achieve our goals. And yes, you cannot achieve all of your fitness goals at the same time. Some complementary goals like strength and mass can be trained at the same time, but opposing goals like mass and fat loss are not so ideal to be trained at the same time.

Rather than waiting for the time plateau comes, why not start right? You would be less frustrated with lack of results. Furthermore, would you want to save time? Save energy? Train less while getting more? Prevent injuries at the same time?

Our Way

There is a wrong way to doing things, like the example shown above. And there are many right ways. There are very convoluted periodization programs that can put you to sleep just looking at them. But we are not interested in them, we are interested in how you, as a layman, can utilize this simple formula in your training to reap the benefits of periodization.

The 4x7 periodization model looks like this:

Day 1: No Intensity*
Objective: joint lubrication and active recovery
Content: joint mobility only
RPE: 1-2**

Day 2: Low Intensity*
Objective: compensation
Content: joint mobility and Prasara Yoga
RPE: 3-4**

Day 3: Moderate Intensity*
Objective: moderate intensity training/strength practice
Content: joint mobility, training and Prasara Yoga
RPE: 5-7**

Day 4: High Intensity*
Objective: high intensity training/conditioning
Content: joint mobility, training and Prasara Yoga
RPE: 8-10**

*Intensity is defined in the Intuitive Training Protocols.

**It is assumed that RPT => 8-10 and RPD =< 0-3.

Repeat this 4 day microcycle 7 times for a total of 28 days. That makes your mesocycle. Then you can either switch to another program, which can be of an opposing goal or similar goal, or repeat the same program with a higher level of difficulty (sophistication).

As an aside, another option if you need to keep some days free from training for whatever reason is the 7x4:

Version 1:
Day 1: No
Day 2: Low
Day 3: Moderate
Day 4: No
Day 5: Low
Day 6: Moderate
Day 7: High

Version 2:
Day 1: No
Day 2: No
Day 3: Low
Day 4: Low
Day 5: Moderate
Day 6: Moderate
Day 7: High

Pictorially, it looks like this:

Important Features and Benefits of 4x7

1) The No and Low Days

We are not saying "two days on two days off". You are indeed training two days and not training the other two days. But the non-training days are not "off" days. They are there specifically for a purpose, collectively defined as recovery. No Day focused on your joint health, Low Day focused on your soft tissue health.

You need to balance training work and recovery work. If you lack recovery, your ability to hit a real High Intensity would suffer. And please do not think that you can hit High Intensity all the time without injury or burn out.

It is a common saying that most people don't train enough to be overtraining, but they are underrecovering.

As mentioned before, you can add more recovery but not more training.

2) The Moderate Day

This day seems superfluous at first as it is only a practice day. If you can do High Intensity, why not High Intensity only right?

In simple terms, it acts as a psychological and physical preparation for the High Intensity session to follow. Having gone through a Moderate Intensity session, you would be more prepared mentally and physically hitting the High Intensity session.

3) The High Day

This day can seem superfluous to people who are not competing or don't want to achieve a high level of performance.

However it is a very important piece in the puzzle which makes your progress fast and furious. After the three days of No, Low and Moderate preceeding it, you have a surge of energy waiting to be released. If this is not utilized, it is wasted. This is the day when peak performance comes.

If you have done your High Day properly, when you come to the next Moderate Day, the load that was High becomes Moderate, ie it is a sign of progress*.

*Ache/pain/soreness is not an indication of progress. Progress is when one or more of the following occurs:
-A resistance that felt heavy now feels lighter
-A load that was High Intensity now feels easier
-More reps with the same weight while RPE (and RPD) decreases

Precise Yet Flexible

The 4x7 can be used for any training goal. Here are some examples:

For pure strength gains:
Strength (moderate), strength (high)

For strength and conditioning*:
Strength (moderate), conditioning* (high)

For pure conditioning*:
Conditioning* (moderate), conditioning* (high)

For pure mass gains:
Mass (moderate), mass (high)

For strength and mass:
Strength (moderate), mass (high)

*For simplicity sake, conditioning here is interchangeable with fat loss.

These are other possible combinations too like conditioning-strength or conditioning-mass but not that ideal.

Check out Bodyweight Exercise Revolution to see how to integrate training programs into the 4x7 cycle: