The Transition Period is the first phase you should think about when planning an extended block of training. In the periodization model I use with tactical athletes, three mesocycles structure the training year: the Transition Period (post-deployment), the Base Period (the majority of the cycle), and the Tactical/Sport-Specific Period (pre-deployment spin-up). The Transition Period’s purpose is to prepare your body for the harder training ahead.
This article gives a broad overview of how I construct a Transition Period—the goals, the volume framework, the progression model, and the coaching logic behind each decision.
What Is the Purpose of the Transition Period?
The Transition Period serves one primary purpose: to prepare the body for the training to come. If we think of the athlete’s development as a pyramid, this phase builds the base. A wider, sturdier base allows a taller pyramid and a more capable operator.
For new athletes, the Transition Period is an introduction to structured training—new exercises, new strategies, and a chance for me as a coach to gauge their base fitness and training background. For veteran athletes returning from deployment, it serves as a reset. In my experience, tactical athletes left to their own devices during deployment either come back banged up and exhausted or overtrained from too much unstructured gym work. The Transition Period helps them get back to full health in a controlled environment before ramping up again.
What Are the Training Goals During This Phase?
Three goals hold true whether I’m working with a seasoned veteran on his tenth deployment or a brand-new operator fresh out of the schoolhouse:
Strength: Midrange strength development (5-rep range) across big, multi-joint barbell movements—squat, bench press, overhead press, deadlift, and power clean.
Conditioning: Zone 2 aerobic capacity alongside aerobically focused muscular endurance (long circuits, sustained work).
Structure: Core control and stability in a non-fatigued state, plus efficiency of movement across basic patterns (squat, hinge, press).
How Do You Calculate Weekly Training Volume?
My first step in building any mesocycle is calculating weekly training volume, expressed in minutes per week. The athletes I work with are given two hours each day for PT. Across five training days, that produces a maximal weekly volume of 600 minutes.
I start the first week of each Transition Period at 50 percent of that maximum—300 minutes. (I borrowed the 50 percent starting point from Training for the New Alpinism.) From there, the volume is divided between strength and conditioning.
Strength Volume
I assign roughly 60 minutes to each strength session, with three strength-specific sessions per week. That brings weekly strength volume to approximately 180 minutes. The actual sessions may run slightly shorter or longer, but 60 minutes per session is the planning target. Two principles govern this phase: keep it simple, and use linear progression with sets in the 3–5 range.
Conditioning Volume
Subtracting 180 minutes of strength from the 300-minute total leaves 120 minutes for conditioning. Unlike strength, where time is a rough estimate, conditioning pieces are programmed to the minute—a 15-minute effort is a fundamentally different stimulus than a 2-minute effort. Those 120 minutes break down into endurance and work capacity sessions.
How Is the Transition Period Structured Week to Week?
I organize the Transition Period into two-week training blocks. This duration provides enough time to implement a variety of stimuli and typically aligns with how long a tactical operator is actually home station before leaving for a training trip or family time.
The one exception: the opening block is three weeks, giving the athlete an extra week to either decompress from deployment or get oriented at a new unit.
Within each two-week block, I aim to hit the following:
6 strength-specific sessions (3 per week)
1 ruck (10–15% bodyweight—intentionally light)
1 aerobic interval day (long intervals, short rests)
1 structural recovery day
1 gym stamina day (long, sustained work capacity)
1 active recovery day (Saturday—hike, sports, an extra run)
How Does Volume Progress Over the Phase?
The progression follows a pattern of small increase followed by sustainment. The rate of increase starts higher and tapers as the phase progresses:
Weeks 1–3: Hold at 300 minutes (the 50% starting point).
Weeks 4–5: 15% increase over weeks 1–3, then sustain.
Weeks 6–7: 10% increase over weeks 4–5, then sustain.
Weeks 8–9: 5% increase over weeks 6–7, then sustain.
Weeks 10–12: 5% increase over weeks 8–9, then sustain.
These numbers are based on accumulated coaching experience. I and the other coaches at Uphill Athlete have consistently found that averaging more than a 10% weekly progression in volume leads to problems within roughly eight weeks.
Strength Progression
Linear progression works well for the strength component of a Transition Period. Volume stays constant (around 3×5) while the athlete adds 5 to 10 pounds to the bar each session. If you’re familiar with Starting Strength and Mark Rippetoe, you’ll recognize this approach. I implement de-loads as needed—dependent on the athlete, the team schedule, or coaching intuition.
Conditioning Progression
For conditioning, volume is the primary driver of progression. With strength held constant at roughly 180 minutes per week and total volume increasing slightly week to week, the additional minutes flow into conditioning. I alternate athletes between ruck/gym stamina weeks and interval/recovery weeks. Paired into two-week blocks, this alternation creates a natural wave: the first week is relatively high volume, and the second week is slightly lower due to the structural recovery session.
How Long Should the Transition Period Last?
Although I’ve written progressions through 12 weeks, seldom do my athletes actually run the full duration. The athlete’s ability to sustain linear strength progression determines when it’s time to move on. When they can no longer add weight each session, the Transition Period has done its job.
On average, this phase lasts about eight weeks, give or take depending on gym access and schedule. Within that block, I typically hit the de-load button once or twice on the strength progressions—dropping intensity to 90% and then reapplying the linear model. The need for a second de-load is usually my signal to move the team or athlete into the Base Period.
What Should You Remember from This?
The purpose of the Transition Period is to instill sound training fundamentals while establishing a base of strength and endurance. The exercise selections are intentionally limited. The progressions are deliberately conservative. A phrase I use frequently with my athletes: it doesn’t have to be fun to be fun.
Too often I see coaches and athletes create short training blocks without a clear goal, relying on randomized exercise selection and percentage variations that peak quickly and crash just as fast. The approach described here is more deliberate—focused on long-term, continual improvement through the Transition Period and into the phases that follow.