In this book, you'll learn how to use Tactical Periodization to train your players at the correct intensity for each day of the week, making sure they are always prepared tactically, mentally and physically for competitive matches. Your players (and team) will react quicker, be sharper, and make better decisions in all tactical situations.

Originally developed by Vitor Frade, at the University of Porto, Tactical Periodization is a methodology - popularized by coaches such as Jose Mourinho and Andre Villas Boas - that trains soccer players through a logical process that focuses on four moments of the game. These four moments are: Offensive Organisation, the Transition from Defence to Attack, Defensive Organisation, and the Transition from Attack to Defence. Through Tactical Periodization, the aim is to develop players to rapidly alter their on-field behaviours according to the tactical context of the match, and what actually unfolds in front of them. In turn, every training exercise focuses on at least one of the four moments, and always the coach's tactical game model of how he wants his team to play. In doing so, football players prepare and learn how best to conquer the often unpredictable matches that they encounter competitively. This book is the English language translation of the acclaimed book Periodizacion Tactica by world-renowned coach and sports science specialist Xavier Tamarit. *Important Note: What is Tactical Periodization is the translation of an academic book that examines Tactical Periodization's underlying philosophies, methodologies, and application. It covers areas such as systemic thinking, football as a complex phenomenon, and how the 'sum is greater than its parts'; it does not contain practical how-tos or drills. Candidly, it is not an 'easy' book to read, and requires a certain level of effort and concentration by the reader. However, for those who stick with it, the book provides a rewarding and high value resource for the modern football coach who wishes to understand exactly how Tactical Periodization developed, what it means for the sport, and how it can influence his or her coaching. Summary sections have been added to each original chapter to offer additional insight."

The author, from interviewing Vitor Frade, creator of Tactical Periodization, and a set of interrelated conditions (the good reception of the first book, the distortion of the understanding of the concepts themselves and the time that has elapsed), breaks his promise not to to write again and it takes us to the origin and the source of knowledge itself. (Includes the complete transcription and in Portuguese of the original interview with Vitor Frade).

Javier Mallo is currently a fitness coach at Real Madrid. He has previously been a fitness coach at Manchester City (2 years) and Atletico de Madrid (4 years). In this book, he explains how to create, organise and structure your football specific fitness training sessions. Periodization is the systematic planning of fitness training. This book helps you solve the problem of organising the training loads in order to achieve the highest team performance possible at the different stages of a season. Within this book we provide fitness training which includes practices that develop all the attributes needed for an individual and a team, such as warm ups with and without the ball, conditioning, technical, tactical, competitive small sided games, attacking, defending, the transition from defence to attack and attack to defence. The fitness practices in this book are very creative and aim to replicate competitive matches, so the players get used to making quick decisions and solving problems that arise during competition. Fitness coaches need to have a profound knowledge of the game, as all the practices in a session have to come together in a common way of thinking related to the tactical organisation of the team. It may be possible that in the following years the term fitness coach will lose all its value and will simply be replaced by coach or assistant coach.

A soccer player is more than the sum of his parts: endurance, speed, shooting technique, passing technique, and many more. All of these factors need to be turned into one system to create good players. Traditional training theory doesn’t achieve that because each skill is trained individually. This is why the concept of Tactical Periodization has become the preferred training theory for many of the current most successful soccer coaches: Pep Guardiola, José Mourinho, Diego Simeone, André Villas-Boas, and many others train according to these principles. By creating match-like situations in practice, players learn to link their technical, tactical, and athletic abilities to match intelligence. They will learn to transfer their skills to soccer matches and they can improve endurance, technique, and tactics all at the same time while enjoying the practice sessions more. For this book, the author has evaluated and analyzed hundreds of training sessions and has tailored exercises to specific demands. All exercises are performed with a ball so that players learn to apply each skill to the game. Every coach will find numerous exercises in this book to help them create better and more efficient practice sessions so they can improve their players’ and the team’s performance. With Tactical Periodization, your team will become better and be successful on the next match day!

NSCA’s Essentials of Tactical Strength and Conditioning is the ideal preparatory guide for those seeking TSAC-F certification. The book is also a great reference for fitness trainers who work with tactical populations such as military, law enforcement, and fire and rescue personnel.

Operational athletes are a unique breed. You need to physically perform at an extraordinarily high level in stressful situations. Often in dangerous or unstable environments. As a SWAT operator, combat-arms soldier, or first responder, you have to be a Jack of All Trades. Let's take that a step further. You have to achieve some degree of mastery. You have to be strong, have incredible levels of endurance, and be capable of sustained bursts of intense activity. All while tired, hungry, cold, or worse. You can't train like a bodybuilder. You can't be sore for a week after 'leg' day. You can't afford to specialize like a powerlifter. You have other abilities you need to develop, things like cardiovascular training, work capacity, and occupational skills. Anyone that's operational knows it's a constant juggling act trying to become (and stay) superhuman. Tactical Barbell is a strength training program designed specifically for operational athletes using correct principles and best practices. The objective being to increase maximal-strength and strength-endurance, while taking into account the need to simultaneously train other fitness domains. Periodization based, with a simple progression model that allows for a great degree of customization. You won't find cables, balance boards or medicine balls in this program. What you will get is a reliable, repeatable, cutting edge system to increase your strength dramatically. In a manner that leaves you time and energy to train all those other things you need to be good at. No fluff. No frills. If you live in the arena, you know talk is cheap. The program includes a built in strength testing component. You will know whether or not your strength has increased, and by how much. Simple.

Discover the secrets of the game model developed by Pep Guardiola that sets Manchester City apart from the rest. When Guardiola joined Manchester City in 2016 there were doubts that he could replicate his successful model in the English game. But after a single season of acclimatization we saw those doubts shattered as City won the Premier League in 2017/18 with a record 100 points. Beyond the trophies and the records, however, lies a yet more intriguing story--of how Guardiola adapted and perfected the tactical principles that had made him so successful at Barcelona and Bayern Munich, who played the key roles on the field, enabling Manchester City's successes of 2017-19, and why the other Premier League sides were unable to stop the City juggernaut sweeping aside all in its path.

For any Football Coach, this is a fantastic journey and insight into the periodization model, Microciclo-Estructurado. It has received very little attention in English speaking media, however this model used by Pep Guardiola can help coaches deliver sessions with improved technical and tactical detail. The book also includes many different sessions, to help coaches improve their delivery and understanding.