Which term describes a short-term training phase, typically lasting one week, used to implement specific drills?

• A. Microcycle
• B. Macrocycle
• C. Mesocycle
• D. Phase

Answer: (A)

The main idea here is planning training in structured blocks. In periodization, the smallest, most immediately actionable block is the microcycle, typically lasting about a week. This is the period where you implement specific drills, workouts, and focused tasks laid out in the plan, allowing for tight control over intensity, volume, and recovery for that short window.

A macrocycle, in contrast, covers a much longer span—often a full season or year—giving the big picture of training goals. A mesocycle sits in the middle, lasting several weeks to a few months and containing multiple microcycles. A phase is a general term that can refer to any period within the plan but doesn’t specify the one-week duration or the concrete weekly focus that microcycles are built to address.

So a one-week block dedicated to executing particular drills and workouts is best described as a microcycle.