Periodization

What it is

Periodization in Kinoku is a way to plan training over many weeks rather than one, where you map out training blocks, attach routines to set weeks, and add smart layers on top. Those layers cover weekly set-count guides, named lifting programs, and recovery-aware tweaks, and the example this page follows is the 12-week hypertrophy (muscle growth) block from the template list below.

The hierarchy

Macrocycle
  -> Mesocycle
     -> Week
        -> Planned day
           -> Routine

A macrocycle is your whole plan, and a mesocycle is a block of weeks inside it. Each week holds planned days, and each day links to a routine, so the 12-week block is one macrocycle whose mesocycles split those weeks into blocks, each week holding the days you will actually train.

15 built-in templates

Three of the templates are named lifting programs: 5/3/1 BBB (Boring But Big), GZCLP (a linear-progression program built on tiered lifts), and nSuns 5/3/1 LP (linear progression). When you start one, Kinoku asks for your one-rep maxes and then writes the full plan straight into your training calendar. PHUL (power, hypertrophy, upper, lower) is a template rather than a named program, so it gives you the structure without the built-in progress rules.

1. Beginner Linear 3-Day
2. Full Body 3-Day
3. Upper / Lower 4-Day
4. Push / Pull / Legs 6-Day
5. Hypertrophy Block 12-Week
6. Strength Peaking 8-Week
7. PHUL 4-Day
8. Powerbuilding 5-Day
9. Undulating 8-Week
10. Body Recomp 10-Week
11. 5/3/1 BBB
12. GZCLP 4-Day
13. nSuns 5/3/1 LP 4-Day
14. Balance Flow Foundations
15. Longevity Foundations

Four planning layers

Kinoku’s planner has four layers you can stack, and the reasons to reach for each one differ.

• Volume Landmarks: weekly set-count guides per muscle, from minimum effective volume (MEV) through maximum adaptive volume (MAV) to maximum recoverable volume (MRV). The weekly set counts trace back to the Schoenfeld review cited on this page.
• Named Programs: built-in progress rules for 5/3/1, GZCLP, and nSuns.
• Autoregulation by reps in reserve (RIR): tweaks your sets based on how hard they felt, using the Zourdos RIR scale cited on this page. The page on rate of perceived exertion versus reps in reserve shows the exact rules it follows.
• Readiness Adaptation: scales the plan around how recovered you are.

Plans sit next to your real workouts, so Kinoku can show what you planned against what you did, which is a lot deeper than a plain week builder. In the 12-week block that means the weekly volume you logged drawn next to the target the block set, so a week that fell short is visible before the block ends rather than after.

Tier limits

• Free: the plan builder, all 15 templates, named programs, the custom model, and no cap on active programs
• Pro: the adaptive layers on top, like volume landmarks, autoregulation, and readiness tuning

Kinoku is Android only and has no cloud sync between devices, so a plan sits on the one phone until you move a backup file yourself. What holds is that building and running a program stays free at any tier, while the three paid layers are the ones that adjust a program for you, and how well they adjust depends on how honestly you log the sets underneath.