Learn › Track 08 · Road to the Olympics
Building a four-year cycle
Coaching books often describe a neat four-year Olympic cycle: rebuild in year one, gain international experience in year two, hunt for a quota in year three, peak in year four. Before you copy it, hold it up against the real LA28 calendar.
Think first: Paris ended in August 2024. In which year of the LA28 cycle is the first quota event?
- Year 3 (2027), as the model says
- Late in year 2: Doha, November 2026
- Year 4 (2028)
The model, fitted to the dates
The four-year model below (rebuild, exposure, quota hunting, peaking) is a common coaching framework, not a rule or a tested method. Use it as a starting sketch and build your own plan with your coach.
Compare the textbook model with a version moved to fit the LA28 dates. Tap a block for what it is for.
The fitted version makes two changes. The exposure phase gets shorter, because Doha comes in November of year 2. And quota hunting stretches over about eighteen months, not one year. That second change creates a new problem: you need to be in top form several times, not once.
Inside each year: periodisation
Each year of the cycle is made of seasons, and each season follows the same broad pattern.
- Preparatory phase: general work first, becoming more and more specific to competition.
- Competition phase: the events that matter, with training built around them.
- Transition phase: rest and recovery before the next cycle starts.
Training inside a phase is grouped into blocks of 3–4 weeks, each made of 1-week cycles. You place the priority competitions first, then work backwards to fill in the blocks. More detail in Seasons & the Olympic cycle.
Think first: You sit down to write your 2027 plan. What goes on the calendar first?
- Your weekly training volume
- The priority competitions
- Rest weeks
Several peaks: block periodisation
In 2027 you may face four World Cups and a World Championship, each a chance at a place. A classic plan with one long build to one peak doesn’t fit that calendar.
Think first: Which planning approach fits a year with several important competitions?
- One long build to a single peak at the end of the year
- Block periodisation: focused blocks that bring you to form several times
- No structure: shoot every event at full training volume
How much training?
There is no validated training-volume benchmark for air pistol.
Think first: What was the average age of an Olympic shooter at Paris 2024?
After the Games
The cycle ends with a transition: rest, then an honest review of what worked. That review feeds year one of the next cycle. Keep your logbook through all four years (Training sessions & the logbook); it is the only record of what actually worked for you.
For the daily side of peaking, see Competition day plan. For score targets along the way, see Score benchmarks & milestones.
- The textbook cycle (rebuild, exposure, quota hunting, peaking) is a model, not a rule. Fit it to the real calendar.
- For LA28, quota hunting starts in year 2: Doha, November 2026. The MQS window opens 31 July 2026.
- Each season: preparatory, competition, transition. Blocks of 3–4 weeks. Priority competitions go on the calendar first.
- Several peaks a year call for block periodisation.
- There is no validated volume benchmark for air pistol. Paris 2024 Olympic shooters averaged about 30 years old.