Mississippi High School Activities Association The place for high school sports in Mississippi Exercise Acclimatization
Transitional Periods/Transitional Acclimatization/Exercise Acclimatization
Throughout the academic year, conditioning periods should be phased in gradually and progressively to minimize risk of injury during transitional periods. Transitional periods are defined as the first 5 days of any new conditioning cycle or new physical activity (including but not limited to transition to a new sport, or return to sport from any circumstance that has caused a removal from the sport for 14 or more consecutive days).
All exercise and conditioning activities must have on-site supervision by a designated certified staff member who is, at a minimum, trained or certified in first aid, CPR and AED use.
New conditioning activities should be phased in gradually, especially during the early stages of a conditioning period. See table below for example.
| Week | Reduction From Previous Peak Conditioning* | Reps | Work: Rest Ratio | EXAMPLE (sprint/drill based) | |
| Sprint/Rep Time (will vary by athlete) | Rest time (varies by rep time) | ||||
| 1 | 50% | 5 | 1:4 | 10 seconds | 40 seconds |
| 2 | 30% | 7 | 1:3 | 10 seconds | 30 seconds |
| 3 | 20% | 8 | 1:2 | 10 seconds | 20 seconds |
| 4 | 10% | 9 | 1:2 | 10 seconds | 20 seconds |
| 5 | none | 10 | 1:1 | 10 seconds | 10 seconds |
*If no previous strength and conditioning history exists, default to the most conservative workload from other athletes. Adapted from: Caterisano A, Decker D, Snyder B et al. CSCCa and NSCA joint consensus guidelines for transition periods: safe return to training following inactivity. Strength and Conditioning Journal. 2019;(3)41:1-23.
Reviewed and updated August 2026
