055 Tapering: How to Be at your Best without Losing Fitness

Abusive Notion #1
If I stop training full tilt for a week, I’ll lose fitness.

Truth #1
3-10 days is not enough time for detraining to occur. 

Abusive Notion #2
Tapering doesn’t do anything. 

Truth #2
Tapering helps you perform better. Evidence suggests 1-3% better in endurance sports.
1. Fresher – lower fatigue while maintaining fitness
2. Time for aches and pains to go away – less restraint when it’s time to compete

How to Taper

1. 3-10 days
2. Half the volume always
3. Half the intensity sometimes

When would you keep the intensity high?
You want the loads or paces to seem easy

When would you bump the intensity down?
You are nursing an injury

How I Tapered my athletes for Quarterfinals

If nursing an injury
They didn’t train at all, near-complete training cessation
Movement work, walking, relaxation

If feeling antsy
Half the volume of the sims we were running every weekend
Intensity stayed high, game speed
Rest intervals to keep the fatigue low, not getting a training stimulus at all, just another practice rep

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7552788/

https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8975965/