Tapering. It’s something most of us have heard about and know we should be implementing but how do we do it?

The purpose of tapering is to reduce the load and impact of daily training (i.e. accumulated fatigue) without suffering a loss of the training adaptations you’ve gained over the previous training block. Those adaptations take time for the body to absorb the work you have done, so on approach to your event it is much more effective to ease back and allow the body to refresh. The length of taper required is dependent on the peak training load over the recent training block, meaning you arrive on the start line in peak physiological (and psychological) condition with no fatigue.

Tapering is achieved by adjusting a combination of volume, intensity and frequency to reduce your overall training load. Getting the right balance of these, along with the duration of the taper, is the key to a successful taper.

A successful taper will depend on the athlete, the amount of accumulated fatigue and the importance of the event. That said, here are some general principles to help you execute a successful taper before your next event.

• A 40-70% reduction in training volume compared to pre-taper training cycle. For multisport athletes, focus on lowering reducing running volume as this places the greatest demand on the body
• Maintain training intensity. Keeping some quality sessions helps to hold onto those training adaptations
• Reduce training frequency by 30-50%. However frequency can be maintained as long as the volume of these sessions is reduced. This can help to maintain key movement patterns in sports like swimming which are technique based.
• A taper of 10-14 days is suitable for most athletes but can vary from 4 weeks to less than 7 days.

During your taper, recovery is the focus. Sleep and nutrition are the two most important recovery methods available so make these a priority.

A taper should be individualised and practiced in advance of your ‘A’ races to find the approach that works to you.

If you’d like any advice about how to develop a successful taper for your next race, feel free to reach out to us.