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Through use of the internet and social media, there seems to be an endless amount of tips, tricks and shortcuts to help achieve your fitness goals. Some of these tips and tricks actually work, however, most of them do not. Consistent, hard training and proper nutrition is the key to achieving your fitness goals. Following a cycle of hard training, a taper can improve your results while you train less. This blog will provide an overview of what tapering is, what types of athletes utilize it and how to add a taper into your own program.
Many types of athletes utilize tapering. However, athletes who participate in sports such as track and field, weightlifting and other individual sports seem to utilize tapering more often than team sports athletes. This is because tapering is difficult to implement and really unnecessary over a long competition season. Also, tapering can only be utilized for short periods of time. Eventually "detraining" sets in - which decreases cardiovascular fitness, strength, and power rapidly. On occasion, athletes will taper in order to peak for a certain part of a season, or a showcase, such as the NFL draft. Although athletes of all levels can benefit from a taper, a properly performed taper is essential for high performance and success at elite levels.
"The goal during taper is to maintain the physiologic adaptations which occur with intense training while the negative impact of training resolves (Mujika, 1998)." It is important to taper at the right time for the right duration. Tapers can last anywhere from three days to six weeks. After about six weeks, most all athletes will start to experience a detraining effect. Detraining is when an athlete cuts too much volume or discontinues training and begins to lose the physiologic adaptations made during the training cycle. Usually, this will force the athlete to return to higher volumes of training in order to maintain their current fitness levels.
For endurance athletes, a taper should last seven to twenty-one days prior to competition. Athletes who tend to rely on strength and power should taper for seven to twenty-eight days prior to competition. Exactly how long an athlete should taper depends on many factors. An athlete or coach should take into account the volume/intensity of the previous training cycle, the current fitness of the athlete, the athlete's experience level and mastery of their sport. The most fit, experienced athletes will utilize shorter tapers as detraining seems to set in quickly on higher level athletes. Personally, I would run a short taper. I would rather be over trained than undertrained and detraining is detrimental to long-term performance levels and should be avoided.
Endurance and strength athletes taper in a very similar fashion. All you have to do is progressively decrease volume for a few weeks prior to competition. The training intensity should already be very high when it is time to taper. This intensity should be increased or maintained at 90 - 95% of one rep maximum or VO2 max. Volume should then gradually be reduced 50% to 70% over seven to twenty-eight days.
Tapering can also give us a boost over training plateaus. Whether you are an elite athlete or a fitness enthusiast, hitting a plateau can be very frustrating. If adequate volume and intensity was performed in your training program, adding a taper can help you get over plateaus and re-energize your training.
In conclusion, a properly implemented taper can improve maximal strength, power, endurance and immune function. However, it is unnecessary for the everyday fitness enthusiast or weekend warrior to taper. If you like to play with your training, or need a boost to get over a plateau, a taper can be beneficial. If you partake in martial arts, strength sports or endurance events like triathlons or marathons, I recommend adding a tapering phase into your training program. This will ensure that you are able to reach your potential when it is time to compete. Most importantly stay, active and enjoy the process.
References
Mujika, I. (n.d.). The Influence of Training Characteristics and Tapering on the Adaptation in Highly Trained Individuals: A Review. International Journal of Sports Medicine Int J Sports Med, 439-446.
