The Science of Tapering

See also Practical Tapering and Tapering Tips

Tapering is the reduction in training before a competition. Tapering can produce significant gains in performance, and is part of most training plans. However, there are various approaches that can be taken based on the variables on intensity, volume and frequency.

1 The Experiment of One

The studies of tapering indicate a high level of individual variability [1]. This variation is as wide as 8.9% improvement to 2.3% reduction in measured performance. This may be variation from individual to individual, but it seems to me that it may also depend on the specifics of the overall training plan. Consider two marathon runners; one is building up their weekly long run as 14, 16, 18, 20, while the other has been doing 20 miles runs for several months. It seems reasonable that the two runners would require different tapers. The runner who has been quickly building up their long run distance is likely to have more muscle damage as the body will have had little time to adjust to the distance. What does this mean to you? It means you may have to experiment with differing tapers, or at least consider different approaches.

2 General Observations on Tapering

There is some debate over how much of the benefit of tapering is a short term boost due to the extra rest, and how much is a result of a better approach to training. It has been suggested that the ideal taper might also be an ideal training plan. Tapering is a balance between recovery and detraining. Too much stress on the body will reduce race performance, but too little stress will result in detraining. Detraining can occur in the time period of many tapers, therefore it is critical that training stress is correctly applied.

3 Psychological effects of tapering

Tapering has some strange and unexpected effects. You would think that lowering your training would leave you feeling great, with boundless energy and enthusiasm. For most people, the opposite is true. We feel sluggish, lethargic and slow. New aches and pains suddenly appear and we can feel like a simple walk is hard work. This can lead to fear that our fitness has disappeared, or that we have a strange new illness. In reality, I suspect this is just the fact that our bodies are used to a higher level of training stress and the lower levels feel strange. It may also be higher levels of glycogen in the muscles which make our legs feel heavy. Whatever the explanation, for most of us tapering is not the nirvana we would like.

[1]Effects of Tapering on Performance: A Meta-Analysis http://journals.lww.com/acsm-msse/pages/articleviewer.aspx?year=2007&issue=08000&article=00019&type=abstract