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Many athletes stress about the taper. They have put in the work for weeks or months and the “big one” is here. They either panic train a bit too much or take the lead-in too easy and fall flat on race day. Should you do less volume? More intensity? What about openers? These are the questions. A taper isn’t necessarily rest — it’s not “losing fitness”. It’s a planned reduction in training load to intentionally bring out peak form. What is a Taper?
A taper is an intentional reduction in training load — usually in the form of cutting down volume and maintaining some intensity — for about 1–3 weeks before key events. The goal is to reduce accumulated fatigue while preserving fitness and unlocking peak performance. If you’ve trained properly, a taper is like ”taking the blanket of fatigue off” so you can have a peak day. It looks different for everyone depending on the style of event, the priority of the event, and personal preference, but in general it involves:
Common Mistakes in Tapering Cutting all intensity. That “I just feel flat” feeling can often come from too aggressive of a taper. When you cut all intensity the body can “switch off” into recovery and rest mode. With the right sprinkling of intensity you can keep things turned on while shedding fatigue. Not reducing enough. Once you are in that 10-14 day window, there is not much “deep” adaptation that can happen that will create meaningful change for race day. Training more is not the answer – but what you can do is fine-tune and prepare your body. Carrying fatigue into your key race is a surefire way to not get a personal best. Overthinking and overdoing. Stress causes more harm than training. Don’t panic train or try to fit in “one more workout” just to see how you feel. Trust the work and let your body freshen up for the big day. The hay is in the barn. Under-fueling. This is the time to "stock up" energy and give your body the nutrients it needs for peak performance. Don't count calories and cut back because your training load is dropping, continue fueling as you would a normal training week. Of course, be mindful, but this is when you can fuel to produce a peak day. Check this article out for how to strike that balance. The 7-Day Framework This is an example structure for the week leading into a big race. Now, if it’s a big goal, you would stretch this theme out another few days to have a solid 10 day taper in. 7 days out (Sunday): Last big efforts (either a stretch long ride or a really hard workout). 5–6 days out: Light endurance + intervals (shorter than usual, focus on quality). 3–4 days out: 1 x short, sharp opener session (VO2, a threshold workout, etc.). 2 days out: Light endurance or rest (spin 60–90 mins if riding). 1 day out: “Openers” — a short ride with a few hard efforts JUST to wake the system up. *note: openers and spins may be interchangeable. Some people like to do them two days out or one day out. Race Day (Sunday): Legs ready, glycogen topped off, mentally locked in. Tailoring by Race Type
Here’s a summary of the claims above and what the research states. 1. Volume Reduction Sweet Spot Many studies find that reducing training volume by about 40–60% while keeping intensity steady gives the biggest performance gains. For example, Wang et al. showed that athletes cutting volume in this range improved time-trial performance significantly. [1] 2. Taper Length The optimal taper duration often falls between 8–14 days, though effective ranges span from ≤7 days up to 21 depending on the event and athlete. [2] 3. Intensity Maintenance Dropping intensity during a taper can cause the body to feel flat. Studies show that maintaining or slightly increasing intensity while reducing volume preserves neuromuscular readiness and sharpness. [3] 4. Pre-Taper Overload Helps Doing a short block of high-intensity overload before the taper may enhance adaptations. Rønnestad et al. found that cyclists who used compressed overload before tapering gained more in VO₂peak and peak power than those with a traditional taper. [4] 5. Inflammation & Recovery Markers Tapering lowers fatigue but also has a measurable physiological benefit: reducing pro-inflammatory cytokines in the blood. In elite cyclists, both 1- and 3-week tapers improved performance, but the 3-week taper reduced inflammation more strongly. [5] 6. Sport / Distance & Individual Variability Tapering needs are event- and athlete-specific. Elite British marathoners often use ~14-day tapers, while middle-distance runners use ~6-day tapers. Across groups, volume drops to ~50–70% of normal, while intensity is kept above race pace in some workouts. [6] Remember: a taper isn’t losing fitness — it’s how you cash in all the work you’ve already put in. - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - Resources
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AuthorCarson Beckett | Coach, Pro, and Co-Founder of Dirt Camp Racing | Beckett Performance Collective, LLC. CategoriesArchives
September 2025
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