Where Is Your Taper?

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Summary Outline:

• What Is The Taper?
• How To Maximize The Taper: Volume
• How To Maximize The Taper: Intensity & Training Frequency
• Tapering: Choose Your Path
• The Right Taper For You

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What Is The Taper?

Tapering is the process of modifying the training intensity and volume of an athlete’s training plan as a goal competition approaches in order to maximize the ability to perform in the goal competition.  

When all goes well, a taper enhances or maintains performance levels for race day.  A poor taper can be a reflection of poor training structure masked by the training itself. It can also be a byproduct of poor execution. 

How To Maximize The Taper: Volume

Tapers usually involve a reduction in training volume of close to 40-60% in the 7-14 days approaching the day of competition. Ideally performance potential is improved and at minimum maintained as a byproduct of the tapering strategy implemented. The taper takes advantage of the principle of training that maintaining fitness is easier than building fitness.

Different individuals will respond differently to different tapering methods, but generally a more gradual approach leads to better outcomes than drastic changes, similar to how the body responds when homeostasis is disrupted. Volume reduction is one of the most important aspects of a taper, specifically for endurance sport performance. The timing and method of volume reduction is relative to the athlete and their training status, the duration of training previously performed in the training cycle, and the typical volume performed during the previous training cycles prior to the current cycle. 

How To Maximize The Taper: Intensity & Training Frequency

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Maintaining or increasing intensity is important when implementing the reduction in volume of training during the taper. Increasing intensity slightly can help to create a training stimulus that is large enough to maintain prior training adaptations without the excessive buildup of fatigue from volume.

Training frequency should also be maintained, likely not decreased, and definitely not increased. The body still requires having a frequent stimulus like it is used to having even if the duration of those sessions may be temporarily reduced for training performance gains.

Too drastic a change in either of these variables without care can result in less than ideal outcomes. Over-exerting during the training sessions leading up to competition can result in an increase in fatigue that requires too much additional recovery to feel fresh on race day. Too little intensity can result in not maintaining the training adaptations and showing up less fit on race day. Too few training sessions can alter how your body is recovering and responding to the training you are performing while increasing the frequency could decrease recovery and lead to volume increases.

Tapering: Choose Your Path

Regardless of how tired you are during workouts or perhaps how good you feel during workouts, you’re looking to have that big race day. Nothing is scarier or more confusing than having your perfect race day hampered by what feels like an apparent lack of fitness. Equally confusing, but much more enticing, is the race day that exceeds anything you could have imagined when on paper you felt the odds were against you. Often the wildcard that gets the credit? – the taper.

Many athletes have come to RunByRyan asking about the taper since this seems to be the one aspect of training that gets oversimplified as a 7-14 day cut in volume right before your big race. While in principle tapering is a reduction in volume and fairly straightforward, simple does not always mean easy.

There are a variety of different tapering strategies that have been identified in the literature. These are the four most common:

Linear Taper -

‍ Think of linear tapering like walking down a steady, gentle slope. In this approach, you reduce your training load - which could be the amount, intensity, or duration of your workouts - in equal increments over a set period leading up to a major event or competition. It's straightforward: if your taper period is two weeks, you might reduce your training by the same amount each day until the event. This method is like easing off the gas pedal at a constant rate.

Exponential Taper (Slow) - 

‍The reduction starts off more gradually and then accelerates as you get closer to the event. Imagine starting a drive downhill very gently, then gradually picking up speed as you go. It’s good for those who are used to heavy training and need more time to adapt to a lighter routine.

Exponential Taper (Fast) -

This is the opposite. You start with a significant reduction in your training, which then tapers off as you approach the event. It’s like quickly driving downhill and then slowing down at the start of a downhill drive, then easing to the stop sign at the end after the drop.

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Step Taper -

‍ Imagine walking down a staircase. Instead of a continuous slope, you have distinct levels. In step tapering, you maintain a certain level of training for a set time, then suddenly drop to a lower level, and so on. For example, you might train at your normal level for a week, then cut it down significantly for the next week, and reduce it further in the final week before the event.

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The Right Taper For You

Sometimes as the research shows, tapering can actually be the right plan with the wrong person, which can really complicate things. We’ll go more in depth in how you choose the right plan in our next Tapering Series Article.

If you want to know more sooner feel free to schedule a no-strings attached 15-min call or shoot us an email at runbyryan@gmail.com. RunByRyan wants to see you hit the line and achieve your dreams feeling good. Afterall, when you do the work you deserve that race day personal best.