Master The Taper

Your ‘A’ race is approaching, and your training’s been solid and consistent – now, tapering is the key to reaping the rewards from that training. What you need to consider is how many days to taper for, training intensity for the taper, training volume, the type of event you’re tapering for, and nutritional strategies.


Mark Carroll |

Your ‘A’ race is approaching, and your training’s been solid and consistent – now, tapering is the key to reaping the rewards from that training. What you need to consider is how many days to taper for, training intensity for the taper, training volume, the type of event you’re tapering for, and nutritional strategies. – By Mark Carroll

Taper

Experience is valuable in tapering – there’s no single one-size-fits-all strategy, and uncontrollable factors such as a stressful lifestyle and restless sleep may require a more aggressive taper. Even for the same individual, the taper strategy that worked perfectly before may not be as effective next time round. However, this guide will highlight factors to be aware of, so your taper can be adjusted to help you peak for your race effectively.

Taper duration

The general rule is eight to 14 days, with the length of the taper depending on the following considerations:

– How fast do you recover generally? The faster you recover, the less time you require for tapering.
– What level of accumulated fatigue do you have? Has lethargy set in, along with persistently sore and tired legs? If so, a longer duration will be needed.
– High levels of stress at work will also require a longer taper.

Something to remember is that prioritising races is important. If your calendar has a dozen ‘A’ races, then your whole season will be spent tapering rather than preparing. Treat less important races as ‘train troughs’  to prepare for the races that really matter.

Volume and Intensity

Intensity must not reduce during a taper. The only component that reduces during the taper is volume – both weekly total training hours, and the volume of intensity:

– Reduce weekly volume by adding extra recovery days.
– Reduce session volume by doing shorter rides, such as training time and distance.
– Reduce volume of intensity during the taper, in duration of intervals as well as total number.

If high-intensity intervals totalled 30 minutes a week during preparation, then aim to halve this volume in the taper. Note that individual differences in fitness and recovery, as well as lifestyle, must be considered here too.

Event-specific tapering

Interestingly, whether the taper is for a three-day stage race, a one-day classic, or a one-hour criterium or track race, the general rules for tapering do not vary, because the goal remains the same – to offload fatigue, increase freshness, and find those extra few percentage-point gains in performance.

What to eat during the taper

Kilojoules in, kilojoules out still applies. Keep portion size unchanged while cutting back on training for 10 days, and you can expect to gain weight and fat. Note the key here is portion size, not composition of meals; so keep eating the same types of foods, while cutting back on how much is served up.

Final note

With experience, mastering the taper will become easier. It is arguably better to be at the start of your ‘A’ race a little over- rather than under-recovered, so don’t be afraid to schedule in extra rest days, and cut your time on training days.

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