THE ART OF TAPERING

TAPERING IS ESSENTIAL to a peak performance on race day. Training improves fitness but also creates fatigue, and residual fatigue can prevent you from performing at your best on race day. The term “tapering” refers to the process of reducing your training load in the days leading up to an event. Four factors contribute to planning a taper: volume, frequency, intensity and how quickly an athlete can recover. Balancing these variables varies among individual athletes and different sports. Here are some guidelines on how to handle these variables to dial in the perfect taper as you prepare for your next big race.