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Tapering

Tapering is a great experience but only a tool to enhance optimum performance. Swimmers must take into consideration all the factors that will be mentioned in this article. Tapering isn’t the magic pill to faster swimming but one of the factors to faster swimming.

Once you have established your aerobic capacity and finished your maximum yardage phase of training you must trust that you have done enough. Lower your yardage and begin the taper phase that develops power and speed as outlined in the 7 week taper program.

 I understand the fear of not lowering your yardage but trust me you can and it works. You can rest a lot longer than you think as long as you stick to the program. You will continue to keep your heart rate elevated during taper which maintains your aerobic capacity.

You will have more energy as the taper progresses. Remember that during a taper you must maintain quality swimming at race pace with enough recovery swimming. Tapering doesn’t mean easy swimming but quite the opposite as you are fine tuning speed and power.

You must believe and not doubt your ability since you are practicing at race pace. Your body is developing muscle memory at your desired speed. You are doing the work so have confidence and get ready to race.

Lifting during taper is essential to maintaining speed and power as outlined in the 7 week taper program.

Try not to get bent out of shape about how you feel each day of the taper. Your body is recovering from previous hard training and trying to retrain your fast twitch muscle group. The fast twitch muscles take more energy and you will feel pain, so recovery is essential during each practice.

Nutrition, hydration and sleep are as important as your training and can affect your swimming greatly. Doing one of the above incorrectly can ruin performance immediately. You can find optimal nutrition and hydration products by clicking on the Nutrition link.

Please pick your events wisely at Championships to ensure proper warm-up, warm-down and recovery between events and days at the meet.

Know your race strategy and be able to adjust as needed. Understand how breathing during the race will benefit you or adversely affect your performance. This concept is extremely important!

When you arrive at your hotel is also important. Plan ahead and give yourself enough time to check-in, eat and shave for the meet. Plan for something to go wrong and maybe pack your suit and goggles in your carry-on bag, if you are flying.

• by Brad Burget, Author of Faster Swimming and writer/coordinator of the Faster Swimming Weekly Workouts