tapering

It takes many years of tapering to do it right. A lot depends on if you do weights or are addicted to fins. I feel to be safe three weeks off weights and two off fins is a good starting point. I have an article on tapering on my web site http://www.breaststroke.info/ Called Breaststroke Taper and Shave, it is directed towards breaststrokers. My article on weighttraining includes this: "Most coaches recommend quitting weights a minimum of two weeks before nationals or your biggest meet. Also tapering down on the amount of weights lifted for each exercise 4 to 6 weeks before is usually recommended. I have developed my own method to establ ish how much time away from weights I need. I check my vertical leap every week for four weeks before nationals and three weeks after Nationals. Most swimmers in hard training (both swimming and weights) have very poor vertical leaps, usually less than 12 inches. After quitting weights and tapering swimming my vertical leap improves 6 to 10 inches. When I hit my taper right I feel as if I am flying off the starting blocks. With nearly 40% of a 200 short course *** race consisting of the start and seven turns; I feel I have a big advantage over the competitor who does not weight train."

OK, what does YMMV stand for?

YMMV = your mileage may vary I'd say the answer to the original question is, yes, you should taper. However, it's difficult to assess how long the duration of your taper should be and what specifically you should do during your taper. At the very least a rest period of a few days should help. As another poster said, continue getting in the pool your normal number of days, but start decreasing the amount of yardage you do. Most tapers emphasize speed work with lots of rest more than during the middle of your training season. For the amount you're swimming I would suggest a taper of only around a week. If you start it too early your risking degrading the aerobic base you've built up over the season. Also, be careful what you eat during this time. It's natural to want to eat the same amount you have been, but remember that you aren't burning as many calories. Also, this is just from personal experience. I'm not a coach.

While I'm not the best swimmer out there, I have read that the best way to taper is to start a couple of weeks before hand and cut the distance in half but not the number of workouts. I have found that if I do this for about two weeks, and really cut back the week before it helps out a lot. I have a meet this weekend and I did about 1600-1800 instead of 2500 meters the other night. I'll do a lot less tonight. You should also stop weight training at least a week to 10 days before as it takes that long for your muscles to rebuild fully. YMMV.

This question has been asked quite a few times in the last 2 years. I myself posted a poll asking " how people tapered ". If you do a search on the forum for past threads on " tapers or tapering " you will get a lot of info. You do have to be doing enough swimming to "taper from". The current UK team are not allowed to shave and taper for any meets except the Olympics this August and they are doing pretty well on it. Crocker was untapered when he set his world record recently. Swimmers may find that they will do shorter tapers in the future. Having some measurement that you check before and during the taper is the way to go. It takes the guesswork out of it. I like Waynes' vertical jump test. Doing a 25m sprint swim and checking the time could also work. If there is no dramatic improvement then the taper may have been underdone or overdone.