Ok So I am a bit slow. I have heard of "tapering" but I figured it was
about "streamlining" yourself to go through the water better.
You know a "tapered haircut" LOL..
Let me take a guess.. Training really hard then slacking off a bit?
Eating more carbs the night before? Drinking lots of water before a swim ?
See ! Not a clue! Can anyone explain this? And how does it matter to
competitive vs fitness swimmers? (I think its important for competition.. got that much at least..or is it?)
Tapering is used to get ready to compete in a meet. Our team does a small one a day or so before a smaller meet but will do a big one, like 2 weeks, prior to the bigger meets (Associations, Nationals, etc). You start off doing a bit less yardage, increasing your interval times and it gets better from there. You also use it to work on the strokes you are going to do in the meet as well as starts and turns.
I don't see tapering mattering to fitness swimmers unless they are competing. And if they are competing, then they wouldn't be called fitnes swimmers :D
yea, and typically during taper you are decreasing your daily yardage gradually. though you do less yardage per practice, you'll probably do alot of allout/sprint work on longer intervals.
also, during taper one is expected to get lots of sleep and good nutrition.
