I know the benefit of tapering before a meet and I've heard that you will go faster than you do in practice. However, I've never known why. Why DO you go faster?
Also, say after the meet that you've tapered with, you go back right away to a regular workout. Do you keep the speed you gained through tapering, and are faster then? Or do you go back to your original speed before you tapered? Or do you keep a portion of the speed?
Thanks.
By tapering, you give the muscles time to repair themselves from the damage done by repeated teardowns/workouts. The energized muscles allow you to perform at a higher level than you did during the intense workout phase. Returning to the same intensity workout after the taper will cause you to lose a proportion of the speed but overall your repeat set intervals will/should be faster than you were able to maintain prior to the taper. The biggest key is to try and figure out how long of a taper you need. Some people perform best with just a few days rest while others can go up to 2-3 weeks of taper workouts for peak performance on race day. Good Luck!
By tapering, you give the muscles time to repair themselves from the damage done by repeated teardowns/workouts. The energized muscles allow you to perform at a higher level than you did during the intense workout phase. Returning to the same intensity workout after the taper will cause you to lose a proportion of the speed but overall your repeat set intervals will/should be faster than you were able to maintain prior to the taper. The biggest key is to try and figure out how long of a taper you need. Some people perform best with just a few days rest while others can go up to 2-3 weeks of taper workouts for peak performance on race day. Good Luck!
