I'm planning on resting for a meet in Feb. As usual, I'm wondering what taper to use, how much to rest, etc. I don't feel like I've really hit on the "one" plan that works for me.
I know everyone has their own approach to taper and may taper for between 1-4 weeks. In every taper plan I've seen, the yardage always drops off gradually. Has anyone ever tried a "drop dead" taper? One where you continue to exercise at your regular level and then, say 7 days before the big meet, you precipitously drop the yardage down to 1500 or so with very little sprinting? Thoughts?
I'm wondering if this type of taper might work for me, as I feel (possibly falsely) like I lose conditioning if I taper too long.
it's all about experimenting and figuring out what works for you
figure out what you need to do to swim as fast as you can
you don't have to have it all figured out
try stuff
write down what you did
observe the results
crap like "trust your taper" doesn't work for you
you're a fretter
to me it's easiest to have faith in your ability by swimming fast in practice
if you swam fast yesterday and the day before and the week before and the month before you'll probably swim fast tomorrow or a week from now
I understand what I need to do to taper for sprints
not so sure on distance events
I like the idea of actually racing your event many times in a season to practice what you're actually going to do
Short tapers can work great and take out much of the guess work
you rest a little and get that initial pop
long tapers can be tricky because you may go through a feel like crud phase
I think a taper is a place you can arrive at and maintain rather than something you want to precisely hit the day of your meet
to me that is risky I'd rather be tapered a week or two before my big meet
when taper time rolls around I'm going to look back to how I prepared for 2008 SCY nats, it's very comforting when you swim your best pracitce times of the season right before your big meet
don't trust your taper,
test your taper,
times will tell
practice times translate to meet times
BUT you don't have to swim your actual events fast in practice, just parts of them, broken swims, pace 100's, 15 meter break outs, 25's, 50's, 75's, 100's, 150's, maybe a 200 or two if you do longer events. Work on pacing and easy speed. Work on correct splitting, get plenty of rest.
Also I know I'll be faster when I'm getting stronger, doing more reps with heavier weights. It's not good to lift super heavy right before a meet, taper down your weights reduce sets, reps and weight as your meet gets real close.
ande
it's all about experimenting and figuring out what works for you
figure out what you need to do to swim as fast as you can
you don't have to have it all figured out
try stuff
write down what you did
observe the results
crap like "trust your taper" doesn't work for you
you're a fretter
to me it's easiest to have faith in your ability by swimming fast in practice
if you swam fast yesterday and the day before and the week before and the month before you'll probably swim fast tomorrow or a week from now
I understand what I need to do to taper for sprints
not so sure on distance events
I like the idea of actually racing your event many times in a season to practice what you're actually going to do
Short tapers can work great and take out much of the guess work
you rest a little and get that initial pop
long tapers can be tricky because you may go through a feel like crud phase
I think a taper is a place you can arrive at and maintain rather than something you want to precisely hit the day of your meet
to me that is risky I'd rather be tapered a week or two before my big meet
when taper time rolls around I'm going to look back to how I prepared for 2008 SCY nats, it's very comforting when you swim your best pracitce times of the season right before your big meet
don't trust your taper,
test your taper,
times will tell
practice times translate to meet times
BUT you don't have to swim your actual events fast in practice, just parts of them, broken swims, pace 100's, 15 meter break outs, 25's, 50's, 75's, 100's, 150's, maybe a 200 or two if you do longer events. Work on pacing and easy speed. Work on correct splitting, get plenty of rest.
Also I know I'll be faster when I'm getting stronger, doing more reps with heavier weights. It's not good to lift super heavy right before a meet, taper down your weights reduce sets, reps and weight as your meet gets real close.
ande
