I have talked to people and they say things like "yeah but once im tapered ill lose another 4 seconds or such"
I searched through the forums and didnt see much explaining what tapering is except that it is a rested period before a meet.
Last year i consistently swam 1 12s (100 scy ***) and then i tapered for almost my last two weeks to get my best time before the last meet of the season. But i ended up gaining a second in that meet and swam a 1 13...
so what kind of sets are you supposed to do while tapering? when we tapered as a team we swam short yards on long intervals... like 50s on the 2 minutes. I was tlaking to a couple kids today about their tapering and they said they do hard sets but a lot of rest between sets to build your pace up.. like 100s on the 1 15 but after the set, rest for like 10 minutes and then the day before the meet you do like one small hard set and then rest.
The kid i was talkign to ended up dropping like 4-5 seconds off a 100 after tapering...
So really my question is what kind of sets are you supposed to do for tapering? and is tapering SUPPOSED to quicken your time? cause to me it seems i swim the best the day after i have a really long hard practice
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Former Member
Hi - I was curious to read about experiences tapering. It is a difficult thing however if you have an experienced coach he/she should be able to help you get the most out of your taper.
The purpose of tapering is to fully rest your muscles so they will be the most powerful and efficient on race day. Often during the season our muscles adapt and get used to swimming tired, however the taper will build up the muscles after they have been broken down during the difficult training of the season (weights included). I have found that often times I feel sluggish during a taper and even begin to doubt how fast I'll swim on race day. However, with a little more rest my body adapts and tends to swim fast times effortlessly. It is my guess that you did not taper enough. I am not sure what your training is like, but with breastroke you probably need to do speed sets to get yourself used to swimming hard and fast. Breastroke uses large muscles groups which is one reason why you might need extra rest in order to fully allow those muscles to recover and reach their peak. You want to be sure you are converting endurance to strength during the taper without tiring those muscles. Allow those muscles to fully rest and you will be surprised on how fast you will swim!
Be sure to talk to other breastrokers and ask what they do. I swim distance and know that my training and taper is much different than what you do. My taper is shorter and my focus is on pace vs speed.... Keep asking questions and listen to your body. My suggestion is to give yourself more rest and stay stroke specific.
Good luck!
Hi - I was curious to read about experiences tapering. It is a difficult thing however if you have an experienced coach he/she should be able to help you get the most out of your taper.
The purpose of tapering is to fully rest your muscles so they will be the most powerful and efficient on race day. Often during the season our muscles adapt and get used to swimming tired, however the taper will build up the muscles after they have been broken down during the difficult training of the season (weights included). I have found that often times I feel sluggish during a taper and even begin to doubt how fast I'll swim on race day. However, with a little more rest my body adapts and tends to swim fast times effortlessly. It is my guess that you did not taper enough. I am not sure what your training is like, but with breastroke you probably need to do speed sets to get yourself used to swimming hard and fast. Breastroke uses large muscles groups which is one reason why you might need extra rest in order to fully allow those muscles to recover and reach their peak. You want to be sure you are converting endurance to strength during the taper without tiring those muscles. Allow those muscles to fully rest and you will be surprised on how fast you will swim!
Be sure to talk to other breastrokers and ask what they do. I swim distance and know that my training and taper is much different than what you do. My taper is shorter and my focus is on pace vs speed.... Keep asking questions and listen to your body. My suggestion is to give yourself more rest and stay stroke specific.
Good luck!
