Taper Time
By Dale Magnuson
Trust your coach.
Not only should you trust your coach during the season but, especially during the taper! If is important that you and your coach have no doubts during this time of the season.
Decrease yardage and overall intensity.
The work has already been done and now it is time to recieve the rewards from it. Now is not the time to be working hard, rather it is the time to maintain what has already been done. If you do this much your body will do the rest by building and healing, making you faster when it is time to excel.
Visualize and increase attention to details.
Technique! Visualize the perfect race which consists of the perfect stroke and the perfect time for you. It is also important to not over visualize your race. It will help you to take a little time out and enjoy yourself.
Double your fruit and vegetable intake, double your water intake and avoid as much saturated fat as possible.
I am not suggesting a complete overhaul of your diet but it is important to help your body along as much as possible in the building process. Eating right will increase this to the fullest potential.
Sleep!
Sleep is directly related to speed. Sleep as much as possible during taper time but avoid sleeping at least 3 hours prior to race time.
Have Fun.
Don't let taper be a stressful time in your life. If you let it get you down you are not mentally preparing properly for your important races.
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It is everyones favorite time of the season: Taper Time. I can speak about taper from first hand experience. I have tapered 15 times in my life and I still remember my first taper. Taper time is one of the most anticipated part of the season for almost every swimmer. Everyone's additude becomes positive. It becomes much easier to stay awake in class. It makes you feel revitalized.
From a coaching standpoint the taper is the time where coaches really earn their money. Each swimmer has a different way of tapering. If a swimmer doesn't produce to their expectations during taper they will usually blame it on the coach as well as if the swimmer swims great they will attribute it to the coach. Individualizing tapers for each swimmer is very difficult but it certianly helps to know each swimmer individually. This is where the coach should keep a log of how his/her swimmers react to different types of training techniques.
To explain my standpoint on taper, I believe that the taper is %80 mental. If an athlete believes in the coach and the taper, they have completed 75%. The second part is the belief the athlete must have in themselves. If the athlete does not believe internally they cannot produce. Finally, the idea of shaving really puts the icing on the cake. The athlete will have nothing stopping them once they have shaved. There is nothing holding the athlete back mentally or physically.
Once you have these three factors %80 of your taper is done. Now if you've done the work throughout the season, "put the hay in the barn," you will reap the benefits from it at the big meet.
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