GAELIC SPORTS WORLD Issue 21 – March 14, 2015 | Page 36

DURATION OF TRAINING
Studies that did involve performance assessment with
tapering have reported improvements with tapers lasting from 7-21 days [3, 4, 5, 7]. However, Houmard et al.
[6] suggests a taper lasting 21 days would only maintain, rather than improve, actual performance. In general, sprint and strength-based athletes should taper for
longer than endurance athletes, but this should be highly individualised, based on how each athlete recovers
and maintains their sport-specific physiological gains.
Longer tapers are important for sprint and strength
events, as the nervous system takes longer to recover
and adapt. Males may require a longer taper than females due to differences in muscle mass. Also, older
athletes require longer tapers than younger athletes.
PATTERN OF TAPER
Different types of taper have been described in previous research to include the linear taper, an exponential taper involving a fast or slow constant of reduction
in training load, and a step taper [9]. It has been quite
well demonstrated in the research that fast decay exponential reductions in total training stress (intensity, frequency, volume and duration) are more effective than
linear reductions or step reductions [1, 9, 10] . This may
be especially true for shorter tapers, or for very short
‘mini-tapers’ that coaches sometimes use mid-season
for events of moderate importance.
Finally, the issue now for the coach is how we relate
the above information to athletes travelling for competition. Crossing multiple meridians causes desynchronization of human circadian rhythms and leads to the
syndrome known as jet lag, which can persist for some
days [15]. Concomitant with the experience of jet lag,
there is impairment in a range of performance measures until the endogenous ‘body clock’, located in the

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hypothalamus, is returned to the new local time. Decrements have been reported in muscle strength, reaction
times, and subjective states indicative of arousal [11].
The timescale for adjustment of the body clock can be
incorporated into the taper when competition requires
travel across multiple meridians. It is logical that sufficient time is allowed for the athlete to adjust completely
to the new time zone before competing [15]. There is
also little point in training hard at home prior to embarkation, since arriving tired at the airport of departure may slow up the adjustment later [14]. Therefore,
readjustment of the body clock should be harmonized
with the moderations of training during the tapering.
Athletes, coaches, managers and support staff should
implement strategies to minimize the effects of travel
stress prior to departure, during long haul international
travel, and upon arrival at the destination.
In conclusion, tapering can be incredibly effective
when used correctly. It is very important to note that
every discipline within the sport science support base
will have their model for the taper and peaking. It is essential that the team of coaches and scientists sit down
together to plan each aspect of the taper and the time
allocation to each. Everything helps and everything is
effective. A good coach monitors every aspect, listens to
their athletes and tries many different interventions to
improve the Peaking process.
REFERENCES
1.

Banister, E. W., Cartner, J.B., & Zarkadas, P.C. (1999)

Training theory and taper: Validation in triathlon athletes. European Journal of Applied Physiology. 79: 182 – 191.
2.

Bosquet, L., Mont