Taper time is a stressful time for endurance athletes. After months of pushing their bodies to the limit, it can feel strange to pull back on the training load. Not only do athletes worry about losing fitness, but they also tend to overanalyze everything they do during the taper.
我应该吃什么？为什么我会感到更糟？我应该做最后一次长期吗？这些都是您可能从运动员那里收到的问题。
As a coach, your job is to ease your athletes’ minds, ensure they don’t do too much in the final few days before a race, and nail their taper. Consider the following questions which you will inevitably receive from your athletes.
What Is a Taper?
A taper is a gradual reduction in training load ahead of a race. The purpose is to reduce fatigue to ensure that an athlete is mentally and physically optimized on race day.
良好的锥度将促进运动经济，血浆体积和酶活性的改善。锥度后，运动员通常会报告感觉更强壮，更清晰和健康。结果取决于运动员，可能意味着表现提高了1％至6％（通常是3％至4％）。
锥度应该是什么样的？
The precise structure of the taper will depend on the athlete, their training load, and the importance of the race (i.e. whether the race is an A-race, B-race, first in a series of races, etc.).
不同的运动员以不同的方式回应锥度。一些运动员受益于事件发生前几天的训练负荷的极端减少，而另一些运动员则在较少较小的锥度上竞争更好。
Experimentation is important to determine exactly how an individual athlete should taper. Over the years, however, I’ve found the following principles to be true:
- For most, the ideal taper duration is 10-14 days.
- High-volume athletes can reduce their training load more (as a percentage of peak training load) than low-volume athletes while still performing well. This is also why we often see Ironman athletes performing a longer taper than sprint triathletes.
- 在训练或被烧毁的运动员中，通常会从长达三个星期的较长锥度中受益。
- 在锥度期间，锻炼频率应保持不变，但是每个会话的持续时间应减少。
- 对于我与之合作的大多数运动员，训练压力降低了约20％，而最后一周的降低效果很好。
- 重要的运动员继续进行高强度的工作，以获得神经肌肉的好处，并避免在比赛当天感到平坦。
不同的学科是否需要不同的锥形策略？
大多数运动员将受益于减少整个锥度的所有学科的负担，尽管减少的特定性质会有所不同。
For triathletes who get by on minimal swimming (for example, two to three 2,000-meter sessions each week), there is no need to significantly decrease the swim training load. There simply isn’t enough fatigue or load from which to reduce.
Similarly, triathletes who perform a consistently low training load (less than eight hours per week) across all disciplines would benefit from a shorter taper of two to three light days rather than two to three weeks.
High-impact disciplines (such as running) benefit from a deeper taper than low-impact sports (such as cycling and swimming). As an example, the longest run for an Ironman athlete should occur approximately three weeks prior to race day whereas the longest bike ride could reasonably occur two weeks prior.
It is beneficial, however, to maintain frequency across disciplines, especially in swimming and running, which are more technique intensive.
How Should the Ebb and Flow of Training Change?
运动员应保持锻炼的频率，同时减少锻炼的持续时间及其间隔。例如，如果运动员通常在锻炼中进行8×800米的重复，那么在比赛日前两周，他们可能会做五个6×800，而在三个4×800之前的一周。通过这种方式，总体强度仍然存在，而体积减少。
我应该在锥度期间休息一下吗？
这取决于。对于习惯服用他们的运动员来说，一两天通常是一个好主意，但是，重要的是要记住，训现金伟德平台练量的总体减少意味着一天休假对于卸载疲劳并不像训练期间那样有价值。只要会话很轻，就可以卸载疲劳，同时每天仍在锻炼。
在参加比赛的几天里，通常最好做短暂的会议（不到10-20分钟），而不是休息日。这样可以确保运动员在每个学科内保持技术和运动协调，而无需疲劳。
我的日常营养应该改变吗？
随着训练负荷的较低，运动员将燃烧的卡路里减少。如果他们在锥度周中继续食用相同数量的食物，他们可能会增加一些体重。
A pound or two is not a big deal, and it may even be a positive addition if an athlete is too lean. However, gorging on bread and pasta for two weeks in an尝试碳水化合物is counterproductive. Instead, athletes should continue to fuel themselves as they did during training but should reduce the number of calories they consume to align with the reduction in training load.
In the three days leading up to a race, athletes should slightly increase the ratio of carbohydrates to fat/protein they are consuming. This ensures that they are topping off their glycogen stores and will enter the race well-fueled (especially important for long-course racing).
Are There Other Things I Should Taper Besides Training?
Heavy mental stress negatively impacts training, recovery and racing.最大程度地减少生活压力，如果可能的话，在进入重大种族的日子里可能会对表现产生积极影响。
Taking an extra day off work or aiming to accomplish stressful weekly tasks earlier in the week a few days ahead of the race will enable athletes to toe the starting line in a more refreshed and positive state of mind, positioning them for better performance.
在锥度期间感觉更糟是正常的吗？
It is not uncommon for athletes to feel down during a taper. A lower training load does unique things to the body. Less training means fewer endorphins and a possibility of feeling morose or grouchy.
A lack of activity and inward focus might also lead athletes to discover new aches and pains, leading to additional anxiousness. Especially at the beginning of a taper, many athletes report feeling heavy, slow and less fit. As a coach, you should convey that these feelings are normal and will pass.
Throughout the taper, encourage your athletes to stick to the plan and trust the process.
After a few days, when your athletes begin to feel good, it is your job to hold them back and discourage last-minute fitness tests. You want them to light the match at just the right time: On race day.
