i read an article that is published on an israeli long distance site(written by an Israeli long distance coach),it speaks about a different approach to the process of tapering before long distance events-
Raverse Taper
has some strong points,especially the part about gradually reducing the workload and then start the taper period with few days of very little workload and then gradually increase it as the race getting closer.
what do you guys think?
I’m a firm proponent of the traditional taper, and I would even go so far as to suggest that the day before a race be a complete rest day in order to allow for your body to restore glycogen levels to the maximum. Not sure how I feel about tapering off workload then building it back up in the days before the race. Those last few workouts that build up don’t really seem like they would benefit you much. I would much rather rest than burn myself out on a low-reward workout.
I have never seen it tested on real people, but some pretty respected guys showed in simulations that it might be the way to go.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19675490
I don’t have the full text handy, sorry.
Seemed to work for Secretariat.
Certainly interesting, I’m skeptical but I’ll give it a shot for at least a peak this upcoming season.
I’m a firm proponent of the traditional taper, and I would even go so far as to suggest that the day before a race be a complete rest day in order to allow for your body to restore glycogen levels to the maximum. Not sure how I feel about tapering off workload then building it back up in the days before the race. Those last few workouts that build up don’t really seem like they would benefit you much. I would much rather rest than burn myself out on a low-reward workout.
Not going to disagree with you on the comment about working out the day before a race but a traditional taper has much more benefit for a short-course athlete like yourself then a long-course one. I’ve done them both ways and a taper that involves a period of complete recovery further out from the race followed but a lower volume/intensity then normal build into the event has provided much better race results then the traditional taper. Obviously only my personal experience as to what works for me but you can’t simply discount this methodology as worthless compared to what is done traditionally.
i think that is has a lot to do with your experiment and depth in the sport,this approach seems to be more popular among the more experienced athletes.
I’ll admit I didn’t start using this method till recently. I’ve done around 20ish 70.3’s and only used it on the last few. I’ll be using the same methodology going into IMTX so that will be a good test of how it works for a true long course event.
I’ve done it. Can’t say it was better or worse than not doing it because I couldn’t do the same race under both conditions. I was having issues feeling a bit sluggish going into races so I rested earlier and then built into the race. Not ‘balls out’ though obviously. I did well in those races though.
The maximal performance reached with the 2-phase taper was higher by 0.04 +/- 0.02% in non-ATH and 0.01 +/- 0.01% in ATH than with the optimal linear taper (p < 0.001).
Wait just a second. First, this is a computer modeling/simulation. Second, they show an improvement that is within the ERROR in the athlete group? How in heck does one call this significant? I must be reading this wrong. How can one show that the model is any good, and second, their own statements seem to show no difference (which in and of itself is interesting, and may lend some insight as to how good the model really is).
Stephen J
“First, this is a computer modeling/simulation.”
As I noted
“Second, they show an improvement that is within the ERROR in the athlete group?”
That’s why I said “might.”
How in heck does one call this significant?
You’ll have to ask that of the authors or maybe the editors of the journal. I don’t promote the method, just remembered a paper that dealt with it. You can also ask the guy from Israel why he thinks it works.
Been doing something like this for a couple years, including 2 fulls. Works better for me than the traditional way. Every person is different, with different ages, life schedules, recovery, workload tolerance, physical issues, etc.
I only bike race now and use this approach all the time for stage races. I started playing with it the last year I did tris and had good results as well. I do well resting the week prior and then have normalish training week going into a race. I started noticing I always felt terrible the week after a recovery week and super good the next week. The same thing occured after a 2 week taper for tris. I seem to need to be a little tired to be good.
There’s a recent running article related to muscle tension that goes somewhat along these lines (I think by Steve Magness).
I usually end up resting the week before and then building into the event the last week. And take the two days prior to the race off completely. (I do sprint/oly and running races). Usually feel well rest but still ready to go fast. I end up with a lot of days off in my training schedule anyway, so I’m pretty used to just putting in the hard workouts and skipping easy days, so I’ve adapted.
I think the worst results come from either going so easy the last week that you lose the muscle memory feel for race pace effort, or going even harder that race effort because you’ve cut the volume and feel too good.
I do remember reading some sort of variation on this about 20 years ago…the theory being that you should completely rest a few days before the event, then ramp up the final two days before the race so that you’re not going into full on “kick-start” mode on race day. To me, seems as though there would be some benefit with this approach on short races, where glycogen storage is less an issue than longer events.
I only bike race now and use this approach all the time for stage races. I started playing with it the last year I did tris and had good results as well. I do well resting the week prior and then have normalish training week going into a race. I started noticing I always felt terrible the week after a recovery week and super good the next week. The same thing occured after a 2 week taper for tris. I seem to need to be a little tired to be good.
I’ve done this many times of “B” half Ironman races several times per year and the results have always been good. I have not had the guts to do it for a full Ironman. I must admit that for every Ironman I feel like crap in the final week leading into the race, just like I feel like crap on in the second of of light rest weeks when I am coming off big weeks. Basically, I know my body is rebuilding and if I actually race well into the “rebuilding phase” I come out flat. I have many times in Ironmans, but frankly, I aside from a few (where by the way, I have had decent results) I have not had the courage to give it a real try for Ironmans.
Slowman wrote this 2003 article entitled, “Closed for Remodeling”:
http://www.slowtwitch.com/mainheadings/coachcorn/closed.html
Have a read, it is pretty interesting…no hard facts just personal opinion (and he says so), but worth reading.
I think it was Chris Solinsky (US 10k record) who said he tapers 10 days out for a week then goes back to normal training, including high intensity, 3 days before the race to make sure he’s sharp. I certainly feel rusty if I take the day before off myself. I need to do a little something the day before, even 10 minutes helps.
It wouldn’t be my first choice of taper, but I do see how it could work well for some people. I’ve often found that after several days of recovery it takes a few days of being back into my training routine before I’m seeing season best #s. It’s something I’d consider for a “B Race”-- take a few day of recovery the 2nd week out, then resume normal training for the week of the race (as opposed to taking a few days of recovery immediately before the race).
I’m a firm proponent of the traditional taper, and I would even go so far as to suggest that the day before a race be a complete rest day in order to allow for your body to restore glycogen levels to the maximum. Not sure how I feel about tapering off workload then building it back up in the days before the race. Those last few workouts that build up don’t really seem like they would benefit you much. I would much rather rest than burn myself out on a low-reward workout.
Disclaimer: I only race bikes.
I can’t take the day off before a race unless it’s going to be at least 3 hours with nothing decisive happening (read:easy to sit in) for the first half. It’s a rare situation. My legs need the fire in them to be ready to go and taking the day of beforehand doesn’t work for me.