Why I Don’t Believe in “Taper”—And What Really Drives Peak Performance

Rethinking the “Taper”: Why I Don’t Call It That, and What Actually Happens in the Body

Let’s get this out of the way early:

I hate the word “taper.”

My typical response when kids ask, “are we tapering?” or “when do we start taper?” is, “we don’t taper in this group…” Which is always followed by shocked and blank stares. ;-) The veterans of the group just chuckle.

I rarely use the word “taper” when describing the training block leading to a suited and shaved meet because, over the years, I’ve noticed that the moment some athletes hear “taper,” they mentally shift into a less of everything mode: less speed, less effort, less focus. It’s almost like the word gives them permission to coast.

But coasting is the opposite of what we want.

This is the part of the season where you’re preparing to swim faster than you ever have in your life. The days leading into peak performance shouldn’t feel like you’re letting off the gas, they should feel like you’re sharpening the blade. That’s why instead of talking about “taper,” I refer to this block as meet prep. Because that’s exactly what it is.

And when we frame it this way, it connects naturally to everything we’ve done all season. The previous training block prepared us for meet prep. The block before that prepared us for the one after it. Truthfully, you’ve been preparing for this meet from day one, even if you didn’t know it. (Hopefully after the talk they will ;-) Have this conversation with your athletes. Remove the mystery. Taper isn’t magic.

Taper Is Only as Good as the Training Before It

Many coaches, myself included, tend to feel most at home in the heavy training cycles, clocking volume, building mechanics, pushing aerobic thresholds, refining strokes, and stacking the work. When taper comes along we get a little shy, uncomfortable, uncertain. But “taper” isn’t something separate from training and should be embraced. It’s an extension of good training. The taper won’t work if the cycle leading up wasn’t effective, and/or if the coach doesn’t implement it with the same confidence.

A well-designed meet-prep cycle isn’t about doing less. It’s about doing exactly enough of the right work to maintain fitness, sharpen speed, reduce fatigue, and elevate performance.

The goal of this post is to break down:

1. What actually happens during taper (physiologically)

2. Why it works

3. How my SPA meet-prep cycle is structured

4. A practical template you can use and adjust

What Happens During Taper? Why Does It Work?

Most athletes assume taper works simply because they’re “rested.”

Rest is part of it but it’s nowhere near the whole story.

A proper taper triggers predictable, measurable physiological changes that improve speed, power, efficiency, and race-day readiness. Here’s what’s happening under the hood:

1. Reduction in accumulated fatigue (central + peripheral)

Heavy training builds fitness but it also builds fatigue. That fatigue masks performance.

When training load decreases:

• Peripheral fatigue drops: muscle fibers repair micro-damage; glycogen stores refill; neuromuscular pathways recover.

• Central fatigue decreases: mental stress lowers, neural drive improves, and reaction times sharpen.

When fatigue decreases without losing fitness, performance skyrockets.

This balance reduced fatigue + maintained fitness is the essential magic of taper.

2. Increased muscle power and efficiency

Studies consistently show that controlled reductions in training volume improve:

• movement economy

• muscle fiber recruitment

• coordination and stroke efficiency

• force output and rate of force development

Think of it like cleaning up the “signal” between brain and muscle.

Your neuromuscular system becomes more precise, firing more effectively with less noise.

3. Higher glycogen levels (more stored energy)

Reduced training means your body overcompensates by storing more glycogen in muscle cells. More glycogen = more available energy for racing.

This is part of why swimmers feel “pop” in the water during meet prep. Muscles have more instant-access fuel.

4. Hormonal balancing

Heavy training temporarily depresses certain hormones (testosterone, growth hormone) and elevates stress hormones (cortisol).

Meet prep reverses that trend:

• Cortisol decreases

• Anabolic hormones rebound

• Recovery accelerates

• Mood and confidence improve

Athletes feel better and that matters.

5. Neural sharpening and speed development

Speed work becomes more effective when athletes are fresh. The CNS adapts faster, allowing:

• quicker starts

• sharper breakouts

• better timing

• higher stroke power

• increased stroke rate without loss of efficiency

This is why meet prep should still include high-speed, high-quality work.

Cutting speed completely is a performance killer.

6. Psychological readiness and confidence

Meet prep creates a shift from “I’m training hard” to “I’m ready.”

Athletes begin:

• feeling fast

• trusting their race plan

• visualizing success

• carrying better emotional balance

Peak performance is physical but it’s also mental.

Meet prep sets the psychological stage.

Why Does Taper Work?

In simple terms:

A well-designed taper allows fatigue to drop faster than fitness does.

Fitness declines slowly.

Fatigue declines quickly.

This creates a window typically 5–14 days depending on the athlete where the athlete is at their highest possible performance capacity.

Meet prep isn’t about doing less; it’s about doing the exact right things at the right times to uncover the fitness you’ve been building all season.

What I use, SPA Meet-Prep Cycle: A Practical Template

This is the 3-day cycle I use to guide swimmers into the meet. It repeats and adjusts in volume as competition gets closer. It is not the only way to taper but I have found it to be a simple, effective, athlete-friendly model.

Overview of the SPA Cycle

S – SPEED

P – PACE

A – AERO

This 3-day rotation repeats until the meet week.

The final day before competition should beAERO.

Volume guidelines

Start meet-prep at ~75% of the previous training cycle’s volume and reduce gradually to ~60%.

Example:

If an athlete’s max normal practice volume is 5000 yards:

• First SPA cycle → ~3800

• Final cycles → ~3000

  
  

  Adjust up or down as needed for age, level, and event type.

Double practices

If you run doubles:

• One practice can be used for off-stroke aerobic maintenance.

• Keep the primary session aligned with the SPA focus.

Weekends

Sunday may require a Speed extension or a Speed/Aero hybrid day depending on meet timing and team schedule.

S — SPEED Day

Purpose:

Prime the neuromuscular system for race-quality movement.

Focus:

• Shorter efforts

• Descending sets

• Assisted or resisted work (assist cords, fins, parachutes)

• Fast breakouts and start mechanics

• Aerobic work only in warm-up / warm-down

Goal:

Feel sharp, fast, snappy—not tired.

P — PACE Day

Purpose:

Simulate race rhythm and intensity.

Focus:

• Meet-style warm-up only

• 1–2 “features”: broken swims, pace 50s/100s, controlled race-speed segments

• Technique must stay at race quality

• Hypoxic warm-down for aerobic maintenance

Goal:

Know exactly what your race is going to feel like.

A — AERO Day

Purpose:

Neuro-muscular recovery and stroke refinement.

Focus:

• Low intensity, beautiful form

• Turns, body position, and drill work

• 24–30 min of HR >140 for those who require aerobic stimulation

• Light kicking

• Emotionally low-demand day

• If possible: skip dryland, send them home early

Goal:

Reset the nervous system so the next SPEED day hits perfectly.

Final Thoughts

Meet prep is not a rest period, it’s a precision tool.

It’s the final sharpening of the blade before the athlete steps up on the blocks.

The quality of a taper doesn’t exist in isolation.

It reflects the quality of the training that came before it, the intentional design of the work inside it, and the mindset athletes bring into it.

Reframing “taper” as meet prep changes how athletes train, how they think, and ultimately how they perform.