I hear about it a lot in swimming, but I don't really know what it is, and I feel sort of stupid asking. Thanks!
2007-02-21 08:19:01 · 7 answers · asked by Patchouli 4 in Sports ➔ Swimming & Diving
Generally it means a decrease in yardage. It is usually done about 1 month to 1 week before a big meet/race (the length depends on how long and how hard you have been swimming). The reason for the taper is that during the season your muscles get broken down to the continuous workouts. They also become trained to be able to go for a long time at a rather fast but not race pace. By tapering you rest these muscles so that they can recover while at the same time switching muscle memory over from long distance work to short sprint work.
2007-02-21 09:40:52 · answer #1 · answered by cowsvils 3 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Taper is just another word for rest.
Throughout the competitive swimming season the athlete works very hard. The body gets broken down due to the intense training.
Taper is when the swimmers are getting ready for a big competition and allow the body to recover from all the hard work.
Swimming during taper means more rest, and less intensity so the body feels good for the big swim meet!
2007-02-21 08:51:54 · answer #2 · answered by auapc 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
you usually taper few days or a week before an important race.
it means your training load will decrease. Say if you swim like 10 miles a week , then on the tapered week you'll swim only 5. You still need to do some speed work, but not as much as your normal training weeks.
The taper will help bring your energy level up so you can give everything the day of the race.
2007-02-21 08:28:34 · answer #3 · answered by TOTO 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Taper is when your workout becomes less and less as you come up to big meets such as an area league meet or State trials if you have state competition.
(Please note that the rest of this answer is for a boys' high school level team)
In taper, the laps that swimmers are doing goes down to let their bodies rest up from months-worth of hard practices, meets and building. Normally by the end of the season when taper is at its peak a swimmer's workout will be about half it was compared to half-way through the season when there were still hard practice sets.
Taper is also usually accompanied by shave-downs come a big meet. Different groups of swimmers may taper sooner than others and the same thing goes for their shave down. The less experienced swimmers who aren't going to big qualification-necessary meets will taper and shave down sooner than those who have already qualified for bigger meets such as an automatic entry into their area league meet or States. These swimmers will be the last to taper and shave down and they may still be doing 4/5 of their normal year-round yardage while the less experienced group is close to their 1/2 mark.
2007-02-21 11:44:19 · answer #4 · answered by I want my *old* MTV 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Before a big race swimmers "taper" . they swim but not as hard in order to rest and they work on technique more. Then they "build back up" before the big event. It is a big deal-if say Michael Phelps messed up his taper before the olympics it would be disastrous for him. Hope this helps.
2007-02-22 20:46:15 · answer #5 · answered by jen 4 · 0⤊ 0⤋
It is a time of physical preparation, which usually coincides with a big meet. As you near the race your coach will limit the amount of yardage and focus on your technique and speed. This can also be a time of mental imaging and focusing on a specific race. Basically a taper is a time that your coach rests your body so that come race time you have more of it to burn
2007-02-21 10:24:32 · answer #6 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋
easier practice times, less yelling from the coach to get ready for a big meet.
2007-02-22 09:13:31 · answer #7 · answered by Anonymous · 0⤊ 0⤋