Can tapering for too long hinder your performance at swim championships?

Question

I was just wondering . . we're tapering for FOUR WEEKS for our biggest meet. The practices are extremely easy and short and I was wondering if too much taper could actually be a bad thing.

oops i meant 3 weeks -- and it's pretty gradual too.

Answer 1

A taper is meant to be done gradually over a period of several weeks. It can be very short or very long, it just depends.

If it's well-supervised and done correctly, it will greatly improve your performance, not hinder it. If you're feeling nervous and hyper and even a little emotional, then the taper is working. :)

You can find good support from other young swimmers and answers from coaches on USA Swimming's Message Board:

http://www.usaswimming.org/USASWeb/usasmodules/Messageboard2000/pages/MB2_Index.aspx

Answer 2

If it's gradual I'd say it won't pose that much of a risk to your performace but it is still a definite possibility that your performace may be hindered by too much tapering.

Normally teams taper to let their muscles relax before a big end-of-the-year meet. I'd say tapering for 2 weeks should be OK but close to 4 weeks is definitely pushing it. As your muscles aren't being worked on a regular basis their mass will eventually start to decrease, not to mention that some members of the team may actually start to gain weight because of slower metabolisms now that they're not working out as much in the pool. And once that extra fat gets calculated in you'll start seeing problems in the rest of the team since suits won't fit right, there'll be extra drag in the water and not to mention you're muscles won't be able to perform at their max compared to if you had been tapering for only 2 weeks.

Answer 3

Yes tapering for that long will definitely hinder you. For a long distance swimmer though, that swimmer would not be as affected.
Also, it helps if your coach is tapering you for that long, then, maybe it is putting you guys on a gradual taper, instead of what most coaches do, which is drop off all in one week.
My coach always gave us a two week taper before sectionals and then if we made it to state, then, it was another week. Unfortunately we never quite performed at our peak after three weeks of taper.

Answer 4

It depends on what you swim, how much muscle mass you have and what your training base was before you start to taper. 3 weeks is not considered a long taper, probably average taper is about 2 weeks. Too much taper can be a bad thing, but if you start to feel tired you should tell your coach.

Answer 5

Yes very much so! You should be tapering between 3-6 days to heal your body. In the few days before the meet, you should be doing more sprint events to see where your at. Either the distance of your event or add 25-50 yards.

if its District or State, perhaps a little longer. Though if your feeling sluggish, you should practice on your own. The pool is usually open for us to workout if we need it longer. Talk to some other good swimmers and coachs who have experience too to see what they do, yet find out what works best for yourself.

We used to do two-a-days in high school but would cut down before the days leading to a meet.

Answer 6

i think it can be a bad thing. taper for like 3 days. go to the practices, but also go to the pool after practice or some other time and get a good work out. then within 3-5 days just do your teams work out. but leave one day before the meet and after those last few team workouts just to relax and not do any exercise.
good luck with your meet!

Answer 7

yes it can be. (i swim.)
If you taper for wayyy too long, you're not used to swimming fast and you'll most likely not beat the crap out of others. xD Taperinf for 3 days would be enough. You'l be too tired and wont have enough energy after a month.

Answer 8

4 WEEEEEKS???

tell your coach he is a freaking moron. our nationals team only tapers for 2 weeks. then again we have actual 2 hour practices, but still, 4 weeks is pushing it.