Taper Guidelines
Congratulations!! Its Taper Time for the Wahoos! This means that they are preparing to go
FAST. For our Younger Swimmers, it means preparing to race fast by working on Starts, Turns and
Finishes. 10 & unders do not need to rest, they are seemingly endless sources of fire and energy! The
physiology of a 10 year old is such that resting can actually be more detrimental due to them essentially
getting out of shape. It has the opposite of the desired effect. The best thing to do is to really focus on
making sure strokes are excellent and starts, turns and finishes are places where we will drop time, not
add it.
For our 13&O swimmers, it means that it’s time to rest and focus on the little things. Let me clarify rest:
Our training yardages will gradually decrease over 4-10 days depending on who the swimmer is. When I
say gradual, I mean something like the following:
Avg Daily Yardage going into taper: 7500 yds
10 day taper (More Muscular Mid-distance/Sprint)
Day One: 7500 yds
Day Two: 7000 yds
Day Three: 6800 yds
Day Four: 6500 yds
Day Five: 5500 yds (Drop Aerobic ydg.)
Day Six: 5300 yds
Day Seven: 5000 yds
Day Eight: 4500 yds
Day Nine: 4000 yds
Day 10: 3500 yds
4-5 day taper (Leaner All Around Swimmers)
Day One: 6500 yds
Day Two: 5800 yds
Day Three: 5300 yds
Day Four: 4500 yds
Day Five: 4000 yds
*This taper is more for athletes who swim longer
events or the 200 Fly (Which uses the same
endurance systems as the 500 Free)
There is a gradual decline in yardage and an uptick in rest between repeats on taper. This results in the
body overcompensating and leads many times to GREAT TAPER MEETS!! The by-product of taper is
ENERGY. Taper is one of the coaches and parent’s least favorite times of the year. The athletes have an
overwhelming amount of excess energy which makes practices a little more wild.
Another crucial component of taper is the athlete taking care of themselves outside of the pool. This
can be more important to the success of a taper than what is done in the pool.
The first area of focus outside of the pool is on SLEEP. Swimmers need to make sure they do not change
their sleep patterns based on the fact that they will have more energy. More energy does not mean
stay up later. Going to sleep at normal time and waking up at normal time is the best way to work
towards a successful taper.
The second area of focus outside the pool is NUTRITION! Athletes, particularly swimmers, think they
can be on the “anything I want to eat, when I want to eat it” diet. In taper, the body is not burning
nearly as many calories as it does during the standard training season. This means that our swimmers,
who should be making reasonably healthy choices of food, need to be that much more conscious of
what and when they are putting it in their bodies. Taper is an easy time to gain weight and our
swimmers do not need to gain needless weight. Hydration is also a KEY component of successful
swimming, bringing water bottles to practice each day and consuming them as they go through practice
is the best way to hydrate and take care of the body. Mixing Gatorade and water at a 1:1 ration is the
best way to accomplish hydration and replenishment. Being sure to have a recovery drink and snack
within 30 minutes of the end of practice is the best way to aid in the recovery of the body and minimize
soreness and fatigue after practice.
The third area of focus outside the pool during taper is VIZUALIZATION. Laying in their beds at night,
prior to sleep or even when they need a study break from homework is a great time to visualize their
races. To do this, google the venue the athletes will be swimming in and get a mental picture of the
pool and area around it. When visualizing, it is important to relax by using guided relaxation or deep
breathing. The athletes should picture themselves at the venue and pick one or two races to focus on.
The athletes should see themselves all the way through the race including every detail and all aspects of
the race plan from breathing to kicks off the wall and turns, etc. They should visualize the race finish
and turning around to see that goal time on the board. The power of visualization and the correlation
with success is well documented as is the science behind it. Our athletes should be doing this EVERY
night when they need a break from studies or before they go to bed.
In closing, the success of a taper is as much on the athlete as it is on the coach. The coach as a plan and
they are trusting the athletes to take care of business when they are not there to hold their hand and
advise them on their every move and decision. If the athlete does what they need to do in and out of
the water, chances are that taper will be successful and athletes will have renewed confidence and vigor
to head into the Christmas Training Season.
Good luck to all of our Wahoos as we enter our mid-season taper meets!! I wish you all the best and
wish you BEST TIMES AND FAST SWIMS!!