Tapering, what is the importance?
Tapering is one of the most important aspects of training for an event, yet one of the most difficult to implement. Mostly because runners fear losing their fitness, putting on weight and panicking whether they can still do the distance. However this is peak time to prepare the body for the task at hand, lie in, eat well, and allow the body to recover.
Tapering allows muscle glycogen stores to return to peak levels. Metabolic enzymes, antioxidants, and various hormones, depleted during training, return to their optimal ranges. Muscle and connective tissues repair and strengthen. And, the body’s immune system improves dramatically too. In short, tapering allows your body to prepare for peak performance. One study concluded, “The primary aim of the taper should be to minimize accumulated fatigue, rather than to attain additional physiological adaptations or fitness gains.”
During the taper, it is most important to remember this: physiological adaptations to training take a minimum of six weeks. Therefore, training hard during the final two to three weeks before your marathon is not going to improve your performance. Doing too much during the taper period can destroy your marathon performance. Your best bet for peak performance is to resist the urge to do more. When it comes to tapering, less really is more!
Finally reduce the weight of lower body or leg sessions in the gym, on the other hand maintain stretching, foam rolling, yoga and low load training that does not require too much energy depleting those energy stores you have been working hard to increase.
About Function Jigsaw Sports Clinic in Leicester
Function Jigsaw sports injury clinic is based in Wigston, Leicester and we specialise in Sports injury rehabilitation. Our sports therapists have years of experience in sports physiotherapy and sports massage. For more information and booking, please contact us to make an appointment. You can also call us on 0116 340 0255 or email us at
