Taper is almost every swimmer’s favorite part of the season. What it means is that we get to ease back on the hard practices for the purpose of rest and to store energy for the big competition weekend.
There are dozens of theories out there for what an appropriate taper is. Some coaches believe that a long resting period is ideal, while others have faith in a short but aggressive resting period. I have heard some taper periods lasting anywhere from 2-3 weeks, to a mere 2 days. It really depends on the coach’s perspective and the swimmer’s muscle mass + training regime.
For us (mid) distance swimmers out there, (I specialized in the 200m and 400m Freestyle), it is typical to taper less. The reason being that distance events still require a large effort of endurance. If we taper too long, our body begins to lose shape and in turn, makes the distance events harder for us to swim- resulting in slower times. Shorter tapers are affective for distance events because they allow swimmers to rest, but remain fresh for the distance.
Due to (usually) larger muscle mass in sprinters and shorter distances, longer tapers are introduced to ensure that their muscles are 100% recovered. Endurance is not a key factor with sprinting events. Fully rested muscles enable sprinters to reach their maximum capacity of fast-twitch muscle strength, giving them the most available power to swim at top speeds.
The key with taper is to trust the process. Coaches understand us as swimmers best, being the source of our conditioning. They are the ones who have built our seasonal program and therefore, know best on how much rest we need for our biggest competitions. There will be times in your career where the taper is off, and that will be a learning lesson and adjustment phase for both parties.
Regardless, the most critical factor to success is to focus on truly resting and staying focused on the plan. Swimmers should hyper focus on hydration, nutrition, sleep and all other actions that contribute to proper rest.