Preparing for a Major Competition - REST!
Jan Zurcher
So, you've got a major competition coming up in a 3 to 4 weeks. How best can you prepare? In some people's minds, you should cram in as much training as you possibly can in order to be ready for the "big day". However, according to experts in the field of exercise physiology, this is exactly what not to do.
In fact, this period is a time for reduced training - a process called "tapering". This is a critical phase of the annual training plan and if not managed correctly, can destroy all the hard training that has preceded the major competition.
In order to perform at your peak for a major competition, your body has to have time to recover. The effectiveness of the taper is due to a quirk of nature called "work hypertrophy". When muscles are subjected to significant stress (such as from high volume and/ or high intensity training), they experience minor tears or shearing of the protein structures. During the rest period, the body repairs these micro-tears and then overcompensates by building extra muscle fibre. When you give your body extra rest, it supercompensates and adapts the muscles to handle even more intense stresses which enables you to perform even better. In addition, during the taper period, the body uses less than normal amounts of glycogen. This extra glycogen is stored in the muscle and ready to be used as fuel during the competition. These are the physiological factors on which the principle of the taper is based.
How much and how long should you taper?
While the importance of the taper is universally supported, the answer as to how much and how long you should taper is not as clear cut. It depends on a number of factors: the sport, the length of the event, and the age and condition of the athlete. In general, it is agreed that for speedskaters, during the taper period, you should cut the volume and frequency of your workouts by 40-50%. However, the intensity of these less frequent and shortened workouts remains high. For example, while the maximum ice time during any practice session the week prior to a competition might be only 35-40 minutes, the types of training activities would include something like 5 x 500 metres at 100% effort with plenty of rest between each interval. Yes, that's it - a total of 5 minutes of hard skating in the entire 40 minute session. These kinds of high intensity sprints keep skaters sharp and ready to race. The remainder of the time can be spent on technique and race strategy.
While there is generally reasonable consensus on how much you should reduce the training volume, there is more variation in the opinions about how long the taper period should be. It is generally recommended that endurance skaters should cut back on their training volume for 2-3 weeks prior to a major competition. For sprinters, this recommended period can be from 4-6 weeks. The general rule of thumb, however, seems to be a taper of 3 weeks.
This, however, also varies by age. Older skaters can use a longer taper than younger skaters - not only because their bodies generally take longer to recover but also because they usually have a more solid level of base fitness than younger skaters. Younger skaters may recover from any given workout faster than older skaters but they also tend to lose conditioning level at a faster rate than older skaters. Therefore, for skaters under the age of 14, it is recommended that the taper period not exceed 2 weeks.
How should you taper?
There are two basic kinds of tapers: the gradual taper and the drop taper. The gradual taper is the most frequently used for major planned events (such as Nationals or North Americans). As the name implies, it involves gradually decreasing the work volume (either time or number of laps) over a period of several days. An example might be to decrease training volume by 10% each day for the period of the taper. Each 7 day period should also have 2 rest days incorporated into them. The training plan should include complete rest (NO training other than stretching) two days prior to the competition and Active Rest (very light training) the day prior to the competition. Resist the urge to "show the competition what you can do" during pre-race day skates - wait until it really counts!
The drop taper (also called the drop-off taper) involves a very rapid reduction of training volume for the 4-6 days just prior to a competition. In this type of taper, the skaters skate high intensity sessions until the week prior to the competition. Four to six days prior to the competition, the volume is dropped by 50%, the next day drops to 25% of normal volume followed by a complete day off and then 1-2 days of active rest. This type of taper is typically used for mid-season competitions.
Remember, your mantra during this time should be "less is more". You want to step onto the ice during a competition feeling rested and full of pent up energy not exhausted from over-training.