﻿{"id":183357,"date":"2016-02-08T09:00:14","date_gmt":"2016-02-08T16:00:14","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=183357"},"modified":"2016-02-08T07:54:10","modified_gmt":"2016-02-08T14:54:10","slug":"4-methods-to-help-nail-your-taper","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/4-methods-to-help-nail-your-taper\/","title":{"rendered":"4 Methods to Help Nail Your Taper"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><em>By Seren Jones, Swimming World College Intern<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Taper is undoubtedly the most wonderful time of the year for swimmers. After months of high volume, high intensity and even higher heart rates, the calm before the storm of the championship meet greets us with extreme generosity and significantly less physical pain. With the shorter sessions come the easier sets, with the longer intervals and, of course, the happier swimmers.<\/p>\n<p>However, contrary to popular belief, this is not entirely true (excluding the happier swimmers part); there is more to taper than just cutting the yardage. Far more.<\/p>\n<p>Too often swimmers wonder why they aren\u2019t swimming less during taper time. Why they\u2019re still doing challenging sets, or why their heart rates are above 140 beats per minute. Swimmers often confuse taper with doing nothing, when the reality is, there is a still a lot to do.<\/p>\n<p>Taper exceeds far beyond what we do in the water. There are several aspects within the sport of swimming that when converged, contribute toward the taper process. Once we understand and execute these methods, we will have a more successful taper, which should lead to an even more successful meet.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>1. Stroke and Technique<\/strong><\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_178435\" style=\"width: 710px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-178435\" data-attachment-id=\"178435\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/swimming-2016-arena-pro-swim-series-at-austin-59\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/alia-atkinson-2016-austin.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"4928,3264\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;2.8&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;NIKON D7000&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;Jan 17, 2016; Austin, TX, USA; Alia Atkinson swims in the women&#039;s 100 meter breaststroke final at Lee &amp; Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center. Mandatory Credit: Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1452988800&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;Brendan Maloney&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;135&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;1600&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.001&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;Swimming: 2016 Arena Pro Swim Series at Austin&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;1&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Swimming: 2016 Arena Pro Swim Series at Austin\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;Jan 17, 2016; Austin, TX, USA; Alia Atkinson swims in the women&#8217;s 100 meter breaststroke final at Lee &#038; Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center. Mandatory Credit: Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Photo Courtesy: Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/alia-atkinson-2016-austin-700x500.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/alia-atkinson-2016-austin-1024x678.jpg\" class=\"size-medium wp-image-178435\" src=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/alia-atkinson-2016-austin-700x500.jpg\" alt=\"Jan 17, 2016; Austin, TX, USA; Alia Atkinson swims in the women's 100 meter breaststroke final at Lee &amp; Joe Jamail Texas Swimming Center. Mandatory Credit: Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports\" width=\"700\" height=\"500\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-178435\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo Courtesy: Brendan Maloney-USA TODAY Sports<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Taper is the time of fine-tuning. This is a critical time to polish up on our stroke and to continue correcting our bad habits. Technically speaking, every lap is vital when it comes to taper. Rather than turning our bodies on to auto-pilot, our minds should be thinking about perfecting every stroke we take \u2013 and with a sport as technical as swimming, there is always something to work on. Bodyline, hand positioning, hand entry, catch, pull through, recovery, what type of kick to use, the size of its amplitude, what type of water to produce, downward and upward kick, tight streamlines, solid push offs and fast flip turns. The list is endless.<\/p>\n<p>Why not start thinking about how we can transition our drills into our strokes when we swim at race pace or when we sprint? Think outside of the box. Think like a perfectionist.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>2. Recovery<\/strong><\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_161354\" style=\"width: 678px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-161354\" data-attachment-id=\"161354\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?attachment_id=161354\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/WHOOP-recovery-scores.png\" data-orig-size=\"668,339\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"WHOOP recovery scores\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;WHOOP recovery scores&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Photo Courtesy: Delaney Lanker&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/WHOOP-recovery-scores.png\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/WHOOP-recovery-scores.png\" class=\"size-full wp-image-161354\" src=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/WHOOP-recovery-scores.png\" alt=\"WHOOP recovery scores\" width=\"668\" height=\"339\" srcset=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/WHOOP-recovery-scores.png 668w, https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/WHOOP-recovery-scores-533x270.png 533w, https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/11\/WHOOP-recovery-scores-200x101.png 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 668px) 100vw, 668px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-161354\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo Courtesy: Delaney Lanker<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Recovery is a component that is just as important as the actual exercise. Recovery plays a key role during taper time, because without recovery, we can\u2019t perform. So getting the necessary hours of sleep and rest is extremely significant. Fail to do so, and the lack of recovery can be detrimental toward both taper and performance.<\/p>\n<p>Recovery goes beyond the eight hours of recommended sleep a night, it encompasses physical rehabilitation and injury prevention as well as dietary and nutritional choices. Recovery includes stretching, foam rolling, ice baths, heat packs, and deep tissue massages. It\u2019s a combination of the above that helps the body prepare for the weeks of taper and racing to come. Sleep alone is not enough.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>3. Nutrition<\/strong><\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_157793\" style=\"width: 710px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-157793\" data-attachment-id=\"157793\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/4-mouth-watering-recovery-snacks\/recovery-smoothie\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Recovery-Smoothie.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"4659,3095\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;4.5&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;Ken Hawkins&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;PENTAX K-7&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;1298644906&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;70&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;400&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0.0125&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Recovery Smoothie\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;Recovery Smoothie&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Photo Courtesy: Ken Hawkins&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Recovery-Smoothie-700x500.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Recovery-Smoothie-1024x680.jpg\" class=\"wp-image-157793 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2015\/10\/Recovery-Smoothie-700x500.jpg\" alt=\"Recovery Smoothie\" width=\"700\" height=\"500\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-157793\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo Courtesy: Ken Hawkins<\/p><\/div>\n<p>As previously mentioned, nutrition plays a vital role in the <a href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/4-yummy-foods-proved-to-help-you-recover-faster\/\" target=\"_blank\">recovery process<\/a>. What you consume will have tremendous effects on how you feel during taper and during the meet. Stay away from saturated fats and food that is highly concentrated in sugar. This will only spike your energy level for a short period of time before it crashes to a new low.<\/p>\n<p>Before you eat, consider whether the food on your plate will provide you with <a href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/4-wondrous-ways-to-carbo-load\/\" target=\"_blank\">slow-releasing energy<\/a> that will benefit you in the pool the next day. Steer toward the carbs, the protein, and the healthier fats, but beware not to over-indulge in one food group far more than another. Remember, you are what you eat. Eat well. Feel good. Swim fast.<\/p>\n<h2><strong>4. Effort and Intensity<\/strong><\/h2>\n<div id=\"attachment_180138\" style=\"width: 604px\" class=\"wp-caption aligncenter\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-180138\" data-attachment-id=\"180138\" data-permalink=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/oxford-v-cambridge-historic-match-set-to-draw-fast-finishes\/siobhanmarieoconnorbritishswimmingchampionships6jd2zocb0jal\/\" data-orig-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/SiobhanMarieOConnorBritishSwimmingChampionships6Jd2zOCb0JAl.jpg\" data-orig-size=\"594,374\" data-comments-opened=\"1\" data-image-meta=\"{&quot;aperture&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;credit&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;camera&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;caption&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;created_timestamp&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;copyright&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;focal_length&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;iso&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;shutter_speed&quot;:&quot;0&quot;,&quot;title&quot;:&quot;&quot;,&quot;orientation&quot;:&quot;0&quot;}\" data-image-title=\"Siobhan+Marie+O+Connor+British+Swimming+Championships+6Jd2zOCb0JAl\" data-image-description=\"&lt;p&gt;Siobhan+Marie+O+Connor+British+Swimming+Championships+6Jd2zOCb0JAl&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-image-caption=\"&lt;p&gt;Photo Courtesy: British Swimming&lt;\/p&gt;\n\" data-medium-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/SiobhanMarieOConnorBritishSwimmingChampionships6Jd2zOCb0JAl.jpg\" data-large-file=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/SiobhanMarieOConnorBritishSwimmingChampionships6Jd2zOCb0JAl.jpg\" class=\"wp-image-180138 size-full\" src=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/SiobhanMarieOConnorBritishSwimmingChampionships6Jd2zOCb0JAl.jpg\" alt=\"Siobhan+Marie+O+Connor+British+Swimming+Championships+6Jd2zOCb0JAl\" width=\"594\" height=\"374\" srcset=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/SiobhanMarieOConnorBritishSwimmingChampionships6Jd2zOCb0JAl.jpg 594w, https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/SiobhanMarieOConnorBritishSwimmingChampionships6Jd2zOCb0JAl-533x336.jpg 533w, https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2016\/01\/SiobhanMarieOConnorBritishSwimmingChampionships6Jd2zOCb0JAl-200x126.jpg 200w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 594px) 100vw, 594px\" \/><p id=\"caption-attachment-180138\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Photo Courtesy: British Swimming<\/p><\/div>\n<p>Despite being in taper, it is still required that we invest a significant amount of effort into the sets provided for us. I know this may seem confusing to most of us \u2013 because we associate taper with little or no effort at all &#8211; but these sets were made specifically for this time of the year. If a workout includes the words fast, pace, or sprint, that\u2019s exactly what we should do \u2013 without question. Fail to do so, and we will inevitably lose the feeling of swimming fast, and what good is that going to do before the championship meet?<\/p>\n<p>Although it\u2019s mentally reassuring to feel good during taper, it\u2019s completely normal to feel bad, or heavy, or sluggish in the water too. In fact, feeling slow the day before the meet doesn\u2019t mean you\u2019re going to have a bad meet. But questioning and doubting the fact that we\u2019re meant to maintain our speed during this critical time will not help prepare a positive mindset for the upcoming weekend. And entering one of your biggest meets of the year with a negative mentality won\u2019t lead you to any successful swims.<\/p>\n<p>So trust the taper, believe in the system, and have faith in your coaches. Because chances are, they know what they\u2019re doing and they want you to swim fast, too!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>By Seren Jones, Swimming World College Intern Taper is undoubtedly the most wonderful time of the year for swimmers. After months of high volume, high intensity and even higher heart<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":53,"featured_media":50488,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[6,17],"tags":[47673,41180],"class_list":["post-183357","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-college","category-commentary","tag-seren-jones","tag-taper"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v24.3 (Yoast SEO v24.3) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\r\n<title>4 Methods to Help Nail Your Taper<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Taper is undoubtedly the most wonderful time of the year for swimmers. After months of high volume, high intensity and even higher heart rates, the calm before the storm of the championship meet greets us with extreme generosity and significantly less physical pain. With the shorter sessions come the easier sets, with the longer intervals and, of course, the happier swimmers.\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\r\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/4-methods-to-help-nail-your-taper\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"4 Methods to Help Nail Your Taper\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Taper is undoubtedly the most wonderful time of the year for swimmers. After months of high volume, high intensity and even higher heart rates, the calm before the storm of the championship meet greets us with extreme generosity and significantly less physical pain. With the shorter sessions come the easier sets, with the longer intervals and, of course, the happier swimmers.\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/4-methods-to-help-nail-your-taper\/\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Swimming World\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/SwimmingWorld\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2016-02-08T16:00:14+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2016-02-08T14:54:10+00:00\" \/>\r\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/De-Lucca-J-MNCAA-SD-0893-e1454942606619.jpg\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"1800\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"1198\" \/>\r\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Seren Jones\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@swimmingworld\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@swimmingworld\" \/>\r\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Seren Jones\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"4 minutes\" \/>\r\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/4-methods-to-help-nail-your-taper\/#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/4-methods-to-help-nail-your-taper\/\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"Seren Jones\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/da28406e7bff5ec3018de7284719863b\"},\"headline\":\"4 Methods to Help Nail Your Taper\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-02-08T16:00:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-02-08T14:54:10+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/4-methods-to-help-nail-your-taper\/\"},\"wordCount\":871,\"commentCount\":6,\"publisher\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#organization\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/4-methods-to-help-nail-your-taper\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/De-Lucca-J-MNCAA-SD-0893-e1454942606619.jpg\",\"keywords\":[\"Seren Jones\",\"taper\"],\"articleSection\":[\"College\",\"Commentary\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/4-methods-to-help-nail-your-taper\/#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/4-methods-to-help-nail-your-taper\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/4-methods-to-help-nail-your-taper\/\",\"name\":\"4 Methods to Help Nail Your Taper\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/4-methods-to-help-nail-your-taper\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/4-methods-to-help-nail-your-taper\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/vmrw8k5h.tinifycdn.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/02\/De-Lucca-J-MNCAA-SD-0893-e1454942606619.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2016-02-08T16:00:14+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2016-02-08T14:54:10+00:00\",\"description\":\"Taper is undoubtedly the most wonderful time of the year for swimmers. 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