Tapering is the process of making your workouts easier for to boost performance later on; supercompensation and elicited peak performance. The average amount of improvement from a taper in the literature is 3% with an expected range of 0.5-6.0%. Decreasing volume, maintaining intensity, and maintaining frequency are the core tenants of tapering.
Although it is universal that volume should decrease, there are different options of tapering to do so: directly, exponentially or linearly. Be mindful of your fatigue level, as a greater drop in volume may be needed following an overreaching cycle. Tapering is a science, but it’s not an exact science. Some trial and error may be necessary to optimize your taper.
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Source:
Tapering Practices of Croatian Open-Class Powerlifting Champions. doi: 10.1519/JSC.0000000000001699.
