Tapering

What it is

A taper is a planned reduction in training before an important event. The goal is to shed accumulated fatigue while keeping the fitness you’ve built.

What the research says

A 2007 meta-analysis by Bosquet and colleagues, covering 27 studies of competitive athletes, found the largest performance gains with:

• a taper of about two weeks
• training volume cut by roughly 41–60%, reduced progressively rather than all at once
• intensity and frequency kept the same

These are averages across the studies included. The best taper for you depends on how much you’ve been training, how tired you are and how long your event is.

Why it matters for training decisions

The common mistakes are not cutting back enough because you’re worried about losing fitness, or cutting intensity as well as volume. Keeping some short, sharp efforts while reducing volume is the pattern the evidence supports.

In a load chart, a taper shows as fatigue (ATL) dropping faster than fitness (CTL), so form (TSB) rises.

Limits

Feeling sluggish early in a taper is common, and recovery scores may swing around as your routine changes. Pre-race nerves, travel and sleep in a strange bed can move overnight data too.

How P247 uses it

If you set an event, the weekly report knows how many weeks out you are and frames next week’s call around it. AI goal plans can also build a plan towards your event date if you turn on AI features.

This glossary is general information to help you understand your training data. It isn't medical advice, diagnosis or treatment. For injury, illness, medication, blood test results or any health concern, speak to a qualified health professional.

← Back to the glossary