How to Taper, What to Do the Week Before a Race

[@CryWolfFilms]

watching this video after wrecking my self with intervals a few days before the event. pray for me

[@singlespeedoutlaw4086]

How'd it go? Lol

[@adolfoherrera7821]

@@singlespeedoutlaw4086 he died.

[@pauloh4571]

I know I'm late but that's funny.

[@karadagidenbalik]

rip

[@JonFairhurst]

Great video! As a Masters swimmer, our coach would have us taper for a week. We’d do some sprints and easy intervals and cut workout times in half. The idea was to let muscles recover, but to keep the mental and neurological aspects sharp. The high intensity stuff helps us feel that “fast is normal”, and the low intensity stuff makes sure that we feel good in the water. Taking the whole week off could make us feel awkward in the water, and going too hard can leave us fatigued. For race day warmup, we’d swim at least 800m with some “burnouts” thrown in to wake up the fast twitch muscles, but not so long as to dull the edge. The other thing we practice during the taper and in the warmup is diving starts. Practicing bike starts that week could be good practice for finding the best gearing strategy. I don’t race, but I’ll ride the 200+ mile Seattle to Portland event this year. It’s flat, so the only over threshold riding I’ll do is when catching a group for drafting. I plan to taper for 7-10 days with some intervals and some very easy rides with low volume for each. The intervals won’t be max efforts, as I won’t be doing sprints for a one-day STP ride. The active taper will be about keeping my head in the game, rather than training. The other aspect will be personal health. Hydration, vitamins, good diet, and carb loading at the end will help, as will lots of stretching. Important topic, and as usual, great video. Love the free socks and carbon wheels bit!

[@misaelbenton9528]

i know im asking randomly but does anyone know of a tool to get back into an Instagram account?? I stupidly lost the password. I would appreciate any assistance you can offer me.

[@arescrosby4855]

@Misael Benton Instablaster :)

[@misaelbenton9528]

@Ares Crosby i really appreciate your reply. I got to the site thru google and Im trying it out now. Looks like it's gonna take a while so I will get back to you later when my account password hopefully is recovered.

[@misaelbenton9528]

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[@arescrosby4855]

@Misael Benton happy to help xD

[@RGCastro7]

Super useful information, Dylan. Thank you for your time and effort.

[@HaIIowsxeve]

Great video Dylan. Recently subscribed to your channel. Love the content that you produce and the sourced information through case studies to reinforce it!

[@stefanobaldari5291]

65km race on gravel and I had so much power on the 1/3 part of the race that I could ride up many positions 👍🏻 The tapering as you described worked perfectly. Thanks Now tapering again for next race A in 2 weeks. 100km this time 30% gravel 70% mountain single track terrain

[@hualingyu5553]

OMG I love how you cite the papers and references instead of just talking non evidence based stuff!!

[@prise984]

Great video man! Thanks! Keep up the good work!

[@rebeccaedwards8590]

My race is in exactly one week. I already overloaded my training so now I'm looking at a one week taper with mindset training and carb loading at the last 3 days before we race Sunday. Although I only race 2 events a year, this particular race is an A event as we haven't hosted a race at our trails in 4 years and is very important to me

[@Aboycostelo]

Thanks for the video. I'm planning to do my first long journey on my bike, by traveling about 500km. This video helps a lot!

[@wackery_zeimer]

Thanks for the video - the examples you provide for different taper weeks are super helpful!

[@cypriano8763]

"arent quite as strong as we think we are", nailed it

[@youssefj4061]

Tanks Dylan these videos are well needed. Maybe you know Jeff Nippard, he does science based body building videos and his editing is just superb. I know it is time consumming but that might help your channel reach an even larger audience and hopefully get you the followers your great content deserves !

[@Advcrazy]

Thanks Dylan!!!!!!🤗

[@stefanobaldari5291]

I am tapering for 2 races type A in August with 2 weeks for each race. I have had a 2 months high intensity training in June-July and try now to maximize it and crush these races. Let's see how your 2 weeks plan working ;)

[@generaphaelian8893]

Great insights as always! Thanks!

[@carlosgomezzzzzzz]

Thank you very much for this video! Im racing a stage race next week, 300k 8000m... I wasn't aware of the keeping the intensity thing, last year I reduced both intensity and volume and exaggerated on the nutrition, by the time the race came I had a noticeable belly that went away by day 3, I think Im doing it better this time

[@dhpug3014]

Some solid content my dude 👏

[@TrailBoundco]

How should I tapper if I have an A race on staturday then another A race the next Saturday?

[@rostonnordell3218]

I normally have a race about once or two times a month and I just use my taper as my recovery week

[@richardmiddleton7770]

I prefer to shut training down almost completely a couple of weeks before then start ramping back up 3-4 days before with the day before the day before completely off, then a very short sharp leg/lung opener the day before. This is for shorter races though, YMMV.

[@crossvet]

Very useful, thank you Dylan.

[@rascal1234]

Lol! $2000 for carbon wheels to win free socks. Worth it! Great info Dylan. Since I am still a noob, every race I consider a training race. I hold no delusion that I have a chance to win, Should I even bother to taper?

[@DylanJohnsonCycling]

Lol. Really depends on the type of racing and your racing calendar but where you're at right now approaching every race as a training race isn't a bad mind set. You're going to learn something every race so treat them like learning opportunities. When you start to climb the ranks consider a taper to get on the podium.

[@lechprotean]

@@DylanJohnsonCycling It would be good to understand the consequences of too much rest/taper before the race - I know you lose fitness, but how quickly? If you don't have a follow-up race soon after your "A-race" event, seems like resting more pre-race would be the safer strategy?

[@geoffreyanderson4719]

super vid.

[@dunkindudepa]

This may be a TrainingPeaks topic, but i'm curious as to your Fitness/Fatigue/Form PM values projected on race day with the A race taper. I'm currently tapering and can barely add much intensity/volume over the final 9 days without pushing those form values down and fatigue up? Thanks and love the content!

[@DylanJohnsonCycling]

I should be talking about this in a future video. Those values are helpful but not the end all be all.

[@madetowin1612]

All another typical situations better 2-3 days of rest/recovery before start level A. That based point for instant planning. Or i wrong...?

[@glenngoysens8372]

Hi Dylan, I watched this video again yesterday, hope you still respond to older videos. You mention in the video the destinction between tapering after training overloading versus tapering after "not training overloading". I was wondering how tapering would change if you start it after a rest week, because that is what I usually do. Should I for example decrease volume less than the recommended 50%in this case?

[@inphiknitfractal]

If that one race (with long taper) is a 7 day stage race, is there a trade off between loss of fitness, and regaining it quickly in the first few stages? Would be interested on your thoughts of stretching pre-post ride, & the effects on building muscle.. I've heard mixed things.. Feels to me like skipping pre-ride stretching keeps legs feeling stronger, not pre-strained...I generally use a hot tub to stretch post ride so that the heat assists in relaxation of tense muscles... CBD works really well also ;) Thx for the info ^_^

[@wesfree]

Good stuff, Dylan - thanks! There seems to be an increasing body of science to support calibrating taper using Heart Rate Variability (HRV) in conjunction with other metrics (especially resting HR). One of your cited studies (in another VID) made reference to HRV recovery metrics, but you sorta' skimmed over that aspect, focusing instead on recovery of the autonomous nervous system (ANS). I subscribe to the notion that taper duration etc must be tailored to the individual - which would support the parallel notion that using a hard-metric such as HRV would be an excellent method for making such determination. I acknowledge that HRV is a "noisy" signal, but there are good methods for eliminating that noisy signal data, and using HRV to signal optimum taper and event readiness. Why don't you consider addressing how to use HRV in conjunction with training plans to optimize adaptational benefits, and avoid over-reach and over-training? @wesfree

[@bakarenejayto5615]

How do you taper for a stage race? Maybe a 3-day race or a 1-2 weeks stage race? Do you taper for stage races or no?

[@fastleopard1]

Another great video. I like the segments where the guy turns his cap around and then gives moronic suggestions. I personally prefer to taper very little as my body tends to shut down if I'm not training regularly

[@olavofernandes9345]

Hi Dylan, one question for the fowling situation, i have been in competition for the last 6 weeks, so competition on Saturdays and Sundays, usual in road competition, how to tape on situations like this without loose performance?

[@daisydela]

Another great video. I always appreciate the review of research in all your videos. Curious on how you’d apply taper principles for a multi-day stage race. (In my case a 350 mile gravel stage race over 5-days). Seems a bit trickier to maintain fitness for 3-6 hours a day on the bike for a several day event. Too long a taper and you may lose endurance. Too short and you may go in with burnt legs.

[@DylanJohnsonCycling]

I'd go with a 1 week taper. The longer the event the less fresh you have to be (within reason obviously) because you don't need that snap.

[@trbeyond]

Another great video on a complicated topic. Did you come across any studies on using a reverse taper? I’ve had good success with this method for my bigger races. Helps me make sure I’m fresh but not flat.

[@DylanJohnsonCycling]

I didn't find any but I can look into it. Perhaps a topic for another video.

[@aidenworth8186]

I'm having a hard time deciding between long 80 mile rides at tempo and maybe a single 20 min effort and shorter 30 mile rides with 4 or 5 VO2 max type workouts. What will give me the biggest gains by the end of my season?

[@DylanJohnsonCycling]

Depends on what you're training for. You should tailor your training to the demands of the race.

[@aidenworth8186]

I don't race is the trouble. I'm trying to become a well rounded cyclist and bringing up my FTP is my overall goal. I'm currently at 4.4 watts per kg and I'm not sure how much slower progress will be the closer I get to my physical limits. Just trying to find the most effective method.

[@DylanJohnsonCycling]

I'd do a block of VO2 work. That will give your FTP a little boost as long as you keep some threshold work in there.

[@sharonelevy4095]

Great info. My A race is a seven days stage race. Would you recommend a short (1 week) or long (2 weeks) taper?

[@DylanJohnsonCycling]

Probably shorter but again it requires experimentation. Generally the longer the races you don't need to be quite as fresh for.

[@alexeyalexandrov7583]

Hi Dylan, you always say that training is just accumulating time in certain training zone. Which training session is more effective to improve VO2max: 6 x 3 min 120% FTP (18 minutes on VO2max in total) or 3 sets of 10 x (40/20 120% FTP) (20 minutes on VO2max in total)? For me the second one is way easier physically, mentally and generally more enjoyable while spending more time on VO2max.

[@DylanJohnsonCycling]

It depends on what you are training for. If your goal race has 3 minute climbs or if you know you are going to have to spend 2 to 5 minutes at a sustained high power then the first workout would be more specific. If however you'll be doing more punchy efforts then the second. I regularly include 30/30s in the lead up to an important race.

[@benfinesilver2250]

Not sure I totally agree with doing so much volume in a taper. Intervals yes, but doing more than 1 hour of zone 2 is worthless. You aren’t going to gain aerobic fitness before an event. Reduce endurance volume gradually then after a final hard workout, you should either be doing a recovery low Z1 spin or completely resting. Team GB’s track team have had their athletes doing no rides for 1 week prior to competition. They did all right :)

[@raphaeltiziani7476]

6:25 oh god, I love those jokes 😂 Thanks for the video. Well my question is relatively similar to tapering. Sometimes there are weeks were I cant put in my usual 10-13 hrs of training but only lets say around 5. What is the minimum amount of intensity to not loose fitness or at leats just very little?

[@Advcrazy]

Raphael Tiziani 5hrs! 😂

[@DylanJohnsonCycling]

Make sure you are doing two intensity days. One for threshold work and one for VO2 work is a good pattern. My how to increase your FTP video gives a good layout and the fast on 6 hours a week video shows you how to time crunch your plan. Might be good ones to rewatch.

[@raphaeltiziani7476]

@@Advcrazy whats so funny?

[@Advcrazy]

Raphael Tiziani I was just teasing. I meant if you only have 5 hours to train your ass off then you should train your ass off for 5 hours. It was funny at the time 🤦‍♂️

[@saqeblone4757]

Do the rest days compliment tapper

[@DylanJohnsonCycling]

Yup, I'll usually have a full rest day on Monday before a race.

[@saqeblone4757]

Dylan Johnson thanks

[@glennreeve6316]

Any advice on how to taper (or not) when your training regiment fell through and don't have a good base line to taper from? Two weeks out from a race and wondering if i should ease off or go hard this week and then taper week before the race. Thanks for any insight.

[@DylanJohnsonCycling]

I'd go hard this week and then taper next week. If training hasn't been on point there are probably still potential fitness gains to be made this week.

[@allent1277]

Great Info, I have a question how about stage races ??

[@RulerSakura]

Due to over training, I have an IT band injury and hurts to ride. What do I do when I am injured and what are best practices to prevent injury without reducing your training volume. How long do I wait until I can ride again. Thanks.

[@DylanJohnsonCycling]

All good questions for a PT. I am hesitant to give advice here as I'm not a PT or doctor. If it's from overtraining I'd say take it easy and recover.

[@grantflewwelling1260]

How do you manage training tapers/recovery periods when you race 2-3 weekends a month, 8m a year? Or maybe the better question is how do you plan your training with that volume of competing?

[@DylanJohnsonCycling]

You've got to decide which ones are important and which are not. The important ones you taper for and the others you use for training. Doesn't mean you still can't do well in them though.

[@grantflewwelling1260]

Thanks for the response, I sent the question before the video ended. I do mostly 3hr dirt bike races so your content is parallel to the type of fitness I’m trying to build.

[@ArTzV]

Thanks for the video. I've always done a taper of 1 week, I will try 2 weeks.s. What pre-race training do you recommend?

[@DylanJohnsonCycling]

A go to for my day before the race workout is a 5min, 3min, 1min effort. I try to aim for a little above threshold. I often base the pre race workout on how I feel. More work if I''m feeling fresh, less if I'm not.

[@ArTzV]

@@DylanJohnsonCycling thank you. I'm still experimenting. Last time I try: three 1-minute PowerIntervals and two 3-minute OverUnders. Recommendation from the bookChris Carmichael.

[@4dogsannacat]

What about tapering for a stage race like the Breck Epic?

[@frankosuna]

Do you do any sort of warm up before the actual race? If so what and for how long?

[@DylanJohnsonCycling]

Depends on the race. The shorter the race the more important the warm up. Generally 20 to 30 min.

[@matt.eggleton]

Nice job! I suspect that many of us Masters racers benefit from keeping our tapers relatively shorter as we tend to lose fitness rather quickly. For a couple years I would taper for two weeks and end up with a TSB over +20. I then (somewhat accidentally) did a couple races in a row where I had less taper and less TSB on race day. Guess what? Much stronger/faster. You didn't mention it in the video, but I bet you have a target TSB you are shooting for when prepping for NUE events. Yes? No? Anyway, I'm finding (this season especially) that I don't need as much TSB as I thought I did. :) Thanks again!

[@DylanJohnsonCycling]

I'm the same way. A shorter taper seems to work better. I've found that if the TSB gets too high the race results suffer. Between 5 and 10 is what I've found works well.

[@MrBJPitt]

6:30 bwahaha 😂

[@roilev]

Dude plug those bar ends, you don't want your bar cutting through your flesh when you crash!

[@selfactualizer2099]

you should stop drinking coffee, from now on only drink preworkout about once a week and only on your hardest work days. (do not drink any other caffeine drinks ever) preworkout has other things added to it to maximize the effects of the caffeine in it, the ingredients labeled on a preworkout drink are all to further enhance your ability to intake the caffeine/release the adrenaline. why would you switch to preworkout for cycling? a 0 caffeine tolerance preworkout let's me practically triple my endurance. infact, everytime I drink it I immediately get the effects of caffeine overdose. (don't worry I'm doing it safely.) *only once a week* taking a week off from the drink every couple weeks or so. keep the caffeine tolerance at 0 to protect your natural energy levels.

[@omardgardiner2225]

Great Content as usual. Thanks