Peaking & Tapering

Performance = fitness − fatigue. A trainee can be very fit yet under-perform because residual fatigue masks that fitness. Peaking is the deliberate timing of the program so that fitness is high and fatigue is low on the day that matters; the taper is the mechanism that lowers fatigue.

The well-supported taper recipe:

• Reduce volume substantially — commonly a ~40–60% drop in total volume over the taper.
• Maintain (or slightly raise) intensity — keep training heavy/fast so the trained qualities are not lost; only the amount of work falls.
• Hold or only slightly reduce frequency — keep the movement pattern frequent enough to retain skill/neural sharpness.
• Duration — typically about 1–3 weeks, longer for higher prior fatigue (e.g., endurance events) and shorter for strength/power.

This works on GAS logic: cutting volume lets the resistance/supercompensation stage complete (fatigue dissipates faster than fitness), so performance rises into the event. The taper is the closing microcycles of a macrocycle and is the practical content of a linear cycle's peaking phase or a block plan's realization block.

A taper differs from a routine deload: a deload is periodic maintenance recovery mid-program, whereas a taper is a one-time, performance-maximizing wind-down before a specific peak, after which a new macrocycle (or active rest) begins.

• Performance = fitness − fatigue; peaking maximizes fitness while minimizing fatigue.
• Taper = reduce volume ~40–60%, maintain intensity, hold frequency.
• Typical taper length ~1–3 weeks; longer for endurance, shorter for strength/power.
• Works on GAS: dropping volume lets supercompensation complete by event day.
• Distinct from a deload (routine maintenance) — a taper is a one-time pre-event wind-down.