--- title: How To Optimize Your Body For Your Biggest Athletic Event Of The Year description: "A breakdown of the scientific art of tapering: strategic resting to maximize preparation for breakthrough performance on game day." image: https://blog.insidetracker.com/hubfs/iStock_000084100339_Large.jpg --- [![Logo](https://blog.insidetracker.com/hubfs/Logo.png "Logo")](https://www.insidetracker.com/) - [Why InsideTracker?](https://www.insidetracker.com/testimonial/) - [How it works](https://www.insidetracker.com/tour/) - [Science](https://www.insidetracker.com/science/) - [About](https://www.insidetracker.com/about/) - [Blog](https://blog.insidetracker.com/) - [Contact us](https://support.insidetracker.com/supportcenter) - [Shop](https://store.insidetracker.com/) Open main menu Close main menu - [Home](https://blog.insidetracker.com/) - [Courses](https://info.insidetracker.com/live-healthier-longer-course) - [Nutrition](https://blog.insidetracker.com/nutrition) Open the submenu - [Food](https://blog.insidetracker.com/topic/food) - [Supplements](https://blog.insidetracker.com/topic/supplements) - [Health + Wellness](https://blog.insidetracker.com/health-wellness) Open the submenu - [Heart health](https://blog.insidetracker.com/topic/heart-health) - [Women's health](https://blog.insidetracker.com/topic/womens-health) - [Sleep](https://blog.insidetracker.com/topic/sleep) - [Energy](https://blog.insidetracker.com/topic/boost-energy) - [Cognition](https://blog.insidetracker.com/topic/Cognition) - [Immunity](https://blog.insidetracker.com/topic/immunity) - [Stress](https://blog.insidetracker.com/topic/reduce-stress) - [Performance](https://blog.insidetracker.com/performance) Open the submenu - [Endurance](https://blog.insidetracker.com/topic/endurance) - [Strength + Fitness](https://blog.insidetracker.com/topic/strength-fitness) - [Longevity](https://blog.insidetracker.com/longevity) - More... 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The best college football players come from across the country to show their skills in the NFL Combine.  The top draft picks have waited their entire lives for this one moment in time to prove they deserve a roster spot—the chance to go pro! Being the best on one or more particular days is something everyone wants, especially those that compete and dream of a personal best. This article reviews the scientific art of tapering: strategic resting to maximize the hard work of preparation so it manifests with breakthrough performance on game day. Whether you’re prepping for an obstacle race, a CrossFit session, marathon, triathlon or a weekend 5k, you can benefit from tapering your training like the pros.  **Taper for top performance** The foremost expert on tapering is Dr. Inigo Mujika. He recently spoke in Boston to some of the leading sports performance professionals on how to taper for big events more effectively, sharing important insights on what to do and what not to. His popular book, [Tapering and Peaking for Optimal Performance](http://www.humankinetics.com/products/all-products/tapering-and-peaking-for-optimal-performance), outlines how to make the right adjustments at the end of the season. Peaking is indeed an art because while sport science has researched it heavily, some clever, real world tuning must be made, or a season could be ruined. [![Are you primed to perform?](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/419889/fc05275f-f9b4-4196-a701-86a888de188a.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/419889/fc05275f-f9b4-4196-a701-86a888de188a) To that end, we interviewed one of the most seasoned experts in sports performance, [Keenan Robinson](https://www.swimmingworldmagazine.com/news/nbacs-keenan-robinson-hired-by-arizona-state-as-head-coach-of-high-performance-services-for-aquatics/) of Arizona State University. Keenan is a sports medicine and performance professional working with Michael Phelps and other Olympic champions, now [prepping some of the best swimmers](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=l1JB3PgKD8o) in the world for the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro. What’s Keenan’s take home message? *“When making adjustments for tapering, we must look at the various training stimulus we’ve used throughout the season and their effect on the individual. Consider what has elicited immediate positive results and keep more of that in the daily and weekly training sessions. On the other side of the equation look at those methods and means that have taken longer to respond and recover from, and reduce that gradually. “* - Keenan Robinson; Athletic Trainer and Performance Specialist, Arizona State University The taper in sports is simply “planned rest” before a major competition that elicits a temporary rise in performance. Rest too much, too early, and the reduction in volume can cause some athletes to lose conditioning and perform poorly. Don’t rest enough, and residual fatigue still lingers and the athlete may miss his or her window. Drop too much intensity, and some athletes become flat and unresponsive. The point is, resting correctly is complicated — that’s why we’ve spoken to some of the coaches we’ve worked with to get the best advice. **Dance with the date you brought to the party** Countless stories involve an athlete trying something new or different during the last part of the season to get that final 1% difference. The truth is, research has shown that most well-planned tapering programs can support about a 1-5% improvement, thus removing the need for quick fixes like new shoes or supplements. A smarter idea is to use what is familiar, allowing you to be comfortable both physically and mentally. So many seasons are ruined by experimenting with unknowns such as sports drinks or equipment that might not jive with your stomach or physiology. **You can’t perform if you don’t show up** Two temptations are often the bane of weekend warriors: going too hard later in the season as intensity rises, and not traveling smart. When athletes start resting, they are often seduced to go harder as they feel better. As the fog of fatigue lifts, many athletes succumb to injury as they fall victim to “speed greed,” doing faster or harder workouts in a vain attempt to get faster at the last minute. The goal of the taper is to be fresher, and that’s why athletes perform faster — not by cramming in too much intensity just before D-Day. In my last blog, I spoke [about jet lag](https://blog.insidetracker.com/how-to-dominate-jet-lag-stay-focused-while-traveling), and how most athletes benefit by getting to the event earlier. Using up one vacation day to travel might be a hard thing, but if you are training for an entire year, it’s wise not to be stingy when it comes to travel time. Adjusting to time zones and getting settled into a rhythm is one thing; making sure flights aren’t delayed or cancelled is another. Make sure you get the event, period. But getting there early is an advantage. ![iStock_000071604133_Large.jpg](https://blog.insidetracker.com/hs-fs/hubfs/iStock_000071604133_Large.jpg?width=594&height=378&name=iStock_000071604133_Large.jpg "iStock_000071604133_Large.jpg") **Don’t stress about recovery, but don’t neglect it either** Author and [Coach Steve Magness](https://www.freelapusa.com/steve-magness-on-muscle-fiber-types-tension-tone-and-blood-testing/) recently [wrote a great blog](http://www.scienceofrunning.com/2016/02/recovery-addict-how-overemphasizing.html?m=1) on the need to be sane when it comes to recovery modalities such as massage and nutrition. His experience with athletes has led him to believe that they tend to obsess over training, including the recovery side of the process. Some experts believe too much recovery can actually impair performance by blunting the adaptation process of training — akin to taking megadoses of vitamins and minerals. Still, recovery is the emphasis in the competitive part of the season and four simple additions can add the finishing touch to a great training and peaking plan. They are: - **Tart cherry juice** — Try drinking tart cherry juice as you get closer to your event as a way to help manage the strain after heavy training and competition. [Research showed that several biomarkers](http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19883392) are improved after taking the juice, but bing cherries are not found to create the same effect. - **Ashwagandha** — Add [Ashwagandha](https://examine.com/supplements/ashwagandha/) to your routine and try seeing how your cortisol level and fatigue changes when you [test with InsideTracker](https://www.insidetracker.com/customer/onboarding/choose-plan/). We like testing athletes before and after events to see the cause and effect of a good tapering plan. - **Nap** — Take a power nap anywhere you need to by using a sleep mask and earplugs. Sometimes, using headphones and listening to a relaxation app such as [Meditation Studio](http://www.meditationstudioapp.com) is enough to eek out a marginal gain. - **Monitor** — Fine tune your training by using a monitoring tool like[ithlete](http://www.myithlete.com), an app that uses heart rate to gauge fatigue. When the mind is racing before a big race, it’s nice to know objective information that can guide you day to day. **Parting thoughts on peaking** The human body is a complex machine, but it often helps to keep things simple. One can easily get caught up in all of the science and technology available, but the key point to tapering is that it’s still training, and not much about it is different than the approach to rest of a season. Keenan Robinson leaves us with a wonderfully calming set of wise words: *“We always view taper as making adjustments to what we have routinely seen throughout our training season.”* **Try out tapering in advance of your next big event and be sure to let us know how it went!** ### [![Are you primed to perform?](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/419889/fc05275f-f9b4-4196-a701-86a888de188a.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/419889/fc05275f-f9b4-4196-a701-86a888de188a) ### Get an inner edge by training based on your biomarkers. We've created this FREE e-Book to help you understand how!  [![Get your free e-book!](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/419889/9edd86a7-416a-42ba-8022-e5a0445657dd.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/419889/9edd86a7-416a-42ba-8022-e5a0445657dd) ### Some other blog posts we think you'll love: - [Tired of Being Tired: How I Optimized My Iron Levels](https://blog.insidetracker.com/tired-of-being-tired-how-i-optimized-my-iron-levels) - [Getting Back on Track: Laura Ingalls' InsideTracker-Fueled Journey Back to Holistic Health](https://blog.insidetracker.com/getting-back-on-track-laura-ingallss-insidetracker-fueled-journey-back-to-holistic-health) - [Avoiding The Crash: How Monitoring Iron Levels Can Save Your Season](https://blog.insidetracker.com/avoiding-the-crash-how-monitoring-iron-status-can-save-your-season) - [Stress Fractures: The Relationship Between Biochemistry, Nutritional Screening and Biomechanics](https://www.insidetracker.com/blog/post/80064494372/stress-fractures-the-relationship-between)     #### 8 Ways to Biohack Your Health Free eBook ![eBook_img](https://blog.insidetracker.com/hs-fs/hubfs/inside-tracker/images/eBook_img.png?width=684&height=264&name=eBook_img.png) ### More on this topic [Manage Your Mind with These Three Strategies from Dr. Caroline Leaf](https://blog.insidetracker.com/manage-mind-strategies-dr-caroline-leaf) ###### By Michelle Darian, MS, MPH, RD, April 21, 2021 [Chasing Your Big, Wild, Audacious Goals: A Letter from Olympian Shalane Flanagan](https://blog.insidetracker.com/chasing-big-wild-audacious-goals-letter-shalane-flanagan) ###### By Shalane Flanagan, April 9, 2021 [Slowing Down to Speed Up: Olympian Tianna Bartoletta's Bedtime Routine for Improved Performance](https://blog.insidetracker.com/olympian-tianna-bartoletta-bedtime-routine-improved-performance) ###### By Tianna Bartoletta, April 5, 2021 [![New call-to-action](https://no-cache.hubspot.com/cta/default/419889/4c987482-a4a3-4770-8721-a3e7cf9b89e8.png)](https://cta-redirect.hubspot.com/cta/redirect/419889/4c987482-a4a3-4770-8721-a3e7cf9b89e8) ### Longevity by Design #### The Podcast [![](https://blog.insidetracker.com/hubfs/86dzy7kt4%20-%20Inside%20Tracker%20-%20Longevity%20by%20Design%20-%20Dr.%20Andrea%20Maier%20-%20Episode%20Thumbnail_01.jpg)](https://blog.insidetracker.com/do-longevity-supplements-really-work) [Do Longevity Supplements Really Work?](https://blog.insidetracker.com/do-longevity-supplements-really-work) [![](https://blog.insidetracker.com/hubfs/86dztppxp%20-%20Inside%20Tracker%20-%20Longevity%20by%20Design%20-%20Dr.%20Uri%20Alon%20-%20Episode%20Thumbnail_01.jpg)](https://blog.insidetracker.com/what-houses-garbage-and-trucks-teach-us-about-aging-with-dr.-uri-alon) [What Houses, Garbage, and Trucks Teach Us About Aging with Dr. Uri Alon](https://blog.insidetracker.com/what-houses-garbage-and-trucks-teach-us-about-aging-with-dr.-uri-alon) [View all articles](https://blog.insidetracker.com/topic/podcast) #### Recent articles [![](https://blog.insidetracker.com/hubfs/86dzy7kt4%20-%20Inside%20Tracker%20-%20Longevity%20by%20Design%20-%20Dr.%20Andrea%20Maier%20-%20Episode%20Thumbnail_01.jpg)](https://blog.insidetracker.com/do-longevity-supplements-really-work) [Do Longevity Supplements Really Work?](https://blog.insidetracker.com/do-longevity-supplements-really-work) March 30, 2026 [![](https://blog.insidetracker.com/hubfs/86dztppxp%20-%20Inside%20Tracker%20-%20Longevity%20by%20Design%20-%20Dr.%20Uri%20Alon%20-%20Episode%20Thumbnail_01.jpg)](https://blog.insidetracker.com/what-houses-garbage-and-trucks-teach-us-about-aging-with-dr.-uri-alon) [What Houses, Garbage, and Trucks Teach Us About Aging with Dr. Uri Alon](https://blog.insidetracker.com/what-houses-garbage-and-trucks-teach-us-about-aging-with-dr.-uri-alon) March 28, 2026 [View all articles](https://blog.insidetracker.com/all) ##### Company - 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