Conflict of Interest Statement I have no actual or potential conflict of interest in relation to this presentation.
Tapering and peaking for optimal performance in team sports
What is a taper? Contents Effects of tapering on performance: a meta-analysis Individual sports, team sports, and the taper Unique aspects of peaking for team sports Tapering and peaking for a league format competition Tapering and peaking for a major tournament Elite team sports figures on tapering and peaking
What is a taper?
What is a taper? A taper is the training phase characterized by a reduction of the amount of training that athletes undergo during the final days leading to a major competition. Mujika Scand. J. Med. Sci. Sports 20 (suppl. 2): 24-31, 2010 The goal during taper periods is to maintain the physiological adaptations achieved during intensive training, while the negative impact of training resolves. Under ideal circumstances, this will result in an athlete who has made maximal physiological adjustments at the exact same time the negative influences of training have diminished, resulting in an optimal performance potential. Mujika Int. J. Sports Med. 19: 439-446, 1998 The performance enhancement that usually takes place with the taper is related to recovery of physiological capacities that were impaired by past training and to restoration of the tolerance to training, resulting in further adaptations during the taper. Mujika Tapering and Peaking for Optimal Performance p. 7, 2009
Mathematical modeling and systems theory Athlete = System Training Fitness Fatigue + - Σ Performance Banister & Fitz-Clarke J. Therm. Biol. 18: 587-597, 1993
Modeling the effects of training Performance Initial Positive influence Negative Influence Training t n t g Time Mujika et al. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 28: 251-258, 1996
Characterisation of a dynamical process Input System? Ouput..... t t Goodness-of-fit Busso & Thomas. Int. J. Sports Physiol. Perf. 1: 400-405, 2006
Mathematical modeling in swimming Performance (% PB) 105 100 95 90 85 0 5 10 Positive Influence (PI) 102 100 98 96 94 92 120 100 80 60 40 20 0 Mujika et al. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 28: 251-258, 1996 15 90 0 5 10 15 Training Load (A.U.. wk -1 ) 0 20 20 25 5 10 15 20 25 30 Weeks of Training Modeled Performance Actual Performance 25 30 35 40 45 Negative Influence (NI) 4 30 35 35 PI NI 40 40 3 2 1 0 45 45
Modeling the effects of the taper Early Season Pre-Taper Post-Taper Positive Influence (PI) 100 99 98 97 96 95 94 93 92 ES T1 T2 T3 Negative Influence (NI) 3,5 3,0 2,5 2,0 1,5 1,0 ** * 0,5 ES T1 T2 T3 Mujika et al. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 28: 251-258, 1996
Physiological and psychological indices of the effects of the taper Physiological: increased VO 2max, economy, muscle oxygenation, testosterone, red cell volume, hematocrit, hemoglobin, reticulocytes, glycogen concentration, oxydative enzymes, muscle fiber contractile properties, strength and power Psychological: reduced perception of effort, global mood disturbance, perception of fatigue; increased vigor, quality of sleep Mujika et al. Sports Med. 34:891-927, 2004
Effects of tapering on performance: a meta-analysis
Reduction of intensity meta-analysis Effect of REDUCED INTENSITY on overall effect size of performance changes REDUCED INTENSITY EFFECT SIZE Mean (95% C.I.) N P YES -0.02 (-0.37, 0.33) 63 0.91 NO 0.33 (0.19, 0.47) 415 0.0001 Bosquet et al. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 39: 1358-1365, 2007
Reduction of volume meta-analysis 1.2 1.0 Overall Effect Size 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0.0-0.2-0.4-0.6 20% or less 21% to 40% 41% to 60% 61% or more % decrement in training volume Bosquet et al. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 39: 1358-1365, 2007
Reduction of frequency meta-analysis Effect of REDUCED FREQUENCY on overall effect size of performance changes REDUCED FREQUENCY EFFECT SIZE Mean (95% C.I.) N P YES 0.24 (-0.03, 0.52) 176 0.08 NO 0.35 (0.18, 0.51) 302 0.0001 Bosquet et al. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 39: 1358-1365, 2007
Taper duration meta-analysis 1.2 1.0 Overall Effect Size 0.8 0.6 0.4 0.2 0.0-0.2-0.4 0 1 2 3 4 Taper Duration (Weeks) Bosquet et al. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 39: 1358-1365, 2007
Different concepts of taper 100 90 80 % of Normal Training 70 60 50 40 30 20 Normal Training Step Taper (Reduced Training) 10 0 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 Days of Taper Mujika & Padilla, Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 35:1182-1187, 2003
Type of taper meta-analysis Effect of TAPER TYPE on overall effect size of performance changes TYPE OF TAPER EFFECT SIZE Mean (95% C.I.) N P STEP TAPER 0.42 (-0.11, 0.95) 98 0.12 PROGRESSIVE TAPER 0.30 (0.16, 0.45) 380 0.0001 Bosquet et al. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 39: 1358-1365, 2007
Various modes of locomotion Effect of MODERATOR VARIABLES on overall effect size of performance changes Bosquet et al. Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 39: 1358-1365, 2007
Performance improvements in different sports Average improvement 3.0% Range 0.5-6.0% Swimming Running Cycling Triathlon Rowing Lifting Mujika & Padilla, Med. Sci. Sports Exerc. 35: 1182-1187, 2003
Universality of performance improvements No evidence of a sex effect concerning physiological adaptations and taper effects on performance Event duration and metabolic contribution do not affect the potential gain that can be obtained during the taper Technical and biomechanical aspects of competition do not seem to affect the performance outcome of a taper Tapering-induced performance gains can be expected irrespective of the caliber of the athlete Tapering-induced performance gains may have a major impact on competition placing Mujika et al. Int. J. Sports Med. 23: 582-587, 2002
Impact of the taper on competition placing % 4.0 3.5 3.0 2.5 2.0 1.5 1.0 0.5 0.0 Taper Gold-4th Bronze-8th Mujika et al. Int. J. Sports Med. 23: 582-587, 2002
Individual adaptation profiles Performance Swimmer CJ Swimmer HR Training 10 14 24 38 Time
Individual sports, team sports, and the taper Individual sport athletes usually achieve a fitness and performance peak through months of hard training followed by a segment of tapered training, culminating with the targeted race or championship This approach may not always be the most suitable for team sport athletes, who usually need to perform at a high level week after week to be in contention for the championship when it really counts Most of the experimental and observational research on tapering in the scientific literature has been conducted primarily in individual sports and events No study has directly examined the taper in the context of multiple peaking, so it is not known how often an athlete or team can obtain the performance benefits of an efficient taper Mujika, Olympic Coach 18: 9-11, 2007 Pyne et al. J. Sports Sci. 27: 195-202, 2009
Unique aspects of team sport tapering
Requirements of team sport performance Keys to team sport performance Perfect balance Players qualities Team dynamics Physical Physiological Speed Acceleration Technical Power Tactical Psychological Endurance Agility Mujika, Olympic Coach 18: 9-11, 2007 Taper
Why so little research on tapering and peaking for team sports? The physiological determinants of team sport performance are not clearly understood in comparison to most individual sports. Identifying physiologial qualities is not the only requirement to be competitive in team sports Performance is a difficult concept to define in team sports: more goals or points? A higher playing tempo for the duration of the match? Demonstrating skills and qualities under pressure? Performance is a relatively abstract concept! Diverse range of training activities and interindividual variability in responses and adaptations complicate integration of training variables into quantifiable units, making it more difficult to relate training with adaptations and performance Long competitive seasons and busy fixture schedule makes it difficult to carry out research placing additional physical demands on already overloaded players The relatively high risk of injury makes it difficult to carry out longitudinal investigations during the competitive season Mujika, Int. J. Sports Physiol. Perf. 2: 221-222, 2007
Tapering and peaking for a league format competition
Periodization for sports with a long competitive period HIGH FITNESS PLATFORM OPTIMUM FITNESS PEAKS GENERAL FITNESS LEVEL I II III IV V VI VII VIII IX X XI XII PREP. PHASE COMPETITIVE PHASE TRANSITION TAPER
Overreaching and tapering in rugby league players 6 weeks of progressive overload training with limited recovery Reduced muscular strength, power and endurance Increased muscle damage via a decrease in the anabolic-catabolic balance 7-day progressive taper Supercompensation of muscular strength, power and endurance Increased anabolism and decreased muscle damage Coutts et al. Int. J. Sports Med. 28: 116-124, 2007
Tapering and RSA in team sport female athletes Bishop & Edge. J. Sci. Med. Sport 8: 200-209, 2005
Power-force-velocity, jump performance and tapering in professional rugby league players 21-day taper at the end of a 4-month pre-season in the Australian NRL Coaches can implement a step taper to potentially improve Pmax and performance leading into a season while avoiding fatigue and still improving or maintaining aerobic and anaerobic conditioning De Lacey et al. J. Strength Cond. Res. 28: 3567-3570, 2014
Supercompensation kinetics during a taper in rugby sevens 4 weeks intense training followed by a 3-week step taper 30-m sprint (-3.1%), leg maximal strength (7.7%) and RSA (9.0%) improved, with 80%, 80%, 70% of peak performances occuring in the first 2 weeks of the taper Marrier et al. Int. J. Sports Physiol. Perform. In Press
Tapering and physical match activities in soccer players 17 standard vs. 7 taper weeks in professional football players Decreasing training load by 25% during taper weeks by reducing training duration (-22%) and frequency (-19%) but maintaining intensity was associated with a 15% increase in match intense and high-intensity activities Fessi et al. J. Sports Sci. 34: 2189-2194, 2016
Training load fluctuation during the week ADAPTIVE RESPONSE MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN GENERAL SPECIFIC COMPETITIVE RECOVERY + VOLUME INTENSITY INTENSITY + RECOVERY ADAPTIVE RESPONSE SUN MON TUE WED THU FRI SAT SUN
Weekly program in professional football with 1 or 2 games Bangsbo et al., J. Sports Sci. 24: 665-674, 2006
Maintenance of peak fitness throughout the season Factors affecting peak fitness maintenance Time between games Travel Competitiveness of the opposition Injury Minutes of match play Physiological adaptations to training and competition Recovery Mujika, Olympic Coach 18: 9-11, 2007
Tapering and peaking for a major tournament
High intensity training during the taper in elite football Bangsbo et al. J. Exerc. Sci. Fit. 4: 1-14, 2006
Variability in high intensity exercise during tactical training Bangsbo et al. J. Exerc. Sci. Fit. 4: 1-14, 2006
Training load, strain, fatigue and performance during intensive training and tapering in rugby sevens Bouaziz et al. Biol. Sport 33: 231-239, 2016
National Training Programme for Women s Soccer
Training Programme for the 2003 World Cup VOLUME INTENSITY February 3 WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS Tour WORLD Tour CUP February March April May June July August September BASE TRANS S/P T C BASE TRANS S/P T MACROCYCLE 1 MACROCYCLE 2 2003 WORLD CUP TRAINING PROGRAMME
Athens 2004 Olympic preparation for Women s Water Polo
Final macrocycle for the Athens 2004 Olympic Games French Cup World League Italian Cup OLYMPIC GAMES MC1 JUNE 14-20 MC2 JUNE 21-27 MC3 JUNE 28-JULY 4 MC4 JULY 5-11 MC5 JULY 12-18 MC6 JULY 19-25 MC7 JULY 26-AUGUST 1 MC8 AUGUST 2-8 MC9 AUGUST 9-14 MC10 AUGUST 15-22 MC11 AUGUST 23-26 MS 1 Competition/Base MS 2 Recovery/Base MS 3 Ae-An Transition MS 4 Recovery/Base MS 5 Sprint/Power MS 6 Sprint/Power MS 6 Taper MESOCYCLE 7 Competition OLYMPIC MACROCYCLE
Elite team sports figures on tapering and peaking
Chapter 12 Tapering for Team Sports Ric Charlesworth Achieving Gold in Women s Field Hockey Match or exceed the physical output requirements of competition during training Take the first week of competition as part of the loading phase to actually peak for the final games of the tournament Train throughout the competition to maintain players technique proficiency, achieve specific training aims, and also fill time Perform a taper that had been tested and proven to be successful in prior events Be flexible to anticipate and react to eventualities
Chapter 12 Tapering for Team Sports Derik Coetzee, Yusuf Hassan & Clint Readhead Winning the World Cup in Rugby Apply some of the rest and recovery principles of tapering to the year-round training Quantify training loads and players subjective perceptions of fatigue Find the optimal balance between training and recovery Minimize the incidence of injury throughout the competitive season, in a coordinated effort between players club staff and national team staff
Greg McFadden Peaking for World Championships Silver in Women s Water Polo Chapter 12 Tapering for Team Sports Maintain a high intensity, increase the specificity, decrease the duration of the sessions and adequately quantify the individual training load in the lead-up tournaments preceding the major event Make sure that players who are in the water longer during the lead-up tournaments receive enough recovery, whereas those receiving less match time receive extra training to maintain their fitness Use posttraining recovery techniques and optimal nutrition strategies Emphasize players body size, strength and power, because this is considered to have a major impact on game quality Periodize the training plan to achieve peak performance at the desired time
Chapter 12 Tapering for Team Sports Dragan Matutinovic Securing Silver in Olympic Men s Water Polo Set specific, difficult targets for the players to increase their physical and mental strength and determination Create a playing style early in the preparation process and compete against teams that play very different types of games Help the players to stay motivated, focused, relaxed and free of external and internal pressure in the days before and during the event
ESKERRIK ASKO! ( Thank you very much! in Basque Language)