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- • Reduce volume, keep frequency, keep a touch of intensity.
- • Your taper is not the week to 'test fitness' — it’s the week to protect it.
- • Use a checklist: sleep, carbs, logistics, and pacing are where people blow up.
Topic guides
Practical starting points to test conservatively.
Related outcomes
Study library (reference)
Individual studies for deeper reading.
Effects of tapering on performance in endurance athletes: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Human research · 2023 · PloS one · PubMed 37163550
Artificial intelligence-generated marathon training programs: reliable tools in exercise prescription for athletic performance?
Human research · 2026 · British medical bulletin · PubMed 41722095
Effect of intensified training on cognitive function, psychological state & performance in trained cyclists.
Human research · 2023 · European journal of sport science · PubMed 35771645
Lowered muscle glycogen reduces body mass with no effect on short-term exercise performance in men.
Human research · 2023 · Scandinavian journal of medicine & science in sports · PubMed 36932633
Does hydrotherapy help or hinder adaptation to training in competitive cyclists?
Human research · 2014 · Medicine and science in sports and exercise · PubMed 24504431
Evidence of parasympathetic hyperactivity in functionally overreached athletes.
Human research · 2013 · Medicine and science in sports and exercise · PubMed 24136138
Practical tests for monitoring performance, fatigue and recovery in triathletes.
Human research · 2007 · Journal of science and medicine in sport · PubMed 17466593
Dietary carbohydrate, muscle glycogen content, and endurance performance in well-trained women.
Human research · 2000 · Journal of applied physiology (Bethesda, Md. : 1985) · PubMed 10846030
Effect of carbohydrate ingestion subsequent to carbohydrate supercompensation on endurance performance.
Human research · 1995 · International journal of sport nutrition · PubMed 8605519
The effects of a reduced exercise duration taper programme on performance and muscle enzymes of endurance cyclists.
Human research · 1992 · European journal of applied physiology and occupational physiology · PubMed 1505537
Polyphenol-Rich Snack Consumption during Endurance Exercise Training Improves Nitric Oxide Bioavailability but does not Improve Exercise Performance in Male Cyclists: A Randomised Controlled Trial.
Population not classified in the source record · 2025 · Current developments in nutrition · PubMed 40321836
Effects of almond, dried grape and dried cranberry consumption on endurance exercise performance, recovery and psychomotor speed: protocol of a randomised controlled trial.
Population not classified in the source record · 2019 · BMJ open sport & exercise medicine · PubMed 31548903
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Performance Science Lab
Research summaries for endurance athletes, with study context, practical protocols, and clear limitations.
Open guideEffects of Tapering on Performance in Endurance Athletes
Research note: Effects of tapering on performance in endurance athletes: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
Open guideSources
- Effects of tapering on performance in endurance athletes: A systematic review and meta-analysis.
- Artificial intelligence-generated marathon training programs: reliable tools in exercise prescription for athletic performance?
- Effect of intensified training on cognitive function, psychological state & performance in trained cyclists.
- Lowered muscle glycogen reduces body mass with no effect on short-term exercise performance in men.
- Does hydrotherapy help or hinder adaptation to training in competitive cyclists?
- Evidence of parasympathetic hyperactivity in functionally overreached athletes.
- Practical tests for monitoring performance, fatigue and recovery in triathletes.
- Dietary carbohydrate, muscle glycogen content, and endurance performance in well-trained women.