How much rest do you guys and girls take before a competition? What is the optimal amount?
There is probably no right answer. Everybody is different.
Overdoing It
I think a lot of athletes continue training hard right up until their competition. I don’t know if that’s a good thing. In my mind it’s not just the fatigue from the previous workout – it’s the accumulated tiredness from the whole training camp.
What’s the best way to taper?
Scientific Studies Say…
I read this in the book “Full Throttle Conditioning” by Ross Enamait (www.rosstraining.com). He is a boxing coach who works with world champions (Katie Taylor).
In his book he says before a competition you need to adjust either: intensity, volume (how many hours), or frequency.
I will just skip the boring science references and tell you guys what the studies found.
About 1 or 2 weeks out you should reduce volume (how many hours you train) by 60-90%, and frequency (training days) by 20%, BUT you have to MAINTAIN INTENSITY.
“During periods of reduced frequency and volume, intensity must be maintained for fitness preservation.”
2017 Toronto BJJ Annual
How Much To Reduce Volume and Frequency
“The aim of the taper should be to minimize accumulated fatgue without compromising adaptiations. This is best achieved by mainatianing trainign intsensity, reducing the training volume (up to 60-90%) and slightly reducing training frequency (no more than 20%).
So basically research says about 15 days from a big tournament you should maintain intensity but reduce the amount of hours you train by more than half. You will also train maybe a day or 2 less per week.
The drops in training hours will help your body recover so much! Maintaining the intensity will ensure you don’t de-train. At the end of the two weeks you should feel rested and sharp.
It Depends on the Tournament
If it’s a small one or not an important event then maybe you will keep training like you normally do.
I am talking about important competitions.
How do you guys/girls do it?