Taper and Peak Week Strategies for Competitions

Properly peaking has always been a specialty of mine. A well executed taper and peak week strategy can be the difference between hitting PRs on meet day or falling short. Tapering allows your body to recover from accumulated fatigue while maintaining strength and maximizing performance. However, not all lifters respond the same way, so it’s essential to consider individual factors like size, strength, and training history.

Tapering Considerations by Athlete Type

1. Bigger and Stronger Athletes

• Larger lifters (both male and female) tend to require longer tapers due to the higher absolute loads they handle in training. For example, Crew athlete Will O’Neil-White is a SHW lifter who is going for a 2000+ raw total this Saturday and his heaviest squat and deadlift singles were 16 and 19 days out.

• Heavy training sessions create greater fatigue, which takes more time to dissipate.

• Taper length: 10-20 days.

• General strategy example:

• 14-21 Days Out: Last heavy squat (92-96%) and deadlift (90-95%).

• 7-10 Days Out: Last heavy bench (90-95%). Reduce squat and deadlift to last warm up or opener type weight for single (85-90%).

• Final Week: 2-4 days of low-volume, light intensity (50-65%) to stay sharp.

2. Smaller Athletes and Females

• These lifters typically handle lighter absolute loads, so they recover faster and require shorter tapers. Working with 132lb Crew athlete, Taylor Sawyer, we have had success with taking her last heavy squat and deadlift 7 days out along with a peak week taper with slightly higher frequency leading to an increased level of predictability going into the meet.

• Taper length: 5-10 days.

• Strategy example:

• 7 Days Out: Last heavy squat and deadlift (90-95%).

• 4-5 Days Out: Last heavy bench (90-92%). Squats and deadlifts drop to technique-focused sessions (60-75%).

• Final Week: 2-4 sessions of low-volume, low to moderate-intensity work (55-75%).

Peak Week Strategies

1. Volume Reduction: Drop total volume significantly (30-50%) to reduce fatigue.

2. Intensity Management: Maintain moderate intensity (65-85%) on key lifts to stay neurologically primed without overloading. These percentages will be very lifter dependent, it’s important not to overshoot here.

3. Frequency Adjustment: Train 2-4 times during the week, depending on the lifter’s recovery needs. I will NOT increase SBD frequency on peak week. For example, if I have a lifter who squats twice a week, I will not have them squat M-W-F leading into the meet adding an additional squat day even at significantly lower percentages because that is still a new exposure that they are not accustomed to. I aim to keep a relatively similar split to their normal training on peak week leading into the meet.

Key Tips for All Lifters

• Listen to Your Body: Adjust based on recovery, fatigue, and confidence in key lifts.

• Prioritize Sleep and Nutrition: Recovery is king during taper and peak week.

• Don’t Overdo Accessories: Keep them minimal and light.

• Practice Meet Commands: Include commands during your final heavy singles at minimum to build confidence. I recommend taking commands as much as possible during the last 4-6 weeks of your meet prep.

Tapering is highly individual, so track how different strategies affect performance over time. With thoughtful planning and execution, your taper can set you up for an optimal meet-day performance. If you want to take the guesswork out of your meet prep protocol, I am happy to help! Schedule a free call with me at https://calendly.com/sheridanstrengthcrew/athletemeeting Here’s to many more PR’s on the platform!

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