Should You Cut Training Before Competition? A Meta-Analysis of 27 Taper Studies

Pushing hard right up to competition day — and then feeling flat when it counts. Sound familiar? A meta-analysis of 27 studies on tapering, the planned reduction of training load before competition, concluded that a two-week taper in which training volume is reduced progressively by 41–60%, while intensity and frequency are maintained, appears to be the most efficient strategy for improving performance.

What the study looked at

Bosquet and colleagues conducted a meta-analysis of how changes to the components of a taper affect performance in competitive athletes.

Six databases were searched, and 27 of 182 potential studies met the inclusion criteria
Inclusion criteria: participants were competitive athletes, the taper was described in enough detail to see how training load was reduced, and performance was measured in actual competition or field-based tests
Variables compared: the reductions in training intensity, volume and frequency, the pattern of the taper, and its duration
Pre–post taper changes in performance were pooled as standardized effect sizes

Key findings

The most effective taper lasted two weeks (overall effect size 0.59)
Reducing training volume exponentially — a big cut first, then progressively less — by 41–60% gave the largest effect (effect size 0.72)
Training intensity (effect size 0.33) and frequency (effect size 0.35) were best kept unchanged

The authors concluded that a two-week taper with training volume exponentially reduced by 41–60% seems to be the most efficient strategy to maximize performance gains.

How to read this in practice

The core message is "cut the volume, keep the intensity and frequency." Adding too many rest days and letting sprint speed or training intensity drop may shrink the benefit
The 41–60% figure refers to volume — reps, sets, distance. Think of a larger reduction at the start, then smaller step-downs
As a limitation, the included studies were mostly in individual endurance sports. The findings may not transfer directly to team sports with weekly in-season matches; they are most useful as a framework for preparing for a major event

Using ATHCON

ATHCON lets you log training sessions, with automatic estimated 1RM and %1RM-based intensity tracking — so you can check that intensity holds up while volume comes down. Athletes' daily condition check-ins are flagged in four levels based on each athlete's own 28-day baseline, which helps you see whether fatigue is clearing during the taper.

Takeaways

In a meta-analysis of 27 studies, a two-week taper was the most effective
Reduce training volume progressively by 41–60%, while keeping intensity and frequency
The evidence comes mostly from individual endurance sports — apply it to in-season team-sport matches with care