Rinehardt, K., Axtell, R., Fontana, C., Breault, R., Genthe, J., & Garay, R. (2000). Effect of taper training in collegiate swimmers. Medicine and Science in Sports and Exercise, 32(5), Supplement abstract 975.

Collegiate female swimmers (N = 13) experienced nine weeks of aerobic overload (8.8% sprint, 34.8% aerobic overload) followed by two weeks of taper training (13.5% sprint, 5.6% aerobic overload).

During aerobic overload, the 4 mM anaerobic threshold velocity increased significantly from 1.014 to 1.131 m/s. During taper the following measures did not change -- 4mM anaerobic threshold, VO2peak, CK, and LDH. In the dominant shoulder, the following indices did not change -- peak torque, time to peak torque, total work, and average power.

Implication. A two-week taper does not alter any measures of aerobic overload training adaptation in female swimmers.

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