Cut back on workout volume two weeks before a competition

If you've been training hard for an athletic competition and are finally only a few weeks away from the event, you may feel the urge to put in even longer training sessions. Resist this urge. Instead, start scaling back on the volume of work you do from now until the competition.

This process, typically referred to as tapering, can sometimes be a tricky thing to pull off properly. As a recent study in the Strength and Conditioning Journal points out, if you reduce your workout volume too soon you will decrease fitness, while working too hard close to competition compromises recovery and peak performance.

The results of the study show that the best approach is to reduce training volume over a two-week period by 50 percent to 75 percent, without changing the intensity level at which you you train or the number of days you work out. In sum, cut down on volume but not intensity by performing short, high-intensity workouts for the last two weeks leading up to the athletic event.