You spent months believing more work equals better performance. Then someone tells you to train less right before the biggest day of your season. Your brain hates it. Your body needs it.

Amanda, Dr. Chris, and Chelsea get into why the taper is the most misunderstood part of a training block. The fitness is already built. The taper just clears out the fatigue that's been hiding it. They break down what a taper actually looks like for strength versus endurance, why your legs feel like garbage right when they're supposed to feel great, and why the panic workout you want to add is the exact thing that can sabotage months of work.

Plus what's really happening physiologically during a taper, why the research on it is shockingly thin for how universal it is, the taper tantrum nobody warns you about, and why feeling worse is often a sign it's working.