All my walking guides and adventures are free to read, thanks to the support of kind folks like you. That said, creating and walking each route takes time (and plenty of coffee!), so if you’ve enjoyed this post or found it useful, feel free to share it around — or even treat me to a coffee or two. It really helps keep the boots moving and the guides coming. You can do that here: click this link. Diolch as always!
Benjamin Thomas – Cardiff Met Sport, my PT for Mont Blanc 2025
Follow my Mont Blanc Training Program.
- Why a Strength & Conditiong Coach?
- Working the Hypertrophy Block
- The Taper Week – It isn’t a Rest!
Recommended Sports Nutrition: Bulk – All In One Recovery, the perfect post-workout drink.
Recommended Water Filter Bottle: Water-to-Go, named ‘2024 Best Water Filter Bottle For Travel‘.
After weeks of hard graft, hauling weight, grinding out reps, and stacking up mileage, the Taper Week is a shift in gear. But make no mistake, as I found out, this isn’t downtime. As Ben my PT from Cardiff Met Sport explained, it’s a calculated drop in volume that allows your body to absorb all the work you’ve put in, this will sharpen your edge, and prepare you to perform at your peak.
Benjamin Thomas has a huge amount of experience and knowledge of training people to do a specific sport or challenge, and I’ve really benefitted from his advice and drive. He’s on LinkedIn, check him out.
What is a Taper Week?
Tapering is the strategic reduction in training volume (typically by 40–60%) while keeping the intensity high. In simple terms: you’re still working hard, just doing less of it. This creates the perfect conditions for:
- Reducing accumulated fatigue
- Maintaining strength and power
- Boosting physical and mental readiness
💡 Example:
Instead of your usual heavy session like squatting 100 kg for 5 x 5, you might scale it to:
100 kg for 3 x 3 – same load, fewer sets, less fatigue.
You’re telling your body: “We’re still in the game, just dialing it in.”
Why It Matters
Taper week is about precision, not passivity. It’s not a break. It’s a focused phase that lets adaptation catch up with effort. You’ve done the hard work, now it’s time to let your body consolidate those gains.
This week is key to:
- Recharging physically – giving muscles and joints space to recover
- Resetting mentally – reducing stress and sharpening mindset
- Sharpening focus – shifting from ‘train’ mode to ‘perform’ mode
- Rebuilding motivation – reminding yourself why you started
- Preventing burnout or injury – because overreaching here would be costly
Think of it as fine-tuning an engine before a race. You don’t build strength in taper week, you reveal it.
Recovery after every session is very important, I use ‘Bulk All In One Recovery‘ which is specifically designed as a post-workout supplement, it contains everything your body needs to repair and recover after an intensive workout session, meaning you can train harder, more often, and move forward faster.
What to Prioritise
Use the reduced workload as a chance to double down on the foundations of performance:
- Mobility work – focus on hips, ankles, hamstrings, and shoulders
- Soft tissue release – foam rolling, massage, or stretching to stay loose
- High-quality sleep – aim for 8+ hours, prioritise wind-down routines
- Nutrient-dense meals – stay fuelled with whole foods, protein, and hydration
- Mental prep – visualisation, positive self-talk, and a review of goals and progress
This is your chance to lay the groundwork not just for performance, but confidence.
Final Thoughts
Tapering isn’t about doing nothing. It’s about doing what matters most.
It’s the final piece of the puzzle before your next training block, or before the Mont Blanc Challenge itself. You’re not going backwards. You’re getting ready to leap forward.
So respect the taper. Use it well. And when the time comes to push hard again, you’ll be firing on all cylinders, you’ll be stronger, fresher, and more focused than ever.
