ABSTRACT
This chapter presents the effects of training cessation on the physiological parameters involved in performance and discusses the general principles that should be followed to decrease the level of fatigue while maintaining physical fitness. It provides coaches and sport scientists with theoretical data obtained from the detraining and tapering literature in order to help them in the decision-making process when they have to deal with an overreached athlete. One of the numerous challenges for coaches and sport scientists is the early detection of an abnormal fatigue, in order to adjust the training load and prevent nonfunctional overreaching and/or the overtraining syndrome. The energy cost of locomotion represents the energy demand to move at a given submaximal power output or speed. An important feature of the tapering literature is the large interindividual variability in the response to the taper, thus suggesting that individualisation is probably one of the most important keys for success.
