Competition Conditioning: Peaking Your Engine for Game Day
Updated: 23 hours ago
Twenty-eight days out. The workouts have been announced, the heat times aren't out yet and the athlete in front of me wants to do more. More intervals, more long efforts, more of everything. It's the most natural instinct in the world and, four weeks from a competition, usually the wrong one.
I know that instinct from the inside. Early in my competitive years, I treated the last month before an event like a final exam I could still cram for. I added sessions, retested workouts I'd already done, and showed up on game day with heavy legs, wondering where my fitness had gone. It was there. I'd just buried it under fatigue.
What follows is a diary of the final month, written as a composite of how I guide competitors through it rather than the story of any single athlete. The details change from person to person. The shape rarely does: your fitness is mostly built by now, and the job is to arrive fit and fresh at the same time.
IN THIS ARTICLE
Week Four Out: Last Real Build
Monday. This is the final week of normal training load. We keep the usual structure: aerobic base work, threshold intervals, strength and skill. If the event workouts are known, we start rehearsing the key movements, not the full workouts. Short pieces that practice transitions, pacing on the specific machines and any skills that look likely to limit the score.
Wednesday. One hard, competition-style session this week, done as a full rehearsal where possible. The purpose is information, not a personal record. How did the pacing plan hold up? Where did technique break down? Which transitions were slow? We write down every split.
Friday. We look at the equipment list for the event. If the competition uses a specific bike, rower or ski machine, I make sure the athlete has spent time on that exact model and knows how its display reads. Small surprises on game day cost more energy than they should, and most of them can be removed weeks in advance with a little attention to detail.
Saturday. A longer aerobic session at an easy effort. The base still matters, and it supports recovery between events on competition day. We also check the basics that are easy to overlook: sleep has been at least seven hours most nights, meals are regular and the athlete isn't quietly adding extra sessions.
Week Three Out: Sharpen, Don't Pile On
Monday. Volume starts to come down slightly, perhaps 10 to 20 percent, while intensity stays where it has been. We keep the same number of training days so the body keeps its rhythm.
Thursday. Intervals at and slightly above expected competition pace. Something like 4 to 6 rounds of 3 to 4 minutes on the rower or bike at the effort the athlete plans to use in the longest event, with generous rest. The goal is to make that pace feel familiar, almost boring.
Sunday. A mental rehearsal session. We go through each event on paper: the pacing plan, where to break sets, what to do if the first minute goes badly, what to eat and drink between events. An athlete who knows the plan cold makes fewer mistakes when adrenaline hits. I do this for myself too, usually at the kitchen table with a notebook, walking through every transition until it feels like I've already done it.
Coach's cue: Arrive fit and fresh. The work is done; now protect it.
Tapering is something I've had to relearn in every sport I've done. Swim meets taught me that rested muscles feel strange before they feel fast. Volleyball tournaments taught me that sharp and fresh beats tired and fit. CrossFit competition needed its own version, and preparing for Grid League has me learning it all over again. The principle never changed, though: in the last two weeks you're protecting the fitness you built, not trying to find more of it.
Week Two Out: The Taper Begins
This is the heart of the taper. Research on tapering in endurance and power sports has consistently found that reducing training volume substantially, commonly somewhere around 40 to 60 percent over the final one to two weeks, while keeping intensity and training frequency relatively stable, tends to improve performance. Cutting intensity too far, on the other hand, is associated with feeling flat.
Monday. Sessions get shorter. An interval workout that was five rounds becomes three, done at the same pace. Strength work drops to fewer sets of the same quality.
Wednesday. One short, sharp session at competition intensity. We finish it wanting more. That feeling is the point.
Friday. Easy aerobic work and mobility. This is also when you'll probably get restless. Feeling a little sluggish or antsy in the second week of a taper is common. It usually passes as your body absorbs the reduced load. It isn't a sign to add training. If anything, this is the week to protect sleep, keep stress outside the gym in check and resist testing your fitness with a surprise hard workout. Every competitor I coach sends me some version of the same message this week: "I feel slow, should I do more?" My answer is almost always no.
Competition Week: Stay Sharp, Stay Calm
Monday and Tuesday. Short sessions with a few efforts at event pace, lots of rest and plenty of skill practice at low volume. Nothing new, no maximal tests and no heavy lifting that will leave the athlete sore.
Wednesday. Often a rest day or a very easy movement day, depending on the athlete.
Thursday. A short primer session: a thorough warm-up, a few short efforts at race pace and some practice of the most technical movements. It should leave you feeling crisp and a little eager.
Friday, the day before. Rest or a very light walk and mobility routine. Pack everything: shoes, grips, chalk, food, water, a change of clothes, anything specific to the events. Eat familiar foods and keep carbohydrate intake normal to slightly higher, as you've practiced before hard training days. A registered dietitian can help individualize this, particularly for multi-day events. Sleep may not be perfect the night before, and that's fine. I rarely sleep well before a competition myself. Sleep across the whole week matters more.
Game Day Notes
On the day itself, the conditioning work is done. What matters now is executing the plan and recovering well between events. Here are the rules I give every competitor, and follow myself:
Warm up for each event with the movements it contains, including a few reps at race pace.
Follow the pacing plan for the first minute, no matter what the athlete in the next lane does.
Between events, move lightly for 10 to 15 minutes, then rest, eat and drink.
Review each event briefly, then let it go. The next one needs full attention.
If something hurts in a way that's sharp or unusual, stop and speak to the event medical staff.
After the Final Event
The days after a competition deserve the same planning as the days before. Expect to feel tired, and give yourself several easy days before returning to hard training. Then review the whole cycle: what worked in the taper, what you'd change, and what the events revealed about your conditioning.
A well-run taper is highly individual, and getting it right is much easier with someone watching your training closely. If you're preparing for a competition and want that level of support, compare our coaching options. Sphere Performance includes personalized programming, weekly check-ins, up to three video reviews per week and competition strategy, so your engine peaks on the day it counts.
Your turn. Tried this? Tell me how it went in the comments below. I read every one, and your questions help shape what I write next. If it helped, tap the heart so it reaches more athletes.
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Coach Fritz Bautista · Head Coach, ATHLETESPHERE
CrossFit Level 2 Trainer (CF-L2) ✓ · CrossFit Programming Certificate · MBA · Digital Marketing Certified · Coaching athletes from all walks of life online
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