Did you have a nice break?
Enjoyed some time off over the past month or two?
Really? Had some rest time? Went ski-ing. Had a great holiday. Hung out with friends and family?
That’s great!
So now it’s time to get back in the pool and start training for those big meets coming up soon.
The message is....start the way you want to finish.
A lot of swimmers take a break, enjoy some down time and come back with a “build up” mentality.
“During the first weeks back in the water I will take it easy, then “build up” gradually until it’s time to get serious about racing again a few months later”.
The problem with the “build up” approach is the early stages of training are your foundation – they are the “rock” on which you build a successful swimming season.
If your first weeks back in training are S.L.O.W....
- SLOPPY TECHNIQUE;
- LAZY SKILLS;
- ORDINARY FITNESS;
- WOEFUL ATTITUDE then.....
So, how do you start the way you want to finish?
Decide that your first lap = your last lap;
First of all forget the “build up” mentality. The most important session of the season is the first one. This is where you decide what type of season you will have and make it happen by sustaining high standards of excellence in every aspect of your training.
Train the way you want to race;
An oldie but a goodie and still as important as ever. You can’t pass a Math exam by studying History. You can’t get better at lifting heavy weights unless you train learning to lift heavy weights.
You can’t turn up at a swim meet and swim fast under pressure in race conditions unless you train everyday toswim fast under pressure in race conditions. Don’t be afraid to throw in a few sprints in the first session AND to make sure they include a race quality dive, turn and finish.
Set little goals every session;
Start every session – particularly your first session after the break with these two words: I WILL....
For example, “I will drive into and out of every turn at race pace and with great technique” or “I will kick with power, speed and strength in all kicking repeats” or “I will never breathe inside the flags when finishing in free and fly”.
An attitude of “I will” quickly becomes an ability of “I can” and the end result is being able to “I did” when you perform brilliantly at your next meet.
Challenge yourself every session;
Being better means doing things you have never done before. Improvement means change. So, to swim faster and improve, you have to be prepared to challenge yourself to do things differently. It is crazy to do the same things you have always done and expect a different result or, “If you do what you always did, you get what you always got”.
Aim to do one thing – just one thing in each session that pushes you to and beyond your limits. Do one“impossible” thing every day and soon nothing is!
Take someone (or a few someones) along for the ride;
Every journey is easier and more fun with a travelling companion. Talk with a team mate about what you want to do this season and your dreams of making every session a great session. Ask them to come along for the ride. Imagine having someone in your lane or the next lane to encourage you, support you, pick you up when you are feeling down and to push you to your limits every session: someone who not only understands what you are trying to do but wants to help you get do it.
Get your coach as excited and committed as you are;
And tell your coach about your “start the way you want to finish” approach. Your coach can help you more than you realise. Saying to the coach, “I want to really make a success of the season and start the way I want to finish” gives your coach three clear messages:
- Please help me to keep working hard even when I am a little tired and flat;
- Please ask more of me than you have in the past and help me to overcome any physical, technical and mental barriers that got in the way of my previous swimming performances;
- Please give me some extra things to work on in my fitness, speed, technique, skills and gym work.
Do not compromise!
Sometime in that first session back after the break, your mind may wander and start thinking, “What am I doing? I have plenty of time. Why am I giving it my best now when there are weeks to go before my first meet?” Do not compromise! Fight these negative thoughts – start the way you want to finish! Everyone has negative thoughts – but the trick is to say “no to the negative”. As soon as one of those negatives notions pops into your head, say a load, confident, strong, determined, “No” – to it.
Every session is important;
It is really tempting at the beginning of the season to think, “It will be OK. I will take it easy for a few sessions, back off now and again and I will still be able to swim fast when it matters”. Wrong! Every session is important. Swimming fast is a habit. It comes from consistently practicing great skills, technique and fitness every day so that you do things automatically on race day. When swimmers are tired and under pressure, they revert to doing things that feel the most natural – the things they do in training every day. So if you regularly allow yourself to execute sloppy turns, lazy skills, ordinary fitness and a woeful attitude (S.L.O.W.) in training, under the pressure of racing your mind and body will be SLOW!
Be engaged in what you do;
Just going to training is not the answer....going to training and giving everything the best you have to offer is. The difference between good swimmers and great ones is not the quantity of training they do, it’s their commitment to excellence and the consistent quality of their training that makes the difference. The old saying “half the secret to success is just showing up” does not apply to swimmers! You have to show up then give it all you’ve got!
Train like – act like – think like the swimmer you want to be.
Imagine FUTURE YOU. The swimmer who will be on the blocks at the School Championships or State Titles or evenNationals at the end of the season. The “you” with great fitness, skills, technique and speed. The “you” with a strong, unbreakable, “bullet-proof” confidence and self belief. See yourself as you will be at the end of theseason when it will all come together and you will be at your peak.
Be that swimmer now!
The trick to becoming the swimmer you want to be is to train like, act like, think like that swimmer now: from the first session back in the water after the break.
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