In order to reach your goals and see success at meets you first have to succeed in practice, and it involves more than just showing up each day. It all starts with how you look at practice. Is it just about swimming as fast as you can and add up the yardage to satisfy your cravings.
You have to ask yourself this question, Am I getting the most out of the time I put into practice?
Many things go into having a successful practice and it all starts with the attitude walking in and being ready to go on time. Excuses are the easy way out of doing what is right. Starting on time each and every day is a good way to tell yourself that "I want to be better." That first jump into the water and that first stroke are always the hardest but it's gonna happen so just do it. Being late might not be a big thing to you, but what you are actually doing is being disrespectful to your teammates and your coaches. I think and believe that most swimmers want to get better and succeed and most coaches believe that also but sometimes I also think they question it from watching your practice habits.
We have spent a lot of time early in the season to counting your strokes (DPS distance per stroke) which is a valuable tool that you have not only to help you perfect your stroke but also to allow you to go faster in your races.
The hurdles that come at you in your races are the same hurdles that come at you every day in practice and they come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. If you can face and clear those hurdles at practice, all you need to do at the meet is show up, trust yourself and race. Take a moment now, grab your books and a pencil and spend 60 seconds and write down any hurdles you have. Don't think just write quickly and I am sure there are 3 to 5 you can come up with off the top of your head. I'm going to step away for 60 seconds and do the same as I do swim a minimum of 3-4 times a week and although I don't need to worry about races or times I do have hurdles to clear.
Okay time up here is my list;
Maybe some of these match some of your hurdles, let’s take a closer look at how I clear my hurdles.
water cold- yes know it is but don't feel it just get in and put my head under it will pass
tired, don't feel like it,- for myself this tends to be the hardest but I always go to the feeling I'll have if I skip and that feeling is hard to shallow.
first 50 hurt- get through this one, tackle the next and that feeling moves from a bad hurt to a good hurt. There is a good hurt.
need air- this hurdles get's in my way while swimming. I like to finish each lap with a long stroke into wall head down. I just tell myself that I can breathe after I touch and if I breathe I get mad not a good feeling.
hungry- quick handful of almonds and some water takes care of that. Always in my bag.
can do something else- yes but it will still be there when I'm done and I'll feel better.
The road to success can be long and challenging and that road starts at practice and comes at you with an endless list of To Do's such as; drink more water during workout, have a small pick me up snack in bag for after practice, improve my dolphin kicks, get in and out of my turns faster, give up less on hard sets, finish each repeat with fingers on wall, go out harder on the threshold sets, put together a dry land routine 2x a week (I'll have one for each of you next week) get in on time. How you travel down that road has a lot to do with your success in this sport and later in life.
It's your swimming, own it! It's your practice. own it! The sky's the limit.
TIP FOR THE WEEK: Stay hydrated and drink water during practice.
Why is it important for swimmers to remain hydrated? Water is required by the body to function at a high level during practice. Water is essential in the "transportation of red blood cells (they contain a protein called hemoglobin which carry oxygen to the muscle tissue) throughout the body, as well as the formation of protein and glycogen. All these functions are needed for the growth and recovery of muscles."
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