STRENGTH and CONDITIONING

 

Sometimes swimmers have the misconception that in order to become a stronger swimmer you can add more workouts to your week or add time to each workout.  This is true to a small extent but in order to gain strength and become stronger it will require some work and dedication from your part away from the pool.  Yes we are talking about a strength and conditioning program to not only supplement your swimming but your everyday health.  

We have been working with CAPSTONE PERFORMANCE TRAINING to come up with a program suitable for our needs.  They have designed two different programs to choose from.  The first is a on line/ hybrid model and the second is a hybrid model.  We asked them to design a 2x a week program which is perfect for you all.  We have also asked that it should be a swimming specific program. They have designed similar programs for other swimmers in our area.  Below you will find the information.

   

 

WORKOUT REVIEW.

 

Hope you all had a great weekend and had a chance to get out and enjoy the weather.  We had a great week of workouts and got a lot accomplished in the pool.

Our Blue group has done a great job nailing down those free and back turns and will continue with that this week with a big emphasis on getting those stroke counts corrected for our backstroke turns.  A great backstroke turn starts with having a good stroke count and it begins by doing it right in practice.  The Blue group also started putting our IM’s together with drills for our fly and breaststroke legs of the event.  You guys have come a long way

working with your snorkels, we actually started swimming with them on Wednesday and I saw a big improvement.  If you’re wondering why this is important, it’s pretty simple as it will help each of you control your head movement while swimming.  That will go a long way to help all of your strokes.  Head position is critical for swimming efficiency.  Keep up the good work.

The Gold and Prep group have been continuing their hard work with the IM events.  A lot of our sets with the Senior Prep group involved putting the 400 IM together.  When designing the sets we were trying to find different ways to break the 400 IM up while still keeping them challenging and accomplishing our goals.  the Gold group focused more on the 200 IM.  Our favorite set of the week looked like this;

MAIN SET All 25's @30 fast. All 100's @2:00

4x400 IM y @30. 100 (50 back/50 breast)  (100 50 breast/ 5 0 free). 100 IM

#2 100 (25 fly/75 back). 4x25 back @30. 100 (50 breast/50 free )100 IM

#3  100 (25 fly/25 back/50 breast) 100 back.  4x25 breast @30. 100 IM

#4 100 fly-- 100 back. -- 100 breast---4x25 free @30

The kids did really well; as they work through this set and got some good work with our turns.  We still have to do a better job with our underwater"s off our wall.  You all still just kinda push off and glide with no emphasis on the kick and when you do that, you have lost any chance of maintaining that momentum off your turns.  The problem is that when you drop that you need to use more energy to get back up top your race speed.  YOU NEED TO WORK THIS AREA DURING YOUR WORKOUTS CONSISTENTLY.

The group has also started to figure out how to pace their 200"s (prep) and 100's (gold).  The groups worked on figuring out that easy speed at he beginning and holding a little back for that big push to the finish.  All of this was done with their tempo trainers and the kids put out a great effort.

Strength and conditioning update.  We attended a conference at the end of September on this subject and we gained valuable information.  The barrier we have is a place to hold it.   We cannot do it on the deck at George Mason.  A lot of work was done since them and I will be posting later this week what I have come up with and think it would be the best solution for our needs.

Senior prep swimmers I need those index cards back with those fears for workouts and meets so that we can discuss them and work through them.

SENIOR PREP EYES

 Let's talk about yesterday but first let's all stop and have one good cough.  No I don't know why so many

of you were coughing, maybe the chlorine but I doubt it, maybe fair quality maybe not.  Maybe it became a mind thing where once one of you started you all got the bug.  You all were troopers and you got through what we were trying to accomplish.  Now that we have that out of the way let"s continue on.

That practice was low yardage but with everything done at RACE SPEED except for the 200 swim/kick recovery.  We are at the early part of the season where I wanted to see how you would respond both physically and mentally to that type of workout. It will help us plan a course of action for the next 6 weeks  leading up to the Swim an d Rock meet.

One of my take aways was that we have a lot of work to do mentally with your swimming.  As I watched and talk to a lot of you I got a real sense that the "fear of failure" is holding you back from your true potential.  Correct me if I am wrong but one of the big fears is that of pain but the fact is that you are an athlete and you are going to experience pain  at some point during your swimming career.  What we have to come to understand is that there is a big difference between GOOD PAIN AND BAD PAIN.  Good pain comes from working hard and is normal, bad pain on the other hand is normally associated with stresses or an injury.  Good pain will disappear completely when the activity stops, I promise. If the pain persists itneed to be addressed and usually by someone with more knowledge than I have.  Just an FYI if you have been sick and missed a few workouts in a row expect some discomfort and soreness.  It does not mean something is wrong.  Wev like to call this swimming to get in shape.

An example of understanding the difference occurred yesterday during the set when a swimmer looked at me and pointed to her shoulder.  We got her out and talked through it only to find out that she had been lifting 15 pound dumb bells the day before.   First thought was okay this is more likely good pain,  her shoulders are probably a little sore and fatigued.  We talked through it and after careful explanation of what I felt she was experiencing she dove back in an finished the workout, with a strong effort I might add.

So what are your fears?  I know you have some so I would like each of you to get an index card and write down PRACTICE and MEETS on the top.  Under each I want you to write down 2 fears for each and bring them to practice Thursday so were can talk about them.  No names on cards.  Let's identify some of your fears and than we can begin the process of working through them together.  

Here is what my card would look like.

After I have a chance to read the cards over the weekend we will work on a couple of fears each week.

Let's get past this little obstacle so we can swim fast and relaxed.

GETTING LOST IN PRACTICE

 

You ever go through a workout not knowing exactly what you are doing?  You see the set, you dive in and begin your journey for the day.  Ask yourself this question.  Am I really practicing to improve, or am I Just swimming because I'm here?  Any bells going off in your head?

We have talked lately about the mental side of swimming and no where is this more important than during practice.  It's easy to fall into that routine of swimming along that black line with no purpose.  It's like you are at practice but in reality you're really not there at all.  Just filling a void. As a coach I can easily increase your yardage and as a swimmer you can add more workout sessions and this may work short term but you may not see the success your looking for long term.  There's that phrase again, "THE PROCESS" and what's involve to reach your full potential in the moment.

The process involves avoiding the noise around you during practice.  When you walk onto the pool deck actually Be There, physically, mentally, and emotionally.  If I say "Hi", don't respond with "I'm Tired".  You have already set the tone for your workout whether you know it or not.  Those two words have given you a reason, an excuse to fail for the day.  Stop doing it to yourself.   Instead you should be focused on developing and working on these areas;

• developing your own skills-- turns, finishes, streamlines 
• technique--breathing patterns, race strategies, pacing
• fitness
• speed-- understand the set and the pace we are trying to maintain (sometimes all you hear is 3x100 everything else is muted.
• power-- execute each stroke with a purpose

Train to YOUR potential and be consistent in your training.  If we are doing let's say 10x50 and holding pace than be all in.  Don't be the swimmer who does 4 correctly, rest for 2 and finish the last 4 hard.  Training to your full potential involves choices away from the pool like, foods you eat, staying hydrated (yes you Cally) sleeping habits and keeping up with your school work.

Challenge yourself during workouts.  It's always easy to do the things you like or are good at because it's fun.  I get it, but when you know that you enjoy IM's but the fly leg holds you back, why not do some fly during choice.  You know your kick could be stronger but when you're kicking,  holding a conversation seems more important at the moment.  When we swim an easy smooth set are you the swimmer who swims with sloppy habits, bad turns and the list goes on...

Your Self belief also really matters and will figure into your performance in and out of the pool.  How you feel about yourself is important to all aspects of your life and this includes swimming.  We have talked about turning negative words into positive words (good exercise for your journals).  Hopefully you are doing all you can in the pool but you need to take that time outside the pool and learn about yourself and come to respect and love yourself for who you are.

Had enough of not achieving your true potential?

Than

 "Train to succeed, Don't Train to fail."

You should be able to walk out of each practice with confidence, and proud of what you accomplished during the workout and also with the knowledge that you are a little better today.

Note to Parents

 

Just thought it would be a good time to reach out and let you all know how we are doing.  The kids performed really well at our October meet and it was good for them to go to the pool and get into a meet atmosphere.  Unlike myself I am pretty sure that you paid more attention to times (human nature).  Early in the season I actually like to observe how they race which could encompass everything from warmups and warm downs, staying hydrated, staying warm, getting to the blocks.  I also like to observe how they progress through their races which include starts, pacing, breathing, turns, underwater off turns, and the effort to finish a race.  Along with all of that I like to observe how they react to their swims (and times) which tell me a lot.  These are all things that the kids and myself have been working on for the first.

As we move forward I wanted to give you some insight into my thinking for the next few meets.  I have asked the Senior Prep and Junior Gold swimmers to pick one day at the Gobble meet to enter.  The reason is that I would like them to think of the SWIM and ROCK to be a big meet for them where they should be swimming their best events.  That said, I would like to see them stay with off events for the Gobble meet. Those meets are so close to each other I don’t think it’s in their best interest to spend all that time on a weekend at a pool. As of now I am planning to hold our normal Saturday practice that weekend at Saint James.  If your swimmer has a true desire to swim both days at the Gobble meet just have them come to me and argue their point (part of taking ownership) and we will work it out together.

On another note let’s talk about the parent’s role in your child’s swimming and no we don’t have a problem but just some things from my experiences from coaching and being a parent/ coach of my daughters for much of their swimming career. 

On giving advice to your swimmer.  It's hard to take a step back when giving advice especially because it is given with good intentions.  Learning about strokes is a good thing, after all "knowledge is power."  I've heard all types of advice over the years, but most often it confuses the young swimmer who might be working on different things with the coach.  What is out there has to be kept in context.  There may be one perfect way out there somewhere, but I have yet to find it.  There are so many variables out there when coaching young swimmers and it always is changing. 

As for results.  Times are important.  Results are important.  Success is something your child should strive for and work toward, however if we just look at times swimming can become a grind with less fun.  It's important to remember why your child started to swim in the first place.  They loved the water, belonging to a group and working hard for a goal.

Failure.  If we just look at times, failure will occur especially in this sport with instant results.  I have always believe that failure has always been demonized when it is unavoidable and can be turned around and used in a positive way to improve.  Failure is a fact of life and sometimes it will hit you when you least suspect it.  No swimmer wants to fail.  Swimmers do not need to fear failure they only need to understand it.  Teach your swimmer that failure is not a monster ready to attack, instead teach them how they can understand and grow from a bad experience so that  next time they step up on the blocks they beam with confidence.

Be careful when handing out swimming advice because unintentionally you could be undermining what the coaches are trying to accomplish at practice. By reinforcing sportsmanship, hard work and never giving up you will be a tremendous help to the coaches and your swimmer.

Criticism is important in your childs development and growth in the sport. Let the coach be the bad person in that area.  Your swimmer will be better off if you take the role of praising their strengths and supporting their accomplishments because in the end they are looking for your praise. This will help them have good motivation so that we can keep moving forward.

If you need anything please reach out.

mike

SWIM MEET THOUGHTS

They always talk about waking up on Monday with the "Monday Blues" but not you today.  The reason is simple; YOU have made it through the first meet of the season and you should all feel great about your accomplishments be cause you were simply amazing all weekend.  Were there bumps along the way, of course we encountered some bumps but nothing we can't handle together as we get back to the pool and continue our hard work.  Here is a little song as you keep reading to let you know "everything is okay" regardless of any results.

 Some of my observations from the meet and that I will dispense now;

The one thing that I do remember from my day as an athlete was the importance of staying warm.  You may think that I participated in athletics during the Stone Age which I did not but had I been there I would have dressed to stay warm.  Think about it, you sacrifice and spend all that time training only to show up at a swim meet, warm up and then sit around with nothing on your bodies to keep those muscles warm.  You are about to dive into that pool and ask a lot of those muscles and if they are cold you will have a revolt on your hands while your racing, "good against evil". Even if you think you are warm do your muscles and cover them up and keep them warm, and they will be there for you when you need them.  Help the "GOOD win over evil.

Another area I want us to take notice with is our work around the walls.  Many turns were good not great

and certainly not aggressive enough.  What do I mean?  Slow turns are not very energy efficient.  If you are slowing your speed going into that turn you are going to come out of that turn slow with a slow breakout.  It will take a lot more of your energy to get back up to race speed and by the way when you do another wall gets into your way.  Your stuck in the tug-of-war never able to maintain that race speed.  Let's turn this situation around and get more aggressive with our walls, I promise you, YOU will feel the difference and see the results in your races, but it STARTS at WORKOUT.

A little thing that I want to address before it becomes a big thing is this statement, "Can I scratch a event because I'm tired". Don't get me wrong there are situations where it is important to skip a event, but you better have a good argument and we will decide together.  It's not a mom and dad issue either.  I am more than capable of being the"bad guy" if you put me in that position.

I want you to take your journals out at some point this week (sooner than later) and answer these questions;

• What did you do well?
• What were you trying to accomplish at this meet?  Be specific, not just a time.
• Was my self-talk positive? Hint Walking into pool saying I'm tired is a negative.  Not wanting to swim an event because you're tired is a negative and a really bad excuse.
• Did you catch your one rabbit? (goal)
• What can you do better?
• How to get faster?
• WHAT NEXT?

Have a great week at school and arrive at workout ready to "Get Better".