FOCUS versus DISTRACTIONS

“STARVE YOUR DISTRACTIONS, FEED YOUR FOCUS.”

 

Are you a swimmer who has trouble staying focused during swim practice or during a swim meet?  Think about that before you answer.

Do you have the ability to cut out distractions and ignore all the noise around you or do you allow those distractions affect your performance?

When you have tools (positive affirmations) in your tool box you can genuinely focus on the task right in front of you because your mind is free of clutter and distractions.

Those distractions are actions that move you away from your goals and to stay really focused is hard and takes a lot of practice just like your swimming.

When you are practicing during workout or racing in competition, it has to be the most important thing in the world at that moment.  Your mindset is crucial at that moment, it frees your mind so that you can move through the process to the next step.  Some may say this is “ being in the zone.”

Distractions can either be internal or external but both can affect your performance in workouts or

competitions.   Take a piece of paper and write down any distractions that you have experienced and whether they are internal or external.   Include mental cues that have helped you through those times. 

A good way to keep distractions at a distance is to have a reset word or routine to bring your focus back to the task at hand.

Here are a few:

PHYSICAL 

• The goggle snap
• The water splash
• The towel wipe
• The block grip
• The cap adjustment

MENTAL/VERBAL

• Next one/next lap
• My lane
• Head down
• Breathe in through the nose and out through the mouth
• Why not me today

Do any of these sound familiar to you, maybe you have used them.  You may have others that I would be interested in knowing as I’m sure your teammates would tool.  Start working on the mental side of  swimming because it is as important as the work you do in the pool.

LAST WEEK BIG SET

This was a set we did with the gold group on Friday towards the end of our workout.  The focus was to hold your speed throughout the entire set.  Focus on stacking your hands off the ready position and work a tight streamline off the push.  We split the lanes and started off both sides so everyone could have a strong finish into the wall.  The other focus was to not breathe until you got to the 12.5 mark on each repeat.   Hopefully this will set you up for strong breakouts and finishes during your upcoming races.