Over 20 years of experience in the swimming world has taught me that there are 6 main
skills for a long successful swimming career.
1- Adaptability Water is not the natural habitat for humans,
so for swimmers, the more time you spend in the water, the better you will feel in it.
- In the water, everything is in constant change. There are waves, the temperature changes,
sometimes there are few people in the pool, sometimes there are plenty. Your body also
changes over the years, even over months, some days you will feel great and the next
one you will feel terrible. The better you adapt to those changes the better you will
be able to swim.
2- technique kinesthetic intelligence, mobility and breathe
control are the most important factors for a good swimming technique.
- kinesthetic intelligence is the ability to solve problems using ones body. To have
kinesthetic intelligence in the water means being aware of how your body interacts, moves
and reacts to the water. It is important to use your senses to improve your technique.
mobility is the range of motion of your joints. This includes flexibility, strength, muscle
balance and other factors that come together to allow you to move the body to its full
range of motion. breathe control is very important. Although
taking it to the human limits can be dangerous, having mental control over the urge to breathe
and knowing when not to breathe is an essential part of being a good swimmer.
3- Endurance or simply put, how long you can swim fast
without stopping or slowing down is obviously important. Some of that is affected by genetics.
However, this is what we mostly try to improve in our training. through intervals, rests,
all-out swims, paces etc. ‘
4- Mental balance
There are two components of a healthy successful mindset- Mental toughness and the ability
to enjoy oneself. Mental toughness
it's easy to swim on the good days, but what really makes you better is how well you swim
on the off days. There is a dark side, however, of being so mentally tough and only a few
are willing to accept it.
Swimming is a mental game. And my journey has been full of obstacles. my expectations
for myself were very high. I wasn’t happy. I wasn’t having fun. I found a more playful
path. I realized it’s just swimming. i took a step back and found balance. And that has
made all the difference.
I knew the outcome obviously. But I was watching the race and I was like well, If I hit the
turn I win the race. And that was something that stuck with me for a long time.
For me I had struggles outside of the pool, I have been in the public eye in not the best
way and it’s not fun. It led me to the darkest place I have ever been in my life, not wanting
to be alive anymore. For me I am so thankful to be able to go through the work that i have
gone throuhg over the last two years. To become the person who I am today. After some of the
struggles. And not many people have seen the true me. What you are seeing today is the
true me. I’m living the dream. I am in the best place I can possibly be right now. And
I just love life.
We know of phelps and sjostrom because they are the rare few that got to be olympic athletes
before they were burned out and because they came back with a better mindset. but the vast
majority of swimmers quit swimming because they don’t enjoy it anymore. They don’t
enjoy the process, and aren’t willing to make sacrifices to keep going. They say pain
is temporary and pride is forever, but actually winning takes just one moment as well. Your
body cannot keep a high level of excitement for many days, so what happens after everything
settles? Pain is more constant. You will experience much more pain than you will experience pride.
So, you might as well learn how to enjoy every practice, every meal and every well deserved
nap. Taking time off depends on the mental state of each swimmer, sometimes you need
only one day off and sometimes more.
5- Social skills sure you can swim by yourself, you might have
good training sessions. You might swim by yourself for a couple of years and improve!
But if you want a healthy long lasting swimming career you need to build up strong friendships
with other swimmers. the quality relationships you have with Your fellow swimmers, competitors
and coach will be one of the main reasons why you will continue to improve.
6- Skill transfer not everything you need to learn about swimming
is in the pool. Some skills you will pick up running, or at the gym. Some times you
will learn something in physics class that will help you swim better. I don’t know,
maybe you will learn something new by watching a skills n talents’ video on youtube. The
ability to transfer what you learn outside the pool and bring it in creative ways to
improve your swimming will most likely be what distinguishes you from the rest.
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See you next time! Swim fast!