Part 3 - Training and Preparing Swimmers

Pretty swimmers who think like champions still need to be fit. Part 3 of my book, Developing Swimmers, talks about training and preparing swimmers. Brooks starts off explaining how swimmers train, recover and come back stronger the next day, but everyday the workouts should be a little bit harder. Each time you train, your muscle tissues break down. If swimmers eat properly and recover sufficiently, those muscle tissues rebuild larger, stronger, and more functional by the time they practice again (128). Speaking from experience, missing a week of training, or even a day or two, really effect your ability to swim. Brooks provides stressed advice in training for swimming, "Use it or lose it... Taking weeks or months off from training is not wise because swimmers lose the speed and endurance benefits they worked hard for, and their bodies revert to fitness levels from previous weeks or months" (130). So far through my swim season I have been fully committed, this winter break we had 2 practices on weekdays besides New Years and Christmas. I only missed 4 out of the 16 due to a family trip.

One of my sets this winter break

Another way to prepare are doing the full set with purpose. Not having purpose when doing something is almost as worse as just not doing it, "The wise approach is to work hard for a season and then use that improved fitness and performance as the foundation for further improvements the next season" (Brooks 131). Working hard ties in with every goal in almost anything, you work hard to get the results you want.

What have you worked hard in? In the end was it worth it?

Citation: Brooks, Michael. Developing Swimmers. Champaign, IL: Human Kinetics, 2011. Print.