myth  (noun)

• 1. a traditional story of unknown authorship, ostensibly with a historical basis, but serving usually to explain some phenomenon of nature, the origin of man, or the customs, institutions, religious rites, etc. of a people: myths usually involve the exploits of gods and heroes
• 2. such stories collectively; mythology
• 3. any fictitious story, or unscientific account, theory, belief, etc.
• 4. any imaginary person or thing spoken of as though existing

There’s the Yeti.

There’s the Sasquatch.

There’s the shopping cart with four good wheels.

There’s  the low fat, great tasting chocolate cake.

And there’s these ten myths of swimming.

1. It’s faster under water.

It’s only faster under water if you are faster under the water. Just being under water does not mean you will move faster.

For example, if you swim freestyle at two yards per second pace, but only maintain a speed of 1.6 yards per second under the water – get to the surface!

 2. More training makes you a better swimmer

We’ve all heard about the magic numbers that supposedly guarantee swimming success, e.g. 50 miles a week, 60 miles a week, ten sessions a week, 20 hours of training a week, 3000 miles a year etc  etc.

There is no evidence to say that 60 miles is better than 48 or 56 or 79. There is no solid research to support the idea 10 sessions is any better than 8, 15 or 127.

More training by itself does not guarantee success. There is no short cut or easy road to swimming success. It takes a lot of hard work, commitment, dedication and discipline. But, just adding more sessions and more miles is not the only answer.

Swimming fast is about PHYSICAL fitness and physical factors like strength, speed, endurance and power. It is also about MENTAL preparation, technical skill and tactical knowledge / execution. It is a balance between PHYSICAL / MENTAL / TECHNICAL / TACTICAL elements.

So hard training is important but it is not the only thing.

3. Vitamins and minerals and supplements will make you a great swimmer

The world supplement means “something added, especially to make up for a lack or deficiency”.

The research around how effective supplements are at improving swimming performance is not conclusive. However these things are 100% conclusive for all swimmers:

• Consistent training
• Positive attitude
• Staying strong during tough times
• Honesty
• Great technique.

Buy a few bottles of these things and you can’t lose!

4. If you start out swimming one stroke well, you will always swim that stroke well

We’ve all seen the “child champs” – the nine year old superstar backstroker who seems destined for Olympic glory.  However, rarely, if ever do “child champs” make the Olympic team and win Olympic gold medals in the same stroke they first showed talent in. Often, kids will be a good breaststroker at 8, then a good freestyler at 11, then a top notch backstroker at 13 before ending up an outstanding flyer as a senior swimmer.

As kids develop and grow, changes in their limb lengths, their proportionality (i.e. the relationship of their limb length to overall body size), their muscle mass, height and weight, flexibility and strength will all impact on their ability to swim specific strokes.

Advice - become proficient in all strokes, in sprints and in distance events, medley and at dives, starts, turns and finishes. Then, no matter what happens to your body, you are ready for it!

5. Weight training makes you a better swimmer

Weight training, strength training, Pilates, Yoga, Spin classes, Dance classes etc etc can all help improve your swimming performance when used in balance with pool training and when integrated into an overall swimming performance program.

Just throwing around a few weights and getting stronger does not guarantee swimming success. 

Question: Why would you take up a weight training program?

Answer: To improve your swimming performance.

So the key issue is to ensure that the weight program enhances and supports what you do in the water.

 6. Body fat makes you swim faster because fat is buoyant OR being super thin will make you a great swimmer.

Sports scientists used to talk about % body fat or skinfolds and about optimal body fat levels for swimmers.

These days the critical concept is YOIPS – Your Optimal Individual Performance State.

There is no magical skin fold number or mystical body fat level that ALL SWIMMERS must attain to be successful.

The YOIPS concept is that each individual swimmer has an optimal body composition for their peak performance which is unique. For some swimmers that may mean being a lean, mean swimming machine. For others, an extra pound or two may help maintain their general health and well being and allow them to train consistently and shedding any excess weight will lead them to illness and being sick.

The bottom line is – find out what works best for you and stick to it!

7. Lane 4 is the fastest lane and the only one you can win from

World records have been set from all lanes.

World championships have been won from all lanes.

Olympic gold medals have been won from all lanes.

NCAA, National, State and Club championships have been won from all lanes.

Enough said.

8. A successful coach makes a great swimmer

One of the big mistakes a lot of swimmers (and parents) make is to change coaches too often for the wrong reasons. A good reason to change coaches might be that you have moved states or gone to College and you need a local coach to help you with your swimming program.

A poor reason to switch is because another coach seems to have produced a stand out young age group champion and you believe that simply by moving to their program, you will experience similar success.

Coaches are important in the scheme of things. Their training, knowledge and experience are invaluable to help all swimmers improve their physical, mental, technical and tactical skills.

However, a swimmer with a great attitude, who works hard consistently and who seeks to maximise the impact of every training session will succeed regardless of the coaching, facilities or club environment – they make their own luck and drive their own success.

A swimmer with a poor attitude, poor work ethic and negative approach will not succeed even if they go and train with Michael Phelps’ outstanding coaching team!

Coaches and swimmers (and parents) form a performance partnership – together they can achieve anything.

9. It will be all right on race day

Many swimmers have TWO BRAIN disease. It is a terrible affliction.

One brain is the one they use for training. It allows the swimmer to perform sloppy dives, slow turns and to always finish a few yards short of the end of the pool.

The other brain, the one they use for racing, only comes out at Meets and makes sure all the dives, starts, turns and finishes are perfect.

The problem is that over time the TRAINING BRAIN starts to take over the MEET BRAIN and that’s when things start to go wrong.

Train the way you want to race.

If you execute sloppy dives every day in training – you get sloppy dives at meets.

If you do slow turns every day in workouts – you get killed in the turns when you race.

If you stop a few yards short every repeat at training – you will lose most tight finishes in competition.

Train the way you want to race.

 10. The more money you spend on swim suits and equipment, the faster you will swim

You need high quality equipment to compete at the highest level but no amount of money will make up for missed training, poor skills, sloppy technique, a poor diet, a lack of quality sleep or a lack of self confidence.

Improve yourself first – physically, mentally, technically, tactically………then go and buy a fast suit.

If you are driving a beat up old car, with a broken down engine, bald tyres, a faulty gear box and low grade fuel, giving it a $5000 paint job doesn’t make it go any faster. Sure, it looks a lot better but it will not win any races.  

There is a common theme about all these myths – that is that people are always looking for a system or a secret or something they can buy or do to guarantee success.

There aint no such thing!

There is however, something that can make a real difference.

Something that can make every session outstanding and every day something special.

Something that can take every opportunity and turn it into a performance advantage.

You!

Wayne Goldsmith and Helen Morris

In swimming, effective propulsive movements are SLOW to FAST.

In Fly, you reach long, feel the water, catch then accelerate through the stroke to recovery. Same in back. Same in breast (arms and legs). Same in free.

It starts with an effective feel on entry and a strong catch then…..throughout the stroke it is acceleration that makes all the difference.

2. The relationship between HIPS and HEAD is critical

There is a critical relationship between the HIPS and the HEAD in swimming. Simply, when the head is up, the hips go down and if the hips are down three important things happen:

• Hips down means you kick down – instead of back.
• Hips down means your body is in an inefficient position
• Hips down means that your body is not streamlined

Be aware of this relationship and keep your head and hips in the right positions.

3. SOFT HANDS and feel!

If someone gave you a rose and said, “feel this – it is so soft” – what would you do with your hands? Cup them tightly? Clench them into a fist? Force your fingers wide apart with lots of tension? Or……..would you relax your fingers and hands and wrist and gently feel the rose?

You can’t feel anything with tight, tense hands. To improve your feel of the water, relax and think soft hands.

4. Think tall – think long

There is no doubt that objects that are long, tall, thin and streamlined move better through water than things that aren’t!

• Streamline off every turn.
• Streamline on entry at each dive and start.
• Streamlining off walls is important but………….think tall and think long all the time!

Believe it or not, an awareness of being tall and long in the water is important. For example in breaststroke recovery, think tall and long as you stretch and reach forward – reach long…..then kick strong.

It is the combination of long and strong that produces the most efficient swimming movements.

This “tall” thinking and awareness really helps your body move and flow through the water.

5. The faster you want to go, the more relaxed you have to be

Watch a little kid running. Now tell him to run as fast as he can…..what happens? He clenches his fists. He gets red in the face. He holds his breath. And he lasts about twenty yards!!

The faster you want to go, the more relaxed you have to be.

Speed is about relaxation – not grunting – not fist clenching – not tightening up – not breath holding – relaxation.

If you want to go fast, focus on staying calm, relaxed and moving easily.

6. The POWER Circle – POWER ON – POWER OFF.

Swimming has two primary phases – the “propulsive” phase and the “recovery” phase. For many swimmers, the recovery phase is actually an extension of the propulsive phase in that they don’t actually recover. The recovery phase is a time to relax and allow muscles to switch off in preparation for the next propulsive pull. Learning to do this can make a big difference to a swimmer’s ability to maintain a strong powerful stroke throughout a race.

Think POWER CIRCLE – POWER ON / POWER OFF. When the hands and arms are under the water and pulling it is power ON. As the hands leave the water to recover, it is power OFF.

The ability to turn the power off and relax during recovery is an important skill for all swimmers to develop.

7. Finishes – Head forward / Hips high / full kick / full stroke

Good finishes in all strokes have four common elements: HEAD – HIPS – KICK – STROKE

• Head – leaning forward towards the wall – as opposed to turning and looking at the opposition or the results.
• Hips – high and in a strong position – to keep the body in a streamlined position and moving towards the wall.
• Kick – still working and driving the body forward at the wall. In fly finishing with a strong down kick and in breast finishing with the feet accelerating all the way to a toes touch position.
• Stroke – finishing in a long, strong, tall position at the end of recovery so that the body is streamlined and capable of reaching and stretching towards the finish.

Every finish in training is a race finish and should include these four elements.

8. Starts – Key words = focused thinking

There are many distractions at the start of a race – noise, crowd, media, other swimmers, etc etc. The world is not going to shut down for you – you need to “shut” the world down.

To do this, try the simple “key word” technique.

 Find a word that means “start” to you – something like:

• Power
• Explode
• Drive
• Strong
• Relax

Take a long, deep breath – and if you can, take 5 seconds to inhale fully. Then on the exhale, say your key word quietly to yourself, taking 5 seconds to exhale fully. Repeat this for about a minute, continuing to breath deeply and slowly (about 5-6 breaths per minute), focusing on the key word every exhale.

This does three things:

• It gives you confidence and control over the pre race environment
• The slow deep breathing keeps you relaxed
• The focus word allows you to eliminate external distractions and focus on a good start.

 9. Turns – tight

 Turns are an important part of swimming and invariably great swimmers are great turners.

 Turns need to be tight.

•  Heels up close to the buttocks.
• Legs tucked up and under the body.
• Arms in close and held near the centre of the body.

 Being tight keeps the body in an efficient minimum resistance position but it also allows the swimmer to adopt the “coiled spring” position.

 Muscles can contract with greater power after being stretched and put under tension. By pulling the limbs in close to centre of the body, the large, powerful muscles of the legs, shoulders and back are placed on stretch.

 Then coming out of the turn, the body can open up with power and explosiveness and use this elastic energy to drive off the wall and get back into fast swimming!

 10. Consistency is the key

 The key to it all is to take the first nine tips and practice them consistently – every session – every day – every week.

 Consistency provides opportunity – opportunity provides the talented swimmer with the chance to achieve anything.

 We are creatures of habit. What we do repeatedly and what becomes habit, is what we do instinctively in times of fatigue and pressure, i.e. racing. If you practice doing things consistently well in training and doing things well becomes your “habit” under the pressure and pain of racing you will always come out on top.

 Wayne Goldsmith

We say THE Swimming Site because we have one simple aim – to be THE number one Swimming site in the world.

The Swimming Site will be the SOSS – Swimming One Stop Shop – for everything you ever wanted to know about swimming including:

• Swimming Coaching tips
• Swimming Injury minimisation and management
• Swimming and Competing - swim meets, pacing, motivation, performance skills.
• Swimming Technique and skills tips
• Swimming Training program ideas and information – training sets, training tips, peaking, tapering.
• Swimming Science – testing, analysis.
• Swimming Testing

THE Swimming Site – make it YOUR Swimming Site.

In swimming, effective propulsive movements are slow to fast.

In Fly, you reach long, feel the water, catch then accelerate through the stroke to recovery. Same in back. Same in breast (arms and legs). Same in free.

It starts with an effective feel on entry and a strong catch then…..throughout the stroke it is acceleration that makes all the difference.

2. The relationship between hips and head is critical

There is a critical relationship between the hips and the head in swimming. Simply, when the head is up, the hips go down and if the hips are down three important things happen:

• Hips down means you kick down – instead of back.
• Hips down means your body is in an inefficient position
• Hips down means that your body is not streamlined

Be aware of this relationship and keep your head and hips in the right positions.

3. Soft Hands and Feel!

If someone gave you a rose and said, “feel this – it is so soft” – what would you do with your hands? Cup them tightly? Clench them into a fist? Force your fingers wide apart with lots of tension? Or……..would you relax your fingers and hands and wrist and gently feel the rose?

You can’t feel anything with tight, tense hands. To improve your feel of the water, relax and think soft hands.

4. Think tall, think long

There is no doubt that objects that are long, tall, thin and streamlined move better through water than things that aren’t!

Streamline off every turn. Streamline on entry at each dive and start. Streamlining off walls is important, but think tall and think long all the time!

Believe it or not, an awareness of being tall and long in the water is important. For example in breaststroke recovery, think tall and long as you stretch and reach forward – reach long…..then kick strong.

It is the combination of long and strong that produces the most efficient swimming movements.

This “tall” thinking and awareness really helps your body move and flow through the water.

5. The faster you want to go, the more relaxed you have to be

Watch a little kid running. Now tell him to run as fast as he can…what happens? He clenches his fists. He gets red in the face. He holds his breath. And he lasts about twenty yards!

The faster you want to go, the more relaxed you have to be.

Speed is about relaxation, not grunting, not fist clenching, not tightening up, not breath holding, relaxation.

If you want to go fast, focus on staying calm, relaxed and moving easily.

6. The Power Circle: Power On – Power Off

Swimming has two primary phases – the “propulsive” phase and the “recovery” phase. For many swimmers, the recovery phase is actually an extension of the propulsive phase in that they don’t actually recover. The recovery phase is a time to relax and allow muscles to switch off in preparation for the next propulsive pull. Learning to do this can make a big difference to a swimmer’s ability to maintain a strong powerful stroke throughout a race.

Think Power Circle: Power on / Power off. When the hands and arms are under the water and pulling it is power on. As the hands leave the water to recover, it is power off.

The ability to turn the power off and relax during recovery is an important skill for all swimmers to develop.

7. Finishes: Head Forward, Hips High, Full Kick, Full Stroke

Good finishes in all strokes have four common elements: Head, Hips, Kick, Stroke

Head: leaning forward towards the wall – as opposed to turning and looking at the opposition or the results.

Hips: high and in a strong position – to keep the body in a streamlined position and moving towards the wall.

Kick: still working and driving the body forward at the wall. In fly finishing with a strong down kick and in breast finishing with the feet accelerating all the way to a toes touch position.

Stroke: finishing in a long, strong, tall position at the end of recovery so that the body is streamlined and capable of reaching and stretching towards the finish.

Every finish in training is a race finish and should include these four elements.

8. Starts Key Words: Focused Thinking

There are many distractions at the start of a race – noise, crowd, media, other swimmers, etc. The world is not going to shut down for you. You need to “shut” the world down.

To do this, try the simple “key word” technique.

Find a word that means “start” to you, something like:

• Power
• Explode
• Drive
• Strong
• Relax

Take a long, deep breath and if you can, take 5 seconds to inhale fully. Then on the exhale, say your key word quietly to yourself, taking 5 seconds to exhale fully. Repeat this for about a minute, continuing to breath deeply and slowly (about 5-6 breaths per minute), focusing on the key word every exhale.

This does three things:
1. It gives you confidence and control over the pre race environment
2. The slow deep breathing keeps you relaxed
3. The focus word allows you to eliminate external distractions and focus on a good start.

9. Turns: Tight

Turns are an important part of swimming and invariably great swimmers are great turners.

Turns need to be tight.

• Heels up close to the buttocks.
• Legs tucked up and under the body.
• Arms in close and held near the centre of the body.

Being tight keeps the body in an efficient minimum resistance position but it also allows the swimmer to adopt the “coiled spring” position.

Muscles can contract with greater power after being stretched and put under tension. By pulling the limbs in close to centre of the body, the large, powerful muscles of the legs, shoulders and back are placed on stretch.

Then coming out of the turn, the body can open up with power and explosiveness and use this elastic energy to drive off the wall and get back into fast swimming!

10. Consistency is the Key

The key to it all is to take the first nine tips and practice them consistently – every session – every day – every week.

Consistency provides opportunity – opportunity provides the talented swimmer with the chance to achieve anything.

We are creatures of habit. What we do repeatedly and what becomes habit, is what we do instinctively in times of fatigue and pressure, i.e. racing. If you practice doing things consistently well in training and doing things well becomes your “habit” under the pressure and pain of racing you will always come out on top.

Wayne Goldsmith

1. Am I getting fitter?
2. Am I getting faster?
3. Is my technique improving?
4. Will I be able to race well at my next competition?

The best way to answer all these questions is, of course, by “racing”!

Competition results and meet performances give you valuable information on how your program is going and how much you are improving.

However, coaches and sports scientists often use testing to determine the answers to these questions in training.

The Golden Rules of Testing

There are Three Golden Rules in Testing:

1. Consistency
If you test on a Monday morning this time after having the weekend off you have to repeat the test on a Monday morning after having the weekend off next time. If you test in a long course pool this time – it’s long course next time. If you dive this time – you dive next time. Everything – equipment, pre test warm up etc needs to be standardized as much as possible.

2. Common Sense
The test you use needs to make sense. If testing for endurance – 2 x 25 metres is not the right test to use. If measuring speed, a one hour swim is not the right choice. Decide what you are testing, then select a test which makes sense.

3. Record everything

• Time of day / date
• Warm up used
• Dive start or push start
• Test set details (i.e. repeat distances, number of repeats, stroke, time cycle)
• Time
• Splits
• Stroke count (the number of strokes taken – usually expressed as strokes per lap)
• Heart rate if applicable
• RPE – Rating of Perceived Exertion (a subjective measure out of ten to indicate how hard you found the test.)

A basic test recording sheet may look something like this:

Like any test, it you want to do well, you have to study.

In this case study means you need to learn how to do the test.

This is especially the case in endurance testing when errors in pacing can lead to poor test results which are not really indicative of the subjects actual endurance ability.

A good way to overcome this problem is to include some shorter swimming in the warm up at the target speed of the first repeat to be included in the test.

For example:

If a swimmer was aiming to complete a test of 10 x 100 freestyle on two minutes where the target speed of the first 100 metres of the test was at 1:20 pace, you might include a set like 6 x 50 freestyle on 1 minute holding 40 seconds, i.e. half distance at the same pace, in the warm up.

This gets the swimmer prepared to perform the test as required rather than starting out too fast and being too fatigued to complete the rest of the test correctly.

Example:

John Smith has decided he needs to assess his swimming fitness mid season. He decides that the right test for him is 6 x 200 metres freestyle on 5 minutes.

In of this article, we will look at specific tests for speed, speed endurance, technique efficiency and endurance.

Wayne Goldsmith

Alarm goes off at 5 am. You get up. You eat. You go to the pool. You swim.

You got to school all day then…

You eat. You go to the pool. You swim.

You get home at 6 pm – tired, hungry and…you have homework to do!!!!

To quote Charlie Brown…..AAUUUUUUUUUGGGHHHHH!!!

How do you it? How to work hard and get good grades and work hard and swim fast????

Here are some practical hints:

• You are in control of your study and training program. Regardless of what your school friends say or do, success in the end is your decision. Do the training and study that you need to do to get the results you want. If your friends think studying is not “cool”, get some new friends!
• Talk with your school advisers and ask them for help with designing a study plan. You are a high school and college student only once. The teachers and counselors have been through what you are going through many times and are invaluable in this regard.
• Talk with the teachers and counselors about your desire and commitment to continue swimming training during high school and college. They may be prepared to help you achieve your goals and be more flexible with class and study routines to help you.
• What might happen and what could happen is not as important as what is happening right now. Don’t worry about the exams at the end of the year. Focus on doing the little things right, every day, every class, and each assignment.
• 90% of stress comes from not doing things when you should have done them. The best time to start a study program is today.
• An extra hour study each day is an extra day study each week- You can control time! It’s never too late to be the person you wanted to be.
• Do a course of “How to Study Effectively” or read a book on the same topic. It’s the same principle as getting your swim technique right before starting hard training.
• Try to get out of bed early and study when you are fresh and rested. You can train when you are tired and still get improvements, but studying tired is a recipe for failure.
• Do extra work by yourself or with a group of friends in holidays and on breaks.
• Study in your “spares” – times during the day when you have no immediate and pressing commitments.
• Take care of the immediate and the ultimate will take care of itself – put first things first. Do your most difficult school study at the start of your study period when you are least fatigued.
• No matter what happens there is another way to look at it. Nothing is as bad as it first seems. Getting a C is not a bad thing IF it inspires you to work harder and strive for an A next time. Learn from your mistakes.
• What if something goes wrong? Have a plan, Have a second plan and have a backup plan to the second plan. Don’t plan to fail by failing to plan.
• Never, ever, Give up – there is always a way. Develop an “I can” strategy rather than saying “I can’t”.
• Success is never guaranteed, but you can choose to increase the likelihood of success by adopting a study program and swimming training schedule that will allow you the best opportunity to succeed.
• The difference between ordinary and extraordinary is the little extra. Try 30 minutes less T.V. per day and do 30 minutes extra on math equations. Try 30 minutes less video games per day and learn five extra new words to help with reading and comprehension. Those little extras add up to extra-ordinary results.

The smartest people don’t necessarily get the best high school grades or TEE. scores, just as the most talented swimmers don’t always win. It is more likely that the best grades (and gold medals) go to the students (and swimmers) who have prepared the best, who have committed themselves to a daily routine where excellence is the minimum acceptable standard and who manage their time and themselves most effectively.

Do the little extra it takes to succeed and you will have the choice at the end of the day. Take the short cut or rely on luck and your employer, the university admissions officer and your opposition control your choices.

• Success has little to do with luck.
• The harder you work, the luckier you will get.
• There are a lot of similarities between swimming well and passing exams.

Preparation is important. Planning is crucial. Confidence is vital. Time management – essential. For all swimmers however, none of these concepts are new. They are things you grow up with: things you utilise every day. In many ways your swimming career has prepared you for the opportunity to do well in high school, college and university.

All the attributes you need to be a great student you have already developed as a swimmer. You have a competitive edge. Make the most of it.

Wayne Goldsmith

Nutrition is an important area of successful sports performance in any sport.

Swimmers need to eat nutritious foods to compete and train to the best of their ability. Coaches need to ensure that swimmers are eating well and re-hydrating to complement their training program. Parents want to help their kids achieve their goals and are keen to support them in every possible way.

Swim Clubs and swimming organisations, selling food and drink at Swim Meets need to ensure that a variety of highly nutritious healthy options that can still generate income and raise funds are available to the swimmers.

Swim Meets, Swim Competitions and Swimming Championships are the places where all the vested interests in swimming nutrition come together: swimmers, coaches, parents and administrators. Everyone is looking for the same thing: how can we maximise the opportunity presented by the competition?

Swimmers want to maximise the opportunity of swimming fast at the Meet.

Coaches want to maximise the opportunities for the individual swimmers and team to compete successfully.

Parents want their kids to make the most of the competitive opportunity and swim well.

Administrators want to maximise the opportunity to generate income from the fund raising activities at the Meet.

Is it possible to develop an overall nutrition strategy to meet the needs of everyone?

Swimmers

A feature of successful athletes in any sport is how they take responsibility for their own performances. As swimmers get older and approach open level competition they should be encouraged to take responsibility for their own diet and nutrition program – to become coach and parent independent as far as food preparation and consumption are concerned.

On Meet day, swimmers should check their own bags to make sure all the fuel they will need over the day has been packed. This includes not only an adequate supply of food and drinks for the Meet day but enough nutritious snacks to cover the crucial post race recovery period. If for example, the last race of the day is 4:00pm and the swimmer is unlikely to eat dinner before 7:00pm, it is important that foods like fruit, sandwiches and other nutritious snacks are available to munch on between 4 and 7pm. (It is unlikely you can “ruin the appetite” of a competitive swimmer!).

Athletes, by their actions, are above average people. They choose to push themselves to their limits and in doing so are “high performance” human beings. Just as High Performance motor vehicles use a high grade, high octane fuel, “high performance humans” need the best possible fuel to perform at their best.

However, athletes do not need to live a hermit type existence and abstain from all Take Away Foods, snacks, nibbles, lollies etc. The pressures of advertising and their peer group will make a totally junk food free existence near impossible for kids in the current times. The goal should be to practice sensible nutrition habits the majority of the time, to understand the basics of high performance eating and to be aware of the link between good food and fast swimming.

Immediately after racing, DRINK. Water is perfect, or try other fluids such as sports drink, cordial or fruit juice. Also eat something light within 10 minutes of finishing the race. This is the time when your body is best able to absorb and utilise new fuels.

If the Meet is two days or longer in duration, recovery nutrition, is an important part of racing successfully. Recovery nutrition is about planning an eating and drinking strategy that helps your body:

• Recover from the physical stresses of racing;
• Prepare for the racing to come.

This is also called the repair, prepare approach to Swim Meet eating.

Recovery nutrition is a technique which provides the swimmer’s body with what they need to recover (eg carbohydrates to replace used up energy, proteins for muscle building and repair) and prepare for the next day of competition. In between races, recovery nutrition is about replenishing energy stores quickly and effectively so that the next race can be completed at maximum speed. Foods that aid in a recovery nutrition program between races include fruit, blended fruit packs, tinned fruits and sports drinks – things that are easy to digest and absorb into the body. To maximise the impact of these “recovery foods” they need to be eaten or drunk as soon as possible after racing.

A key element of a successful Swim Meet nutrition program is eating timing. Swimmers need to ensure that their eating program is as finely tuned as their training and racing schedule. If competing early in the morning some swimmers may find it necessary to rise early (3-4 hours before warm up) eat, then go back to bed for a little more rest. Other athletes may chose to eat, then go for a short walk or jog to start the warm up / race preparation process going.

An Example of a Competition Eating Schedule

An important aspect of being a senior athlete is knowing what foods help you to swim at your best and when to eat them.

In minor Meets and lead up competitions try keeping a Nutritional Diary for the day before, the days of competition and the day after the Meet. Record what you eat, when you eat, how much you eat, how you felt and how you raced. By keeping the nutrition diary, you can evaluate what eating strategy works best for you.

An Example of a typical Meet Nutrition Diary

Coaches

Ensure you understand the basics of good nutrition and plan an effective education program for your swimmers. This includes a program of classroom education, Supermarket visits, teaching swimmers to read food labels and educating them about what’s in food. Senior swimmers need to learn to cook a few basic meals (for example pasta and sauce, vegetarian fried rice, potatoes in their jackets and apple crumble) utilising low fat cooking and food preparation techniques. Parents of young swimmers also need to be aware of how to cook with less added fats and oils.

If you as a coach lack the necessary knowledge to take an active role in the nutrition education program of your club, enlist the services of a qualified sports dietician or sports nutritionist.

If a sports nutrition specialist is not easily available, read one of the many good books on the topic and prepare an athlete and parent nutrition education program that is swimming specific, easy to understand and simple to apply. Alternately approach the local hospital dietician and ask them to help out with your education program.

An important area of nutrition education is to educate parents. Remember that in general Kids don’t shop and Kids don’t cook! Educating young swimmers is of limited value unless the parents are similarly educated and have the commitment to support their children’s healthy eating program.

Do a pre-meet checklist for swimmers and parents to follow AND ask them to sign it before the swimmer leaves home for the pool.

Swimmer’s Swim Meet Nutrition Checklist

As an alternative, have a team breakfast on the morning of the Meet. If competing close to home, have the team breakfast in the Club Meeting room. Away from home, find a pleasant venue for the Team breakfast (beach, park, near a river) with an alternate site nominated in case of cold or rainy weather.

Ask each family to bring something for the team breakfast, (give them a list of what you want) – The Smiths bring cereal, The Jones family brings milk and Yoghurt, The Wilsons bring Fruit and Juice etc. At the very least you can then be certain that the team has had one nutritious meal before competing. For a Medal winning Meet morning breakfast try some of these suggestions:

• Cereals (not the popular Chocolate or sugary ones). Try Weet-Bix, Vita Brits, Sustain, Just Right, Sports Plus.
• Reduced fat milk – e.g. Shape, Physical, Rev, Hi-Lo
• Low fat fruit yoghurt.
• Selection of fresh and/or tinned fruit (in natural juice). Sliced banana goes great on Weet-bix and Vita Brits!
• Selection of bread, toast, crumpets, muffins, and spreads such as margarine, jam, vegemite and honey.
• Drinks – fruit juices, water, and Milo.
• Spaghetti, baked beans or creamed corn on toast.
• Poached eggs or grilled tomatoes on toast.
• Pancakes or pikelets (with small amounts of syrup).

The team breakfast is also a great way to build team unity and go over team strategies for the Meet.

For a few laughs, select a swimmer at “random” and empty the contents of their swim bag in front of the rest of the team to check if they have packed it with all the healthy, nutritious food and drink they will need for the Meet. (By “random” it is a good idea to pre-select someone you know has done the right thing rather than publicly embarrass someone who hasn’t). You can do the same fun educational exercise and check the swimmer’s swim bag for other essential items, eg cap, goggles, towel, sun screen, hat, etc., to ensure they are packing for success!

If travelling to a Meet where you are likely to be arriving early in the morning or late in the evening have swimmers carry their first two meals with them. This reduces the temptation to seek Fast Food for dinner or breakfast. Arriving in a competition venue in the evening means that the only food outlets open will be Home Delivery Pizza and the Hamburger chains. Arriving at the competition venue early in the morning means coffee and donuts or the Fast Food chains.

Weeks of hard work and tough training may all be for nothing if the final two meals before competition are high fat, high salt and high sugar food choices.

Have swimmers follow a set nutrition and rehydration routine around every race. Try the R-D-T-E-R routine (Race-Drink-Talk-Eat-Rest). Swimmers race, then grab their drink bottles and take a sip, go the coach for the post race review, have a bite to eat then rest.

Keep your eyes open! Swimmers who are poorly prepared and have not brought healthy foods from home will be rushing to the Canteen or Shop for high fat / high sugar products early in the day.

Be aware of gimmicks and misinformation. Parents and swimmers can be easily influenced by the media and advertising campaigns to buying items that are not really high performance fuels. Food supplements, vitamins and minerals and fashionable products advertised by successful athletes rarely deliver on their promises of improved performance.

Parents’ vulnerability to a quick fix, instant success products and promises means that coaches need to focus on parents at every stage of their nutrition education programs.

Swimmers don’t always notice it, but sweating occurs when training and racing – even though the activity happens in the water. It is vital that a good supply of cool water, cordial, sports drink or juice is on hand at Swim Meets. Purchase a team 40-50 litre capacity Cooler, give the team captain or a committee member the responsibility for filling it and take it to every Meet (and also for cleaning it AFTER every Meet).

Parents

Parents play a significant role in the nutrition and lifestyle habits of swimmers (their children). Parents can have an important impact on their child’s eating choices in many ways:

By setting an example with their own diet, it is well established that children, particularly young children are influenced by their parents’ behaviours. This applies to social behaviours, beliefs and lifestyle habits. Parents who consistently eat high fat, high salt, high sugar, low fibre foods are setting a decidedly unhealthy example for their kids to follow. (This also applies to smoking and whilst this is not strictly a nutrition issue it is very definitely a health issue).

By purchasing healthy nutritious food, is one key area where parents can directly influence the nutrition program of their children. In most households mum and dad are responsible for selecting and buying the families food each week. In this regard, mum and dad can be positive role models, or quite easily become a negative influence on the family’s eating habits. If you don’t by chocolate biscuits, frozen pizza and sugary breakfast cereals, the kids can’t eat them. It then becomes a matter of a battle of wills between parents and kids. The pressures of television advertising and the influence of their friends and peer group may have children demanding non healthy food choices, but in the family home, parents should take the hard option of insisting on high performance nutrition.

(Try not to go grocery shopping when you are hungry. Research suggests that if you shop when you are hungry you are more likely to make poor food selections – usually of the high fat variety).

By not promising Junk food as rewards for good performances, this is crucial, most diets in Western Society fail. Recent statistics suggest that over 90% of people trying to lose weight do not achieve their goals. Much of the blame comes from the way we approach “treats” with children.

As a child, everyone has had an Auntie or Uncle or Grandparent say, “You’re such a good boy or good girl, here’s a chocolate”, or “Your school grades are so good, let’s celebrate with pizza and garlic bread”. From an early age, this “do something good – eat something bad as a reward” mentality develops.

Adults who fail in their efforts to lose weight often do so because they reward any weight loss with junk food, chocolates, cake etc. This is an extension of the eating habits learned and reinforced in childhood.

Be wary of products promising quick easy results. All parents want the best for their children and as a result are vulnerable to advertising and marketing of sports nutrition products in the belief that they are helping their children.

The Mid Meet Main Meal – MMMM:

Often at two day meets with families travelling away from home, the “Mid Meet Main Meal” is the most important eating occasion. Generally the MID Mid Meet Main Meal is the Saturday evening meal that swimmers and families share after a full day of competition (Day One). This meal is a time for everyone to unwind and talk about swim times, races and the things that happened on day One and to fuel up for the second day of competition.

There are several options for the “MMMM”. If dining out, coaches, swimmers and parents need to be aware of the positives and negatives of their eating options and be prepared to exercise control and discipline where unsuitable foods are available.

Typical food choices (Take Aways) available for Mid Meet Main Meals

Be prepared to ask the restaurant for changes and modifications to their printed menu. For example ask for salads with no dressing (or have the dressing served on the side). Ask for meals to be cooked with less oil and for dishes to be prepared with little or no salt. If you must have salad dressing or salt for taste, adding them yourself means you can control your intake of these products.

Get in the habit of asking waiters and waitresses how the food will be cooked before you order it. Be confident knowing that as you are paying for the food, you have the right to have input into how it will be prepared, (just beware of temperamental chefs!!!).

When selecting the venue for the “MMMM” do not allow swimmers performances to dictate where and what you will eat. The “if you do a PB we will all go to a popular hamburger restaurant” promise made by parents to swimmers may achieve short term success but it leads to long term eating lifestyle problems.

Parents please do not reward great swimming with junk food.

An alternative to eating out with the team for the “MMMM” is the team dinner or team barbeque that is catered by the families of swimmers and by club management. The great positive is that the coach and families have a good deal more control over the quantity and quality of food being selected and eaten by the swim team. The down side is that the parent cooked “MMMM” requires more planning and forethought as foods may need to be transported from home.

This does not present any real problems if travelling relatively short distances to the Meet by car, but is difficult to manage if longer journeys to distant competitions are necessary.

If preparing meals for a team when competing away from home, delegate the responsibility for the various contents of the meal to swimmers’ families, eg John’s dad buys the salads and cuts up the vegetables, Julie’s mum leaves the Meet early to buy fresh seasonal fruit and prepare a fruit platter, etc. Often the MMMM is a last minute, unplanned and uncoordinated meal leaving the swimmers with few options and what options they do have are usually the Fast Food ones.

A little planning will go a long way to ensuring a successful Meet and a sensible high performance nutrition program for the swimmers!

Glucose Tablets. Parents are often taken in by the “high energy” promises and packaging of glucose products in the belief that it will give their child a lift or boost on race day. These products are very high in sugar (the “ose” on the end of food ingredients identifies it as sugar – maltose, fructose, dextrose etc). These products are of doubtful, if any, value.

Sports Drink. The marketing of sports drinks promotes the idea that drinking them will provide a “boost” or make a big impact on the performance of athletes. Whilst sports drinks do appear to have an important role in post race recovery, they are not a miracle product that will compensate for poor dietary choices. If intending to use a sports drink on race day, swimmers should experiment with the different brands, concentrations and quantities in training to see what works best for them.

Chocolate Bars. Another great swimming myth is the “Chocolate Bar rush”. Often parents will give their children chocolate before a race to try and catch a sugar “rush” which will give them an edge in racing. This again is not correct and in fact, the chocolate bars may impact on blood sugars to an extent that the swimmers perform poorly.

Clubs and Caterers

The greatest challenge for Swim Clubs and swimming organisations is to provide healthy food options at swim Meets that also generate profit. For most clubs their single most important fund raising event on the annual program is when they host a swim Meet. The temptation is to sell the foods that are easiest to prepare and can generate the highest profits for the club. Pre frozen pies, sausage rolls, chips and other fried foods can generate a high profit but at what cost to the performance (and health) of the swimmers.

When catering for swim meets try to provide a range of healthy, nutritious foods for swimmers to snack on over the day. This includes providing swimmers with adequate fluids, other than soft drinks before during and after competition.

Typically the foods that are available at Swim Meets are high in salt, high in sugar, low in fibre, high in fat and low in complex carbohydrate are easy to sell, easy to keep warm, easy to store, taste great and make good profits for the club.

One idea for clubs might be to allocate a room (or tent) with a cafeteria / buffet style food serving area for swimmers to access. Athletes pay a small amount (three to five dollars) to enter the buffet area and fill a plate with as much healthy food as they can carry. This is an easy way to provide quick service to swimmers and provide a variety of food choices (and serving sizes). It is also cost effective as the bulk of the food choices can be salads, vegetables and breads.

Some Swim Eats buffet ideas include

Bread and bread rolls, pita breads, Lebanese bread, Turkish bread, and French sticks. Try a mixture of white, wholemeal, multi grain and light rye to encourage choice. Leave the breads unbuttered to try and encourage a low fat approach to swim Meet eating.

Things to put on and in the breads include:

• Lean meat/ham/chicken.
• Reduced fat cheese in slices or grated.
• Tinned fish like Tuna or Salmon. The fish should be in brine or water – not oil or mayonnaise.
• Egg (hard-boiled and sliced).
• Lots and Lots of Salad choices – tomato, lettuce (all varieties available), grated carrot, sprouts, beetroot, coleslaw, cucumber, avocado, pineapple, nuts, dried fruits. Be inventive!!!! Try to limit shop prepared salads that may be dressed in mayonnaise high in fats and oils.
• For desserts:
• Muffins – e.g. oat and honey, Fruit muffins – banana, date and walnut, strawberry, blueberry. Fruit cake, banana cake and carrot cake may be a good alternative – (try to get them made with low fat techniques).
• Fresh fruit – Whatever is in season and lots of it.
• Drinks:
• Water, Fruit Juice, Cordial.

Hot Catering

Swim Clubs often run barbeques or prepare hot foods for sale at Meets. The challenge here again is to provide a wide range of choice, offer a selection of healthy nutritious high performance foods yet maximise fund raising.

Some ideas for Hot Catering at Swim Meets

Other ideas for hot catering include:

Pasta with low fat, tomato based sauces. This is a very cheap hot meal, easy to prepare and has a good profit margin ($1.00 – $2.00 per bowl or plate). Serve with salad and fresh bread.

Rice (using low fat cooking techniques) stir fried with lots of fresh vegetables.

Curries, stews, casseroles with low fat meats, fresh vegetables and cooked with little or no oil. Serve the dish a 1-4 ration with rice, pasta or noodles, eg one scoop of curry, stew, casserole – four scoops of rice. Again this dish is a very profitable one for the club bank balance ($1.00 – $2.00 per bowl or plate).

Kebabs, shasliks, meat sticks – Cooked on skewers with alternating two vegetable pieces, one meat piece, eg slice of red capsicum, slice of green capsicum, piece of chicken (skin removed), small onion, ¼ tomato, piece of chicken.

Apple, berry crumble with low fat ice cream, fruit yoghurt.

Fresh fruit for dessert.

Healthy eating is only part of the total performance package of any athlete. Just as having a great race start is not enough to win races without the skills, techniques, mental strengths and fitness level required to complete the distance, eating well by itself will not make you a great swimmer.

An attitude of high performance eating will however go a long way to making you a high performance athlete.

Wayne Goldsmith

The great Austrian philosopher, Arnold Schwarzenegger, is reputed to have said, “Success comes from staying in close contact with your goals”.

Every swimmer has goals or dreams. For some the dream is finishing their first event. For others it’s an Olympic Gold. The challenge is turning dreams into reality.

Goal setting is one powerful method of staying motivated and focussed on the achieving of success. However, the actual setting of goals is not difficult. It’s a relatively simple matter to sit down, pull out a pen and piece of paper and write “I would like to beat Susie O’Neill at the Olympics”. The process of setting goals is much more than just writing down a list of things you would like to achieve this year.

The great news is that Psychological skills can be learned, can be trained, just like swimming skills, swimming technique and swimming fitness. Skills like concentration, imagery, self-talk, relaxation, motivation, focussing and goal setting are just some of the mental skills techniques that can be learned and mastered with a little effort.
However, mental skills are not magic – they are not a secret formula for turning ordinary performers into champions. Having a motivation session with a coach or psychologist the evening before a big event is unlikely to make up for months of poor training habits.

Mental skills, like any skills, need to be practised. Knowing about mental skills, but not actually practising them is the same as knowing that long swims increase swimming endurance but never doing more than 25 metres in training. How often have you heard a great athlete comment “Success is all mental” or “It’s 99% mental”? If mental skills are so important it makes good sense to practice them regularly.

Let’s focus on one particular mental skill- goal setting.
Goal setting is part of every day life. It’s the way our minds and bodies operate. We set goals, then do them. Goal – I want to eat that Tim Tam in the fridge. Motivation – I like the taste and I am hungry. Action – Get up and go to the fridge, open the door and get the Tim Tam.

Goals direct behaviour in a particular direction, and if we are motivated to act we move. There is a strong relationship between goal setting and motivation.

Psychologists today tend to talk more about Goal Management than simply goal setting. Goal management is the total process of using goals to focus in on a task and keep motivated in moving towards it.
Goal management is setting goals, evaluating goals, monitoring goals, chasing goals, reviewing goals and adjusting goals.

Having goals and dreams is one thing – being able to stay focussed and motivated to achieve them and work towards them every day is another.

One technique for staying motivated to work towards your goals is to give them a definite time frame.
A goal is a dream with a deadline.
Having a target date for your goal also makes a commitment to evaluation – a time or moment when you will evaluate, review and if necessary adjust your goals.

For example:
Goal: I would like to be a better swimmer this season.
This goal has little direction, is very broad and is not precise.

Alternate Goal: By February 2000, I will aim to improve my freestyle. To achieve this I will have my technique corrected by the coach this week, work on my technique every session and commencing next Monday morning at 6:00 am I will start the day with 30 minutes of stretching and strengthening exercises. Each Sunday I will do an extra swim session and in December I will enter all the freestyle events at three meets race to evaluate my progress.

Same goal – but with more direction and with a clear process of achieving success.

Without doubt, staying motivated means concentrating on Process Goals. Concentrate on the process, the actions taken to actually achieve the performance rather than the outcome goals or performance goals.

For example:
Outcome Goal or Performance Goal: I would like to win the club championship in March next year.
This goal is focussing on the dream of “winning”.

Process Goal: I would like to win the club championship in March next year. My medley and backstroke are my weak events. I will concentrate on improving them by attending swimming sessions more regularly, working on my swim technique, improving my turns and stretching my hips and calves every day to improve my kick.
Same goal, but with a focus on the day to day process of success rather than just on the dream of a future victory.

Effective Goal management leads to confidence. It develops an attitude of “I can do”. Setting goals and achieving them leads to developing a self-belief that anything is possible.

An athlete needs to stay focussed on the immediate, not the ultimate. An athlete needs to have dreams but ask, “What can I achieve in training today?”, “What can I achieve in this training session?”, “What can I do right now to help me achieve my dreams”.
This immediate action to achieve an ultimate success formula is a powerful daily motivator.

You should concentrate on the process of doing a personal best, rather than the actual outcome (i.e. doing the time, winning, getting a medal). Focus on the controllable aspects of the performance like the number of strokes per lap swimming, how far you streamline, how aggressively you attack your turns and so on.
The goal of competing in a race may be to win – come first. However, in most cases winning is something over which you have little or no control. You have no control over the talent of the other swimmers in the race. You have no control over how much training the other swimmers in the race have done. You have no control over the commitment or dedication of the other swimmers.

The only thing you have some control over in terms of the race outcome is your own performance. Therefore it makes sense to focus on those things over which you have control to achieve the best possible result.

Swimmers will often worry about the outcome of a race and stress about winning or losing. By taking control of your performance and reinforcing the importance of concentrating on the skills and techniques you have learned in training, the “freak – out” experienced by many swimmers prior to a swim meet can be reduced. Of course the time to be working on swimming skills and techniques is at training. Getting to the meet and worrying about how to get that great performance is too late. The skills and techniques that will make the dream a reality are the things you practice as part of your daily training routine.

In training , make it happen. In racing on the day of the meet, let it happen! If you concentrate on doing the little things right in training all the time, you can make the success happen. If you just roll through training, not concentrating on great technique, missing out on sessions, don’t stretch etc, but then try to turn it all around on race day, it’s too late!
Make your success happen in training, then on race day, let the skills and techniques you have developed in training every day help you achieve your goal. Success means leaving nothing to chance.

Success means not relying on luck. Success means taking control over your performance by working on doing the little things right in training every day.

Nothing can absolutely guarantee success. But you can increase the likelihood of success by MAKING things happen through your own hard work, commitment and dedication.

Someone once said, “Life has taught me one thing about little things….there are no little things”.
Effective goal management and working methodically towards your dreams by implementing a plan of action and doing the “little things” right each day, will keep you motivated and focussed.
Set goals that are clear, precise and measurable sure, but most importantly, set into action the process of achieving those goals immediately and work towards them daily.

Be an achiever, be the athlete who achieves through careful planning and daily actions.

Wayne Goldsmith

1. Set your self a daily goal to improve by one tenth of one inch. Anyone can improve one tenth of an inch each day. Over a week that’s almost an inch. That’s about 4 inches a month. That’s about 3 feet a year…..and 12 feet every Olympic cycle.
2. If you are in a pace line (i.e. a line of swimmers) chase the feet of the person in front of you.
3. If you are leading the pace line, imagine the person behind you is a shark or crocodile and you need to make sure you stay ahead of them!
4. Promise yourself a small gift or reward for improving your skills and drills – reward excellence in technique – technique is the key to swimming success.
5. Encourage other swimmers, the better your team mates perform the more it will lift you and your performance “a rising tide lifts all the boats”.
6. Keep a training diary and write in it three things you improved each day.
7. Keep a PB record sheet on your wall. Watch how you improve over time.

	2007	2008	2009	2010
50 fly
50 back
50 breast
50 free
100 fly
100 back
100 breast
100 free
200 free
200 IM

8. Remember you are special. How many people are prepared to get out of bed at 5 am, train hard and balance school, swimming and life the way you do?
9. Link your seasons by making your short course PBs this season your long course PBs next season.
10. Make it your aim to have your 100 yard kick time no more than 10 seconds slower than your 100 yard PB swim time.
11. Reward PBs with things that will help you do more PBs. For example, if you do a PB, reward yourself with a copy of swimming world!
12. Understand what motivates you, not anyone else, what motivates you! If you are motivated by winning, then do everything in your power to prepare to win. If you are motivated by learning new skills and challenging yourself, do it. The key to motivation is knowing what it is that motivates you.
13. Make a Partner Promise. Find someone in the team who wants to swim fast and make a commitment to them. For example, make a commitment that you will help each other achieve your goals. Each session say something positive to each other, encourage each other, meet at the pool early and do some extra work together, support each other through the tough times. Sometimes knowing you have made a commitment to help someone else is a great motivator for you.
14. Play imagination games in training like imagining the final lap of every set is the final lap of the 2012 Olympic final and all you need to do is work hard for a few more strokes and you will win the gold medal and break the world record. These imagination games are great fun and very motivating.
15. Make up some unusual, fun and weird goals that mean something only to you. Like how many times can you say “sausages” on a single breath or what’s the weirdest stroke you can come up with. Having fun is the best motivation of all.
16. Find a fast beat song that you enjoy and play it before you get in the water. “Feel the rhythm” and the beat when you are swimming and feel it lift you when you get tired.
17. Do your favourite stretches that make you feel good – as you start to stretch, you will find you begin to relax into the right mind set for fast swimming.
18. Imagine you are finishing a race when you pass someone in the next lane. Thinking about it will ignite the competitive fires!
19. Think about how heavy you thought the weight was when you first started doing gym. How much heavier are you lifting now?
20. How many push ups, sit ups, chin ups do you do now? How many did you used to do? Be proud of all your success. Enjoy the journey.
21. Think of the other swimmers that you have beaten recently that used to beat you. Give yourself permission to be proud of your resilience, your toughness, your perseverance and your character.
22. Imagine how good you will feel when you go home, have dinner and curl up in bed tonight? – Now work hard so that comes quickly!
23. Challenge yourself to turn (or start or finish) better than ever. Before you know it you will feel better and motivated to train hard.
24. Think of each lap as an opportunity: an opportunity to improve in an area of your swimming, which will bypass you if you don’t take it. Remember, someone somewhere IS taking that opportunity.
25. Ask a top swimmer (or successful athlete in any sport) what they do to stay motivated. Learn from them. Copy them.
26. Work hard. Sometimes not thinking about it and just doing it is all the motivation you need.
27. Do the old never ending story routine. Make up a funny story and tell someone in your lane a small piece of it between repeats. See how long you can make the story. It really motivates you to get to the end of the pool fast (and start telling the “never ending” story).
28. Get some support!!! Talk to some friends about motivation and every day support each other, encourage each other and motivate each other.
29. Put some photos of Michael Phelps, Natalie Coughlin and other swimming greats up on your wall. Imagine about what they would be doing, what they would be thinking and how they would be training each day.
30. Finish off one task every day. Nothing motivates you like finishing something! Might be something as simple as homework. Or a chore at home. Just finish something.
31. Shave down in training, no reason it just feels great.
32. Stay positive. Everyone has tough days, the difference is in how you allow the tough days make you feel. Tough times fade, tough people never do.
33. Say one positive, encouraging thing to every person in the team: coaches, swimmers, parents, pool attendants, everyone. You will be surprised how motivating others will motivate you.
34. Believe anything is possible, never, ever stop believing that.
35. Buy yourself a new, fast swimming costume.
36. Switch your brain on to something else. Focus on improving in another area of your life, school, music, another sport. Success breeds success.
37. Remember the three best things that ever happened to you. Just the thought of these amazing things will change the way you look at life.
38. Put up motivation quotes all over the place. Some good places are next to your alarm clock, on your swim bag, on the top of the bathroom mirror and in your training diary.
39. Get to training early and motivate some of the younger swimmers in your club. They look up to you and admire you the same way you look up to and admire older and more successful swimmers. Being a role model for others will trigger some really great, positive motivation messages in your brain.
40. Be the first. For example, get to the pool first on January 1st and be the first in the team to swim a lap, a mile, two miles, five miles and so on. Striving to be the first is a great driving force and very motivating.
41. Try a new sports drink, sports bar or a new all natural diet. Motivate your “inside”.
42. Do something everyday that is “impossible”. Try kicking 50 metres underwater at maximum speed. Or sprinting 60 metres on a single breathe. Or aiming to do a PR from a wall push off (i.e. no dive). Keep trying one impossible thing each day and sooner or later the impossible becomes reality.
43. Form a triathlon team with two friends at school who cycle and run and enter in a local triathlon.
44. Lead the team cheers at your next meet. Even better, get some of your team together and write some new team cheers and lead them at the next meet.
45. Allow yourself to be proud of you. Look in the mirror and take time to realise what an amazing person you are.
46. Do something away from the pool to help your swimming. Take an aerobics class to improve your fitness. Do a martial arts course to build strength, balance and confidence. Take up dancing to improve rhythm and co-ordination.
47. Play a counting game. Swimmers are great at these. Count tiles, laps, turns, breaths, strokes…you know the drill.
48. Have repeat or two in each set which is perfect. If you are swimming 10 x 50 always make the second, fifth, eighth and tenth ones perfect.
49. Challenge someone much faster than you to a race at the end of training. Nothing motivates like a real challenge.
50. Smile. It is impossible to smile and not feel better.

Wayne Goldsmith & Helen Morris

The eternal coaching question – how much speed is necessary for endurance athletes?

At the present time in world swimming there are many opportunities for swimmers who are capable of sustaining fast speeds over middle and long distance races. Particularly in woman’s swimming where World and Australian Records have stood for many years, the ability to be fast over 400, 800 and 1500 metres presents a great opportunity for the female swimmer prepared to do a little work and focus on these events.

There is no doubt that endurance is a key factor in these events. However, there is no question that competitive endurance athletes need some speed.

1. In close competitions the ability to sprint fast away from the opposition or to a point in the race is important. In open water swimming for example, a burst of speed might be important to break away from a pack of swimmers, to sprint to a turning buoy first or to sprint from one pack up to another.
2. The ability to explode off the start, in and out of turns and over the final five metres in a tight finish is also important.
3. Developing the ability to swim faster training repeat times over one season or many seasons is dependent on having improved endurance and being faster over a single effort.

In the preparation of middle and long distance swimmers it is important to balance the amount of speed with the amount of endurance in the training program.

For example:

Training goal = 24 x 100 metres on 1:45 Holding 1:10 (best 100 time in competition = 1:09)
In this training set, the swimmer is aiming to hold one minute ten seconds for each 100 metre effort. However, as the swimmer’s best time for a single 100 metre effort in competition is 1:09 it is unlikely that holding 1:10 for twenty four 100’s is possible to achieve.

The principles of Energy system specificity suggest that maintaining 100% maximum for longer than 6-10 seconds is not possible. Therefore, it is logical to say that in most sporting events athletes spend the majority of training and competition working at sub maximal intensities.

In reality most athletes have difficulty maintaining more than 90% of maximum for very long.

Should the swimmer’s best time for a single 100 metre swim be 1:02 – 1:03 and importantly they have done adequate endurance training to resist the fatigue of swimming many 100’s, then holding 1:10 is far more realistic.

This, then, is the challenge. To enable the swimmer to swim faster than 1:09 they need do have done some speed training to develop that speed. Yet, to maintain 1:10 over 24 x 100 metres also requires great endurance.

Speedand endurance are in fact two sides of the same coin. Both are needed if the swimmer is to achieve maximum potential.

For example:

If a swimmer’s 100 metre best time is 60 seconds, it is likely and logical that their best 50 metre time is around 27.5-28 seconds. To swim a 27.5-28.0 second 50 metre swim, it is likely that the swimmer can swim around 12.5-13.5 seconds for 25 metres. And to swim 25 metres in 12.5 seconds requires the development of genuine speed.

Three of Australia’s leading male middle and long distance swimmers in recent years are Olympic Gold Medallists Kieren Perkins, Grant Hackett and Ian Thorpe. At a distance of 400 metres these three swimmers are able to swim around 3 minutes 45 seconds or an average time per 100 metres of around 56 seconds. In competition Perkins, Hackett and Thorpe have gone much faster over the first 100 metres (approximately 53-54 seconds) in middle and long distance races.

In order to go out at that speed they must not be at 100% or maximum speed or they would “blow up”. They must have a “speed reserve” and be at a relatively comfortable pace over the first 100 metres or their last 300 metres would be very slow owing to the level of fatigue, lactic acid etc.

When you consider that the 100 metres best time for the three swimmers is around 50 seconds it can be argued that they have a speed reserve i.e. traveling at 56 seconds per 100 metres is reasonably comfortable as it is approximately 6 seconds outside their best time.

In female distance swimming the benchmark is US swimmer Janet Evans whose world records set in the 1980’s still stand. Her world record marks in the 400 and 800 metres freestyle were seconds faster than the winning times for both events at the 1996 and 2000 Olympics. Her 400 metres freestyle world record of 4:03 is outstanding. Her 8:16 remarkable. Her endurance capacities are unmatched, yet, if her best 100 metre time was only 1:02, these fast times over longer distances would be impossible. Obviously she had the ability to swim fast and to sustain speed over 400, 800 and 1500 metres.

The Concept of Speed Reserve

The concept of Speed Reserve suggests that the limiting factor in Eliteendurance performance will be speed. This is not to say that speed alone is the key to endurance success.

Endurance training, long aerobic work and steady rhythmic sets are the core elements of the distance swimming program. However, in the end it is not so much the swimmer’s ability to swim long distances but to sustain high speeds for long periods that will win races over 400, 800 and 1500 metres.

A swimmer who struggles to break 1 minute for 100 freestyle, is unlikely to break 2 minutes for 200 freestyle or even come close to 4 minutes for 400 and so on.
However, a swimmer with a 55 second 100 and a solid endurance background has every possibility of swimming sub 2:00 and sub 4:00 because of the speed reserve factor.

Periodisation and Speed Reserve.

Over time, swimmers aim to swim their training sets at faster times.

For example:
Season one: Training Goal = 10 x 200 freestyle holding 3:30
Season two: Training Goal = 10 X 200 freestyle holding 3:20
Season three: Training Goal = 10 x 200 freestyle holding 3:10
In each season the swimmer is getting fitter, stronger, maturing, perhaps growing and improving.

However, swimming faster times in training sets is dependent on two key factors:

• The swimmer’s endurance ability is improving
• The swimmer’s best time is improving.

The trick is to combine the development of SPEED with the much needed ENDURANCE so that over time both improve allowing the swimmer to:

• Do more work
• Do more work faster
• Do more work faster with less rest
• Swim faster in single efforts

Coaching Implications:

Develop real speed in endurance athletes in addition to developing endurance. In the end, the limiting factor to endurance performance will be a combination of speed, enduranceand technical ability (swimming technique and skill).

The optimal conditions for speed development are:

• Glycogen repleted
• Hydrated
• Motivated
• Interested – focused
• Un-fatigued
• Low levels of lactic acid

Within these conditions, swimmers have the ideal physiological and psychological conditions to develop real speed.
These conditions are generally found at the beginning of sessions. However, there is a strong argument to do speed sessions at the end of workouts when race conditions are more closely simulated. That said, it is unrealistic to expect that speed improvements can occur in those conditions experienced at the end of workouts. The emphasis should be on technical proficiency and stroke control at speed when tired rather than on speed alone.

Speed development Workout Structure (Optimal Conditions)

• Warm up
• Stretch

Speed development

• Easy Swim
• Stretch
• Easy, relaxed swim session
• Swim Down

Speed Training at the End of Sesions(see T.U.F. Training)

• Warm up
• Stretch
• Skills / Technique
• Fitness / Main set

Speed training – emphasis on technique and distance per stroke

• Swim Down
• Stretch

The development of real speed is very much neuromuscular (nervous system and muscles working together). What type of training activities stimulate neuro muscular development?

• Short distances
• Long rests
• Limited reps
• Stimulating environment

Develop speedand relaxation at the same time. Young swimmers in particular tend to “tighten up” and tense their muscles when asked to go fast. “The faster you want to go, the more relaxed you have to be”.

The latest thinking on overspeed work, i.e. pulling or pushing swimmers at faster speeds than they can go under their own power to try and force an improvement in speed, suggests that technique should not be compromised for overspeed training. The old “spinning arms” drills for freestyle and backstroke should be abandoned!!!!!Overspeed training should not be more than 1% – 2% faster than the swimmer can travel under their own power as at faster speeds, technique breakdown is significant. In a race, swimmers win by maintaining excellent technique and stroke control at maximum speed.

When developing speed in age group swimmers, often the trick is to keep their attention and maintain some order and discipline during the sets. Speed development sets are by their nature (long rests, short distances, stimulating environment) an open invitation for age groupers to lose focus and misbehave. It is important to have a range of sprint games on hand to maintain control of the workout.

Active recovery is the practice of doing a slow controlled swim between fast efforts. For example:

10 x 50 as Explode the first 15 metres, easy recovery swim 35 metres on 1:30 is an example of a speed development set with a fast explosive effort (15 metres) followed by an active recovery (35 metres).

The active recovery allows the swimmer to break down lactic acid and blow off carbon dioxide and provides the opportunity for the swimmer’s nervous system to recover. Active recovery is essential when doing repeated explosive speed intervals to ensure that the swimmer is capable of producing maximum speed each time.

Mark short distances on the side of the pool (5, 7.5, 10, 12.5, 15, 20 metres). These are important short distances for speed development work. By having them marked on the side of the pool (or even better marked with colored tiles on the bottom of the pool if you have an understanding pool owner) the coach can standardise the distances of speed intervals so they can be accurately recorded and tracked over time.

Speed development training can start with relatively young athletes. We know that the physiology of the young swimmer is capable of learning to swim fast. At around age 10, most athletes will possess:

• An almost fully developed aerobic potential (i.e. the potential to handle aerobic training loads and easy, low intensity training)
• The ability to learn new skills and learn complex co-ordinated movements
• The ability to produce fast movements through the co-ordination of the nervous system and muscular system.

However at the same time, we know that children do produce lactic acid but have difficulty dealing with it!

In coaching practice this means:

• Kids can do easy aerobic work.
• Kids can do stroke development work, technique work and skills work.
• Kids can do short sprints.

Kids will struggle with long, sustained sprints and in practice training sets such as 6 x 100 at Maximum speed with long rests / 8 x 50 at maximum speed with long rests etc should be avoided in young swimmers.

Like all swimming training activities, speed development is multi disciplinary. Maximum racing potential is achieved when the swimmer:

• Has a great technique
• Has excellent skills
• Has an excellent distance per stroke
• Has a strong desire to succeed and the motivation to go fast
• Has done the necessary strength, fitness and flexibility work
• Has maintained a high performance diet.

Having the physiological capacity to produce speed without the skills, attitude, technique etc to support that capacity will not produce optimum results.

Ten Speed Development Sets for Age Group Swimmers

1. 10 x 10 x 10. (Ten times 10 metres in ten minutes). Swimmers have ten minutes to produce 10 maximum speed swims over 10 metres. These can be from a wall outward or swimming in towards a wall. (TIP: When doing explosive starts that end mid pool i.e. not on the wall, have the swimmer finish with a race type finish and pretend (visualise) finishing on a wall. Having no wall is not an excuse for practicing sloppy finishes.
2. 15 x 15 x 15 (Fifteen times 15 metres in fifteen minutes)
3. 10 x 50 metres as 15 metres explode start, easy 35m with excellent technique
4. 10 x 50 metres as easy 35 with excellent technique – 15 metres explode finish.
5. Odds and evens of above (i.e. on the odds 1st, 3rd, 5th, 7th and 9th repeats first 15 metres are Explodes on the even repeats 2nd, 4th, 6th, 8th and 10th Explode the final 15 metres).
6. Half way Hots – (short course) Explode to half way. Rest 45 seconds. Explode to the other end. Repeat x 12.
7. Jump starts – Stand at half way (short course). Sink to the bottom, then spring quickly and powerfully up and forward. Use the momentum from the jump to help pick up speed. Explode to the wall.
8. Nine stroke power swims. Swim nine strokes at maximum speed in free and back. Note where you finish at the ninth stroke. Easy swim back to the start then try again. Goal is to see how far you can go on nine strokes at maximum speed. (Teaches distance per stroke at speed). For fly and breast try six strokes.
9. Super speed with a friend. Have a teammate put on fins and grab a kick board. Side by side race to the 15 metre mark. Change over. On the way back to the wall, you use the fins and board and your team mate swims. Motivating. Develops team spirit. Develops fast swimming and fast kicking.
10. Dive explodes. Just as it sounds – dive in and explode for 10-15 metres. Swim slowly to the other end of the pool. Repeat x 8-12.

Speed Reserve Summary

Distance swimmers need to have a program that is based on endurance training and aerobic development. This type of training helps develop the physiological and biomechanical factors that lead to efficient movement. It also helps develop rhythm and relaxation – two crucial factors in swimming successfully over the longer distances.

However, the emphasis needs to be on endurance and speed. Being able to swim 100 x 100 metres at a speed 5 seconds off your best time does not in itself guarantee being able to swim well over longer distances IF your best time is not very fast.

The aim at elite level is to be able to swim as close as possible to maximum speed for an extended period of time. If maximum speed is not very fast, then all the swimmer can do is sustain mediocrity. A swimmer not capable of breaking one minute for 100 freestyle is unlikely to come close to two minutes for 200 freestyle or four minutes for 400 freestyle, etc etc.

Whilst it is difficult to develop enduranceand speedsimultaneously, all programs should include a logical mix of both.

My thanks to Track and Field Sprint Coach and Sports Scientist Adrian Faccioni and leading Australian Distance Running Coach, Sports Scientist and author Dr Dick Telford for their inspiration for this article.

Wayne Goldsmith