1. Step off the Pool Deck
This is the time to step back from your rigorous training and do other things. Swimmers are more than welcome to hop in the pool a few times to keep the feel for the water, but don’t hit the pool every day. Instead, use this opportunity to travel, hang out with friends and family, and explore other hobbies. As significant a part of your life as swimming is, leading a balanced lifestyle will help you maintain a good perspective and keep you from mentally burning out. Additionally, swimming less during this period will help your body repair chronic injuries that built up during training this year.
2. Be Smart about Cross-training
Every year, there seems to be one athlete who got too excited with cross training and returned to pre-season already injured. Don’t be that person. Take advantage of the sports and activities around you rather than sitting on the couch all break, but be smart about the movements you engage in. For example, running all break when you normally never run could lead to injury because your body is less used to high-impact cardio exercise. Instead, opt for a variety of activities that are both fun and social. Go hiking and biking. Try surfing, stand-up paddle boarding, or water-skiing if it is available to you. Play sports with friends. Maintaining your fitness this way can be easy and fun instead of seeming like a chore.
3. Maintain your Strength
Getting back into training in a few weeks will be a much easier transition if you maintain your baseline level of strength. This does not require much investment on your part during your break either. You can do a 30-45 min weight room session a few times per week, or if you do not lift weights yet, you can get in a few sets of pull-ups, push ups, and squats every other day. This will not only maintain your muscle tissue, but it will also keep your body used to the pattern of movements you normally engage in for dryland. You’ll stay fitter during your break and feel better when training starts back up.
Keep these tips in mind for the next couple of weeks, and enjoy your well-deserved break!
ABOUT BRIDGEATHLETIC
BridgeAthletic works with elite professional, collegiate, and club swimming programs to provide a turnkey solution for dryland training. Led by Nick Folker, the top swimming strength and conditioning coach in the world, our team builds stroke-specific, custom-optimized dryland programs for each of our clients. The individualized workouts are delivered directly to athletes via our state of the art technology platform and mobile applications. Check Nick and BridgeAthletic out as recently featured in SwimSwam.
ABOUT NICK FOLKER
Nick Folker is the Co-Founder and Director of Elite Performance at BridgeAthletic. Nick’s roster of athletes includes 35 Olympians winning 22 Olympic Medals, 7 team NCAA Championships and over 170 individual and relay NCAA championships. Megan Fischer-Colbrie works as the Sports Science Editor at BridgeAthletic. Megan was a four-year varsity swimmer at Stanford, where she recently graduated with a degree in Human Biology. The Championship Series by BridgeAthletic is designed to empower athletes with tips from the pros that will help them reach peak performance come race day. We will be covering competition-focused topics such as nutrition, recovery, stretching, and mental preparation.
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Swimming News / Swim Training courtesy of BridgeAthletic, a SwimSwam partner.
