Courtesy of DR. Andrew Chadeayne, inventor of SwimSpray and a US Masters Swimming National Champion. SwimSpray is a SwimSwam partner.
The Seattle Seahawks are off to a 2-0 start this season. Notably, Seahawks quarterback Russell Wilson got the best of his NFC West rival Colin Kaepernick this past Sunday with a convincing 29-3 win over the 49ers. And he did it by relying heavily on his star running back, Marshawn Lynch. Although many factors go into exceptional performance on the field, this pair of stars both spend time in the pool. Could swimming be the Seahawk superstars’ secret sauce? If so, we hope they are washing away the chlorine before taking the field so that they don’t sweat chlorine.
Swimming could be Russell Wilson’s Secret Weapon
Swimming may provide the answer to Russell Wilson’s fantastic start to the 2013-2014 season. Although many variables factor into a quarterback’s performance, Russell Wilson may have shown us his secret weapon during an interview with Seattle’s King 5 News.
Just before training camp, on July 10th, 2013, Russell Wilson met with some high school and community college students at an Alaskan Airlines Hanger at Seattle Tacoma International Airport. In that interview, he explained why he felt ready for training camp and the upcoming season.
According to Russell Wilson, “I feel great. Body is feeling good, I’ve been swimming more,” he said. “I’ve been trying to get my conditioning up, running a lot. Working out a ton, so I feel great.”
A few days before that interview, James Deiparine used the Twitter handle @bigjdougie to report that he saw Russell Wilson swimming at the Bellevue Club pool. The Bellevue Club (Twitter handle @BellevueClub) added, “I bet he’s a decent swimmer too!”
On a personal note, my wife and I were attending Masters practice while Mr. Wilson was swimming. I can say with confidence that he appears to be an excellent swimmer . . . for an NFL star.
Could Wilson’s increased pre-season swimming provide reason for the Seahawks’s great start?
Admittedly, Russell Wilson has a lot going for him. For one, his ability to stay focused in the tense final moments of games inspires his teammates to rise to another level. As Wilson told the News Tribune on Sunday, “My dad used to always tell me that big-time players make big-time plays in big-time situations…. And I think that for me, I live up to that. I’m waiting for that moment. I’m relaxed in those moments. I try to be the calm in the storm for all of the other guys in the huddle.”
Clearly we are dealing with a phenomenal athlete—both mentally and physically—so it will remain hard to pinpoint the secret to Wilson’s success. Additionally, Wilson is only one player on a team comprised of other stars, like Marshawn Lynch. And, this Sunday’s win would not have been possible without Marshawn Lynch.
Marshawn Lynch Swims
Notably, Seahawks running back Marshawn Lynch is no stranger to the pool. Even before Russell Wilson explained that swimming was contributing to his conditioning, Lynch was competing in match races at his local pool. See video below.
The post above is courtesy of SwimSpray, a swimswam ad partner.
SwimSpray was invented by Dr. Andrew Chadeayne, a former Princeton University swimmer and chemistry Ph.D. from Cornell University. Tired of smelling like chlorine after his swimming workouts, Andrew set out remove chlorine from hair and skin ( SwimSpray works where so many other chlorine removal products (e.g., swimmers’ shampoos) have failed previously because SwimSpray’s all-natural vitamin C based formula breaks this bond, neutralizing the chlorine, and allowing it to be washed away with your favorite soap or shampoo. Follow him on Twitter @swimspray and fan him Facebook.
I use to see Russell at the pool at NC State quite frequently. He would usually be with the Baseball team though. They would come in to swim laps at NC State 2-3 times a week.
There is a standing race between Andrew Luck and a wonderful older lady who is on the Stanford Masters team when Luck is in town. I believe they are tied one win a piece.
We always pause the practice to cheer them on!
The Bengals’s underwater swimming contest was probably the highlight of this year’s Hard Knocks for me. The last video on this page is probably the worst attempt. But they were all awesome.