Any former competitive swimmer can attest to spending as much time away from the pool once their careers are over. Most, especially those who have been swimming ever since they had baby teeth, have become too sick of being tan and proverbially smelling like chlorine that they literally put their suits and gear in a cardboard box and stow them away in the deepest recesses of their closets. Who could blame them? For ten plus years, they have swam lap after lap after lap twice a day, seven days a week preparing for competitions almost every other weekend. While some are given renumeration for their hardwork--athletic-scholarships in high school or college--the monotony of swimming makes it difficult to constantly be loyal to its responsibilities and obligations. Fast-forward a few months after retiring, you look at the mirror and see the physical changes your body has made. Gone are the washboard abs, barrel chest, chiseled shoulders, bulging biceps and V-shaped body. Replacing them are the dreaded fats you never had to deal with only a few months before. Then, you realize that you are at a crossroads of sorts. You can continue rebelling from what you have done for so long and slowly watch your swimmer's body disappear or you can reconcile with your sport and work your way back into shape.
A couple of weeks ago, I found myself in the same situation. While I generally did not mind my muscles turning into fat and my "V-ody" slowly disappearing--after all, I was retired--I realized just how difficult my future would be if I continue my post-swimming career foolishness. Cutting the long story short, I realized the many health risks I was setting myself up for and decided right then and there to do something about it. Without thinking twice, I took out my gear and headed to the pool to do some laps and gauge my current physical condition. After that painful morning, I created my personal swim program which would more or less get me back into shape. After my first week of said program, I can honestly say that I am on the right track.
I do not want to divulge the specifics of my program but I will offer some advise which will help you craft your own program.
1. Know what you want and set your goal.
The last thing you want to do is to swim blind. Before you put on your suit and goggles, ask yourself what you are swimming for and why you are swimming again. Whether it is to lose weight, enjoy the water or mount a comeback to competitive swimming, the key is to know what you are after. When you do know it, set your goals. Be sure to make them SMART too (Specific, Measurable, Achievable, REALISTIC and TIME BOUND). Draw motivation from such goals because it is all on you this time around.
2. Remember what type of swimmer you were.
"Once a swimmer, always a swimmer," I always say. No matter how much you fight or run away from it, you will always be a swimmer. The sooner you embrace that fact, the faster you will regaining aquatic fitness. That said, remember the kind of swimmer that you were--in training and in competitions. Recall your strengths and weaknesses; were you more of kicker or a puller? Did you have excellent underwater techniques? Did you thrive breathing less or more? What was your stroke count in your specialty stroke or S1 and freestyle?
If you kept a journal during your career, you might want to take it out and read through it to refresh your memory. Remembering what type of swimmer you were will help you determine what you need to work on which leads us to...
3. Gauge your current physical condition and reconcile it with what you used to do.
Before thinking of and putting your workout on paper, find out what type of condition you are in. Go to the pool and swim a normal competition style warm up. I suggest you do a 400-300-200-100 combination of swim-pull-kick-swim. After which, do some time trial sets for your 50 and 100 freestyle and S1. If you are daring, time your 100 and 200 IM as well. You will have a pretty good idea of where you are standing after that.
While you swim, take note of the things you cannot do easily anymore. Once you dive in the pool, your movements are automatic no matter how much time you spend away. As automatic as some of your movements are, notice what you strain to do this time around. Be it your trunk rotation, catch, stroke recovery, tumble-turn or any specifics, keep them in mind. You will have to factor these in when you make your own workouts later.
4. Take it easy then work yourself up.
When I swam for the first time a couple of week ago, the worst mistake I made was thinking I could pick up where I left off. I knew from experience that I could not do that but the snob in me was too determined to convince myself that I was still capable of all the things I used to do. The result? Sore muscles all over and a pretty nasty headache.
No matter how much of an elite athlete you once were, keep in mind that you spent quite sometime away from the pool. As our coaches always said, even a day away from swimming makes it difficult to stay on track on the path to achieving your goals. What more if you are gone for more than a couple of months?
Take it easy your first time out. Get your comfort and water-feel back before even considering subjecting yourself to tough endurance and speed swims. Unless you are planning to jumpstart your path to competitive swimming, slowly and easy is the name of the game.
When I swam for the first time a couple of week ago, the worst mistake I made was thinking I could pick up where I left off. I knew from experience that I could not do that but the snob in me was too determined to convince myself that I was still capable of all the things I used to do. The result? Sore muscles all over and a pretty nasty headache.
No matter how much of an elite athlete you once were, keep in mind that you spent quite sometime away from the pool. As our coaches always said, even a day away from swimming makes it difficult to stay on track on the path to achieving your goals. What more if you are gone for more than a couple of months?
Take it easy your first time out. Get your comfort and water-feel back before even considering subjecting yourself to tough endurance and speed swims. Unless you are planning to jumpstart your path to competitive swimming, slowly and easy is the name of the game.
5. Do not shortchange yourself.
The difficulty about swimming alone--if you do train alone now--is that you rely solely on yourself. There is no coach to watch you on the pool deck nor do you have teammates to compete with or even have the comfort of someone suffering the same workout. That said, the temptations are greater. When you feel fatigue, an almost insatiable desire to no longer push yourself to finish the sets in. It will take great amounts of maturity and focus to rise above such temptations when you train alone.
The thing to remember is to never shortchange yourself. I will not tell you to cut down on your workouts; as a former athlete, you ought to understand well enough the consequences of such actions. But what I will tell you is to never settle for anything less than what you think and know you deserve. At the end of the day, the only fool you are kidding is yourself every time you give in to the temptation of slacking off. Which leads me to my last advice.
The difficulty about swimming alone--if you do train alone now--is that you rely solely on yourself. There is no coach to watch you on the pool deck nor do you have teammates to compete with or even have the comfort of someone suffering the same workout. That said, the temptations are greater. When you feel fatigue, an almost insatiable desire to no longer push yourself to finish the sets in. It will take great amounts of maturity and focus to rise above such temptations when you train alone.
The thing to remember is to never shortchange yourself. I will not tell you to cut down on your workouts; as a former athlete, you ought to understand well enough the consequences of such actions. But what I will tell you is to never settle for anything less than what you think and know you deserve. At the end of the day, the only fool you are kidding is yourself every time you give in to the temptation of slacking off. Which leads me to my last advice.
6. Always remember what you are swimming for.
Never forgot why you are swimming again and what you are swimming for this time around. Whether it be because you are mounting a comeback or losing a few pounds, always keep in mind your reasons every time you take the pool. Remember them especially when the temptation to quit is strong. It may be easier said than done but keep that fire alive and burning white-hot. That drive to accomplish whatever it is you set out to do will be your best friend during your quest to regain your aquatic fitness.
Keep track of your progress too. Write about it, keep it in mind, post it on your wall; do whatever it takes to record what you are going through. Trust me; this will be more helpful to you in more ways that you could possibly imagine during that long winding road to get back in shape.
I hope that this post can help all of you former swimmers wanting to return to the pool anytime soon. If you have any comments and suggestions about regaining that pool fitness, leave a comment and I'll get back at you as soon as I can.
On a personal note, I am on my second week of my own swimming program. It's been tough but I feel that I am on the right track. With the right amount of dedication, discipline and diligence, I think I will be able to make this work.
Take Your Mark!
Never forgot why you are swimming again and what you are swimming for this time around. Whether it be because you are mounting a comeback or losing a few pounds, always keep in mind your reasons every time you take the pool. Remember them especially when the temptation to quit is strong. It may be easier said than done but keep that fire alive and burning white-hot. That drive to accomplish whatever it is you set out to do will be your best friend during your quest to regain your aquatic fitness.
Keep track of your progress too. Write about it, keep it in mind, post it on your wall; do whatever it takes to record what you are going through. Trust me; this will be more helpful to you in more ways that you could possibly imagine during that long winding road to get back in shape.
I hope that this post can help all of you former swimmers wanting to return to the pool anytime soon. If you have any comments and suggestions about regaining that pool fitness, leave a comment and I'll get back at you as soon as I can.
On a personal note, I am on my second week of my own swimming program. It's been tough but I feel that I am on the right track. With the right amount of dedication, discipline and diligence, I think I will be able to make this work.
Take Your Mark!
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