Swimming
How mental toughness training can make you a champion in the pool
Do you know how important your head is in your swimming? Are you aware that most races are won and lost before the start? The difference between your best and worst races is always related to what you think about and focus on right before and during your swims! This is why swimmers consistently go faster in practice than they do in big meets, or faster in their off-events than their best ones! If you have dreams of becoming a champion, you have to start today to consistently work on the mental side of your swimming!
All the physical training and stroke-technique work in the world won’t help you if you get too nervous before your races, concentrate on the wrong things, are unable to let go of past bad swims, think negatively, or lack self-confidence.
If some of these questions bother you, then you probably already know how critically important the mental part of your sport is. If you want to take your performance to the next level, then you have to be willing to take your training far beyond where most shooters go. Most serious shooters religiously work on their shot technique. They’ll even work on their strength and fitness. They’ll tirelessly work on their hold and shot plan. Is this stuff important? Absolutely! You can’t become successful without “paying your physical dues” in this way. Hard work is definitely one of the main keys to your success. Without it, you’ll never shoot to your potential.
Unfortunately, this is where shooters stop. When they go into competitions, they hope they’ll perform well, they hope that they’ll have their “A” game with them today, they hope that they’ll score well enough to win or at least final. You’d never leave your physical technique to chance. So why would you leave the most important part of your shooting – the mental side – to chance?
Use your pre-race routine to stay calm and composed before your big races.
- Focus only on YOUR pre-race routine as you prepare to race.
- Keep your concentration on the feel of what you are doing, while you do it, (i.e. as you stretch, focus on the feel of your stretch and nothing else).
- When your concentration drifts to other swimmers or your times, quickly bring your focus back to the routine.
- Be prepared to bring your focus back as many times as you drift, both before and during the race.
If some of these questions bother you, then you probably already know how critically important the mental part of your sport is. If you want to take your performance to the next level, then you have to be willing to take your training far beyond where most shooters go. Most serious shooters religiously work on their shot technique. They’ll even work on their strength and fitness. They’ll tirelessly work on their hold and shot plan. Is this stuff important? Absolutely! You can’t become successful without “paying your physical dues” in this way. Hard work is definitely one of the main keys to your success. Without it, you’ll never shoot to your potential.
Unfortunately, this is where shooters stop. When they go into competitions, they hope they’ll perform well, they hope that they’ll have their “A” game with them today, they hope that they’ll score well enough to win or at least final. You’d never leave your physical technique to chance. So why would you leave the most important part of your shooting – the mental side – to chance?
A swimmer in the middle of a lifetime-best swim is totally focused on feel and not on their thoughts.
Swimming fast comes as a result of you focusing on the feel of what you are doing: i.e. how much water you’re pulling, your turn-over rate, your kick, staying long, etc. Focusing on FEEL is the “gas pedal” in the pool. Focusing on what you are thinking about slows you down and is the “brake pedal!”
Why do swimmers go faster in their off-events?
In her off-events, this swimmer never put pressure on herself. She had no expectations! She just relaxed and focused on her own race. She didn’t worry about other competitors or her times. However, in her best events, she’d think about her time and how fast her opponents were, and worry about failing. This made her too nervous and physically tight to swim fast. In a short amount of time, I helped her become aware of what she was doing wrong mentally, and then taught her how to correct her mental mistakes: how to better control her pre- and in-race focus so that she was able to swim her 200s like she did her off-events!
You’d never leave your physical training to chance, so why leave the mental part of your swimming up in the air. Start today to build your mental toughness and swim like a champion.
As a Sports Performance Consultant, Dr. G works with swimmers at every level from Olympians right down to age groupers. A popular presenter at coaches clinics and clubs around the country, Dr. G specializes in helping swimmers get unstuck and swimming fast when it counts the most. He is a regular contributor to USA Swimming’s Splash Magazine and USA Swimming.org. Dr. G is the author of Smoke on the Water, DMTS (Developing Mentally Tough Swimmers), Swimming Fast When It Counts The Most, and his newest mental toughness training program, Swimming With The Competitive Edge.
Resources
OVERCOMING PERFORMANCE FEARS AND BLOCKS
Are you struggling with a seemingly mysterious performance problem? Have you or your athlete suddenly lost BASIC abilities? FINALLY understand where this FRUSTRATING problem comes from and what you can do about it!
SWIM IN YOUR OWN LANE FOR FAST TIMES
One of the biggest and costliest mental mistakes made by swimmers at every level is getting too caught up with their competitors. Want to swim fast under pressure? Then you need to learn to “stay in your own lane” and keep your focus on…
STAYING IN THE “NOW” FOR VERY FAST SWIMS
I bet you never knew that swimmers have a brake pedal that they unknowingly use at all the wrong times. Here you are in your big race with 50 to go and tough opponents on both sides of you. Time to step on the gas and what do you do…
THE MENTAL SIDE OF ATHLETIC INJURIES The mental pain caused by your injury and the temporary or permanent loss of your sport can be far more devastating than the strained or torn ligaments, pulled muscles, ripped cartilage or broken bones. Unless this
