4 essentials for EVERY swim workout

I recently moved, and got a little out of my routine.

It meant I started doing things in a different order, missing workouts, and overall feeling disorganized.

But to avoid spiraling too far out of control, I kept a few things in mind each day:

– Do 10 minutes of meditation in the morning no matter what
– Move as much as possible, even if it’s not an “official” workout, just keep moving
– Breathe!

Sometimes we go into our days, and our workouts, in a rushed state, and just want to “get it done” and not think about it. Here are three things to keep in mind as essentials for every swim workout:

1. Breathe. This can be applied to anything, even going about your day. Remember to take deep belly breaths during the day to get the oxygen flowing through your body. During your workout, unless you’re working on some hypoxic drills, make sure you are getting enough air no matter what you’re doing. Triathlon swims are not sprints- getting oxygen is absolutely crucial to your success.

2. Be curious. Maybe this day, you’re just not feeling it. Try not to feel down! Just be curious where this is coming from. Is your body tired? Are you lacking motivation? It could be time to mix things up, do completely different things in your workout today (i.e. sprint, kick, work on specific drills, dryland, etc.).

Or maybe you are feeling fast and strong. Get curious about this. How can you repeat this feeling the next time? How did you sleep? Eat? Good to have those markers to go off of on these “good days”.

3. Keep focused. (Okay, I could have used the word “mindful” but it’s overdone!) Pay attention to each stroke, each kick. Count your strokes on the longer swims. Think about your head position, feet, hand extension- just one thing at a time. The more focused you are, the more fun you will have!

4. Pay attention to quality over quantity. Okay, I know, triathletes love metrics- how many meters, how many laps, how much time, etc….and I’m not saying this is “bad” per say, as it can serve as some motivation to do better each week. However, there can be a little too much emphasis on quantity. Instead, with each lap, think about the purpose.

If you did 2700 meters one day, and you felt good and accomplished what you needed to, is it really necessary to do that extra 300 to get in your “even 3000”? If you’re doing a sprint workout, remember, the intensity is what matters- your workout could be over in 20 minutes and there’s nothing wrong with that!

Keep these 4 tips in mind whenever you do a swim workout, and you’ll experience the difference- more motivation, more consistency, fewer plateaus, and less boredom!

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