By Brian Honicky, Swimming World College Intern
The late spring and early summer months are an interesting time for college and club swimmers alike. Peak competition season has likely passed, and swimmers are often left in a sort of limbo off-season period for at least a few weeks to even several months. This can be an amazing time of much deserved rest and relaxation, but if taken advantage of can also give a great head start to someone looking to get an extra edge on their skills and training.
Here are some tips on how to make the most of this time of the year that can become a pivotal phase of training.
1. Take a Break
Photo Courtesy: Liam Cosgrove
First and foremost, I am a firm believer in the importance of letting your body rest. Coming directly out of season, you’ve most likely been training non-stop for a championship meet, and your body and mind have both been considerably broken down. As long as you don’t have any major competitions coming up, it’s important to take at least a week out of the water to let yourself reflect on your season and get a break from the exhaustion of the demanding training season that you’ve been keeping up with for so many months.
As swimmers we tend to spend too much time thinking about our sport. Being preoccupied with training, practices, and meets can take a serious toll on an athlete. Take some time for yourself to relax and get your mind off of the sport. Focus on school work, hobbies, or family, and you will feel much more refreshed and ready to get back in the water when the right time comes.
2. Hit Reset
Photo Courtesy: Bob Stanton-USA TODAY Sports
When you are ready to get back in the water, whether on your own or in a team setting, the off season is a perfect time to get back to the basics of swimming. Forget for a while about the results of your previous season and take the time to really focus on rebuilding your stroke technique from the ground up. If you’re working with a coach, ask as many questions as you can about stroke technicalities. Count your strokes, use equipment, or ask a friend to film your swims so that you can really see what areas may need the most improvement.
This is the perfect time to start off on a completely blank page, and to start doing the little things correctly from day one. Practice a stroke that you don’t normally focus on! You have to be willing to make changes, sometimes fairly significant ones, if you want to be able to improve. Your times won’t drop if you aren’t willing to do anything different, so now is the time to start implementing those changes. If you take the time to put serious thought into your off season swimming, it can make all the difference when you get back into serious training. You won’t have to think about your technique at all if you have already perfected it, so take the time to make the most out of the more relaxed training sessions that you have.
3. Switch It Up
Photo Courtesy: Local Fitness
The traditional practice schedule with dryland workouts or lifting can tend to get monotonous throughout the regular season. It can be very beneficial to try out some different ways to stay in shape during off-season or spring training. Getting a break from staring at the black line at the bottom of the pool is exactly what some people need to clear their head for a fresh start.
Try things that will be beneficial to your swimming, but that don’t require you to do endless laps on a daily basis. Going for long runs outside can be great for cardio workouts and a change of scenery. You could also take the time to focus on strength training and flexibility by doing yoga or more traditional dryland workout sets. For sprinters, the off season can be crucial to get more time in the weight room to work on lifting and bulking up in order to really get a head start on building muscle and giving yourself more power that will go a long way when it comes time to race. Get creative with the different ways that you like to stay in shape!
4. Train with Others
Photo Courtesy: Rob Schumacher/USA Today Sports Images
It can be incredibly tempting to spend most of your free off-season time completely away from any sort of gym or a pool. If you find the couch or your bed calling your name more often than not during the week, a great solution can be to find a training partner or group. If your team offers spring training practices or workout options, take advantage of them.
Being with a group of other swimmers in the same situation as you, also looking to make the most out of their off season can be a great motivator. If not, reach out to a friend or a teammate who is close by who you think would be a good partner! If both of you decide to invest your time into making yourselves better, you will be able to hold each other accountable for getting in the pool or the weight room much more effectively than if you try on your own. There will be days where your motivation to get out of the house and train will be low, but if you have someone to do it with it will make it much easier.
Those are just a few basic tips on how to start making the most of the off-season! If you follow a few of these steps, your preparation will absolutely pay off when the time comes to get racing. Don’t be too hard on yourself if you find yourself skipping a day here and there– you’ve been training hard for an entire season and taking a break every once and a while is definitely not a bad thing.
Ingrid, Bob, Suzanne