By Natalia Kaczor, Swimming World College Intern
With winter vacations in full swing, many college swim teams are taking training trips to areas with warmer weather. This is the pinnacle of training for many teams, often composed of doubles and tough practices every day. Even though the training is grueling, being somewhere other than training on campus makes the week special. Here are five tips on how to survive these grueling training trips:
1. Stay hydrated.
Photo Courtesy: Sue Borst
This one may seem like a no-brainer, but drinking enough water is crucial to surviving the long week, especially while training outdoors in the heat and sun. Water helps you refuel and speed up recovery after a hard practice. You can find some hydration tips from the NCAA here.
2. Eat nutritiously.
Photo Courtesy: Masahiro Ihara
Refueling after every workout will help you maintain good performance in practice for the week. Make sure to eat your proteins and carbs, but don’t forget fruits and veggies. If you’re traveling to a different country, you may want to bring granola bars, boxed pasta, or any snacks that you know you like, just in case the diet of that country isn’t the same one you’re used to.
3. Stay out of the sun.
Photo Courtesy: Emily Messina
Being in the sun drains your energy! You need as much energy as you can to push yourself at each practice, so don’t set yourself back before you even jump into the pool. If you’re not a firm believer in using sunscreen, you may want to check out some reasons to use sunscreen.
4. Get enough sleep.
Photo Courtesy: Sophie Allen
Sleep, sleep, and more sleep! This is one of the most important things your body needs to replenish energy for each day of swimming. Although you may be tempted to stay up late and hang out with your teammates, you should be conscious of getting enough rest, especially if you are traveling to a place in a different timezone than where your school is.
5. Have fun!
Photo Courtesy: Rachel Lanam
Take in the whole experience! Everyone is going to be tired and sore, especially with a week full of doubles training. Share a laugh with your teammates, go out for a team dinner, take lots of pictures, and be thankful for the opportunity to train hard. The memories from training trips are sure to last a lifetime, especially if you turn them into a team video.
Even though training trips require 100% effort every day, it is not impossible to survive and have a fun time while doing so!
All commentaries are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Swimming World Magazine nor its staff
Mowgli
Rachel Lanam
Abby White
Isabella Cesareo
Dennis 4
Stap 1 zal eerst zijn ga op trainingskamp
Sws altijd 4
Murron