By Shunichi Fujishima, Swimming World College Intern.
Swim. School. Swim. Study. Sleep. Repeat. That’s the day-to-day of many swimmers.
It takes major commitment to be a swimmer because it feels as if each day you take off requires three additional days to get back into your rhythm. Swimmers consistently need to push their bodies to find something within themselves that they never knew existed. With your body repeatedly getting pushed to the limit, recovery becomes a vital part of the whole process. “Recovery” is an essential component for anyone trying to improve in any facet of life.
Physical Recovery
Whether you’re swimming as a hobby or you’re a high student trying to make it to a Division I program, your body needs to recover in order to keep doing what it’s doing. And while recovery is even more important for an elite athlete, everyone has their own daily causes of stress. This cumulative stress requires one to take time off and recover, regardless of their level of competition. Physical recovery can come in many forms: sports massage, ice bath, extra sleep, stretching, replenishing food stores, wearing compression clothing, etcetera.
Mental Recovery
In order to be in your best self, your emotional and mental health need as much recovery as your muscles. Here are a few activities that may help you take a mental vacation from our arduous sport.
1. Mini golf.
Photo Courtesy: Esteban Lagarde
Escape with some teammates to a mini-golf course and concentrate on the not-so-serious task at hand. You’ll be taking your mind off the blue as you compete on the green.
2. Take a hike.
Photo Courtesy: Adam Bautz
Swimmers at Iolani Swim Club in Hawaii go hiking as a team. A hike is a brilliant mental refresher because you’re still doing something fitness-oriented.
3. Surf…if that’s an option!
Photo Courtesy: Arena International
Many clubs with a beach near them go for a morning swim in the ocean to change it up. Chad le Clos of South Africa, and Australian swimmer, Thomas Fraser-Holmes, love to go surfing on their day offs. Le Clos even has his own surf wear collection through his sponsor, arena. Surfing helps you get in touch with the water in a whole different way than in the pool. Swimmers can pick this hobby up easily since we innately know how to paddle.
4. Pick up another team sport for a day.
Photo Courtesy: Tony Alter
Swimmers at the University of the Pacific love to play basketball and go for a competitive session of ultimate frisbee to be active and revive the mind beyond the pool.
5. Dine with friends.
Photo Courtesy: Cathleen Pruden
Just going to lunch with your best friends could help reset the mindset. A swimmer friend of mine would sing karaoke to release his stress. Having a balanced lifestyle is very important to the mental health of any level of swimmer.
Your mental, physical, and emotional sides have a triangular connection. In order to be successful, all three aspects must be worked on and given time off. With so much of their time spent in and around the pool, sometimes swimmers just need to connect to the outside world. Keeping the mind off of swimming is a challenge to a lot of competitive swimmers, but it’s as important as working hard in the pool. Take time to recover and get back to the grind with a refreshed mentality.
All commentaries are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Swimming World Magazine nor its staff.
Julianna Bender Margaret M. Bender Stacey Donovan SmitStacey Donovan Smith
Step 1 don’t play sports of you can’t hack it
Step 2 go live in a third world country for a month with no food or water
Step 3 realize you are just a whiner