Three Tips to Help Get You Psyched Up to Swim – and Excel
At championship meets, getting psyched up for your next race can be easy. Anticipation and excitement cloud the atmosphere, while the thunderous beat of loud music matches the tempo of your racing heart. As you wait at the end of the lane for a gap in the swimmers, it is impossible not to feel the good kind of butterflies begin to wash over your body.
In these moments, you can almost taste the adrenaline. This hormone dump makes getting psyched to swim fast come easily.
But there are other moments when you are not riding on an adrenaline high, and you need to get psyched up on your own instead:
- Your stroke is off, or you are feeling inadequate in the water, and you need a boost of confidence to get your mind right.
- Maybe you are at a low-pressure meet or are swimming an off event in which your performance will have no implications for you or your career.
- It is the final day of a long meet, and you are (both mentally and physically) tired and sore.
- Or it is a sleepy morning, and they are playing low-key, contemporary music during warmups.
But whatever it may be, there are ways you can turn up the intensity and prepare yourself to swim at the peak of your ability– even if you are not feeling it in the moment.
Here are some ways you can get yourself psyched up to swim when it really matters:
1. Use Visualization to Get Fired Up
You have probably heard of the concept of visualization before. You find a quiet corner, close your eyes, and mentally rehearse your ideal race from start to finish.
The rough feeling of the textured block under your fingertips. The way your stroke feels as you glide through the water. Your explosiveness off the walls.
Since the brain has difficulty differentiating between imagined and real experiences, visualization gives you a taste of what it would feel like to absolutely crush it.
As you might guess, visualization has the incredible ability to get you psyched-up.
2. Amp Yourself Up
Something funny happens to swimmers at meets. They tend to rush through warmups and sit on cold, wet bleachers for a couple of hours, only to be surprised when they do not perform well.
Many forget that being mentally ready (psyched up) includes doing a proper and thorough warmup. Hopping in the pool for a physical warmup is not separate from getting mentally prepared to swim.
But you are likely familiar with this idea. Notice how there are practices where you feel tired or unmotivated, but after getting into the main set, you start to feel energized and ready to work? That is the power of being warmed-up and psyched to swim.
3. Use Positive, External Self-Talk
The way you talk to yourself in preparation of big moments plays a role in how perform. Positive self-talk has the power to improve mental concentration and boost strength – both of which will get you psyched up for a fast swim.
Phrases like, “I do not think I will swim well today, but I hope I do” are not only unproductive, but they also interfere with your ability to focus before a race and produce a good performance.
Instead, use motivational self-talk to get yourself fired up for a race:
“Let’s do this!”
“I’m excited to perform!”
“You got this!”
Use these psych-up techniques appropriately. Learn what works best for you, and make sure to utilize them when it’s time to turn up the intensity.
Similarly, use intensity appropriately. If you do not race until 7 p.m., you probably should not be pacing around your hotel room, getting psyched up at 5:30 a.m.
High intensity effort (sprint race or workout): get psyched! Low intensity (recovery or endurance event): get focused.
Apply these tips to your training and racing environments to see how you can take control of your performance.