|
Having a well developed competitive routine:
1.- High levels of motivation and commitment
2.- Coping skills
3.- Self confidence 4.- Arousal management skills
One method is that when you are on the block, to imagine that there is a huge crowd watching and that this is
a huge race. This mentally prepares you for the big occasion, making it much easier for you when you are in that actual situation.
Change the occasion each time, and you can even pretend it's an Olympics or Pan Pacs race, there's absolutely no limits to
your imagination.
Another method is to experiment with using affirmations during training, repeating a positive statement
such as "power and speed" (or anything of your choice) over and over again, to the perfect rhythm of your stroke rate. This
does several things; it sends powerful messages to the subconscious mind, and also distracts the conscious mind (the primary
reason behind bad performances) from being involved in the swim, which is what you want.
I must emphasize the importance
of experimenting with this technique, as it works brilliantly for some, whilst others prefer not to use it at all.
The
affirmation can even be a song or tune you sing to yourself (which many swimmers use already), as this can be a great relaxer
for the mind and body, which promotes good performances.
If you find an affirmation that works well and seems to give
you a boost, try bringing it into your swims at meets.
Another method is to practice 'positive reinforcement' by asking
yourself each day before you train (or even race) "what do I love about swimming today?” and mentally go through a checklist
of all the things you think are great today. For example:
1. I feel great today. 2. My friends are here at training.
3. I love training in this pool. 4. I really want to put in a good training session today. 5. My coach is helpful and get
on well with him/her. 6. I'm practicing for a meet in 2 week's time. 7. I've had a great day so far.
This promotes
a positive thought pattern and positive emotional state, essential to strong performances. This is a great method which coaches
can get their swimmers to use before each session begins. This method can even help to bring a swimmer out of a bad mood that
may have come from an earlier experience that day.
Another method was suggested some months ago by another coach,
which was to: Each day (or week) challenge yourself to do 'the best turns (dives/kicks/etc) of my life today'. This focuses
your mind on one particular aspect of the swim rather than 'everything at once', which helps improve that area of your stroke,
and this works great for training (although it's not so effective for meets).
Yet another method is to imagine that
as you get towards the end of your sets, and you are feeling the pain beginning to build, imagine that your body is releasing
'energy' into your body which kills the pain and gives your body a huge boost of energy.
In reality, this is what
your body can actually do. Your body contains natural morphine, which is designed to kill pain whenever we need it, which
is released into the painful area by the subconscious mind. Practicing this technique daily can literally lead to training
and racing almost pain-free.
Your attitude to training is a good indicator of how you will perform in the meets. Begin
making mental training a part of your daily routine, and you will notice some major improvements.
What’s
the most important aspect at the highest level of the sport? TO
FEEL.
The ability to HOLD ON to the water rather than muscle through it. The ability to apply optimal force rather than maximum
force.
There are swimmers with what “experts” describe as poor technique break world records while thrashing
through the water with poor head positions and huge kicks. Yet when you watch these swimmers under water, you can see that
their hands grab hold of a spot in the water and hold on to it. Rather than PULL their hands back, they hold on and move their
bodies PAST their anchored hands. It’s as if they see an invisible ladder stretched along the bottom of their lane,
and each time they put in a hand, they grab a rung and pull their body past it.
An elite swimmer can have fantastic
technique, and possess incredible mental toughness, strength, and endurance, but without FEEL he or she will be simply fast…not
the best. Without FEEL, even the strongest, most fit athlete will be humiliated by young swimmers who DO have it and understand
how to use it. Are the best athletes born with it? Some are and some are not. Most acquire it over time. It may come from
swimming 20,000 yards a day, and they’ve learned it through survival. For others, it comes from practicing over and
over again what the last 10 meters of their race feels like. ..... Keep practicing!
|
 |
|
