By Alice Reeves-Turner, Swimming World College Intern.
Whatever the level of meet, whether it be a junior event or the Olympic games, all swimmers have a pre-race ritual. This may simply be listening to a specific piece of music, eating a specific meal or a specific set of stretches– whatever the level of complexity of our behaviour before a meet, all swimmers believe that these things will help us improve in our race. Although these little quirks make us feel good on race day, there are many things that a swimmer can do which guarantee they will achieve their full potential…
1. Sleep
We all know know we should get around 8 hours sleep a night, however with the pressures of balancing training and the other commitments of life there are very few swimmers who can manage that every night. To improve performance at a meet, swimmers should try to get a solid night of sleep before a race. Studies have shown that athletes who sleep better are more likely to achieve as they can concentrate better.
2. Diet
Swimmers are renowned for their enormous diets, with Micheal Phelps featured on an NBC special eating 12,000 calories a day before his retirement. But this does not mean that swimmers eat the right things. Many never see their full potential because they never take time to focus on food. By quite simply eating the rights things and having a balanced diet, a swimmer is guaranteed to improve there performance.
3. Training
It seems logical that if you try hard in training you will achieve more in races, however some of us seem to forget that when faced with a tough training session. Hard work pays off. Despite the temporal pain a hard training session can cause it will pay off in the end.
4. Mindset
Going into a race with a good mentality can make all the difference. In fact, studies have found that if someone goes into anything with a negative viewpoint they are less likely to perform to their full potential. So, the next time you think a negative thought prior to a race about your performance, banish it from your thoughts and rocket into a world of happier, faster swimming.
All commentaries are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Swimming World Magazine nor its staff.
