3 Reasons to Embrace the Process of Achieving Your Swimming Goals

By Olivier Leroy of yourswimbook.com

We all have things we want to do with our swimming. They are what we dream about when we should be paying attention in class and what plays in our minds as we lob off to sleep at night. For some these ambitions are to be world-class, for others they can be as modest as making a JV relay team.

The first step lies in having the big, awesome goal. Of putting words to that dream, of making it specific, measurable, and affixed with a deadline. This part is fun, relatively risk-free, and is straightforward. Where most swimmers struggle is with what comes next.

Goals are for planning, the process is for results.

The achievement of said goal, of attaining the success you want from your swimming comes not from an event, or a single swim, or a time, but rather, from the process. It’s the daily grind, the repeated 1% improvements, the habits gleaned from showing up and putting in quality effort on a daily basis.

We tend to categorize how swimmers do by the results they achieve in competition. And fair enough – swimming provides an objective manner with which to rank and sort athletes by time and place. We can look up at the scoreboard and know instantly on any given day who the fastest swimmer is.

In doing so we end up viewing our champions through the lens of their results, and imagining their path to success  was simple, straightforward and without struggle. It wasn’t easy for them, and it won’t be easy for you. It was a struggle and a grind, a path littered with setbacks, happy moments, U-turns, insecurity, successes, confusion, and doubt.

In other words, success isn’t the best time. It’s isn’t the digits on the scoreboard or the medal around their neck. It’s what you did to get there. That’s the hidden legacy that ultimately makes a champion.

1. True satisfaction and success comes in the work; the result is merely a by-product.

In a way, goal setting points to a lack in something. It points out that the you-of-right-now isn’t good enough. That you will be what you want to be, when you achieve what you set out to do. It implies there is a lack in what you are right now.

In a way, deciding on a massive goal also puts an instant  burden on you; the moment you write it down your brain whirs to action for better and for worse, figuring out how to achieve it, while also bombarding you with all the concurrent doubts and insecurities that inevitably come when we try to stretch our talents and abilities.

Instead of investing all your hopes and dreams into your hopes and dreams, devote yourself to the day-to-day. Of engaging in the feedback loop of continually making yourself better, while building better habits and consistently showing up is what will lead to true success. Mastering the process is the real win, and is where ultimate satisfaction comes from.

2. Because we can’t always control the result.

Despite our best intentions things don’t always pan out the way we hope or expect them to. No matter how much we plan and dream there are limitations to what we can control. We have no power over how the swimmer in the lane next to us performs, nor can we do much to control unforeseen events like injury (see: Lochte’s knee) or illness.

If your happiness and measure of success is directly tied to a result, than you are putting yourself in a position where you are likely to end up frustrated and disappointed. By letting go of the outcome, and putting your trust in the process – and putting forth your best effort – you can walk away from that season-ending meet with a clear conscious, no matter what the end result is.

3. Focusing on the process means working on things now.

Depending on the time frame of your goals – swimmers have notoriously long seasons – looking across the horizon at your championship meet, and the goals you have for it, can be a little bit deflating. Similarly, it encourages forms of procrastination – “I have so much time between now and then.” The distance between now and the goal removes any urgency to act on your part.

Devoting yourself to the process requires you to focus daily on your swimming, your technique, your nutrition. Sure, dreaming about that goal will give you the occasional jolt of motivation and inspiration to pound out a massive workout once in a while, but it is falling in love with the process that insures you are showing up every day, regardless of how your fleeting heart feels about your season-ending goal in that particular moment.

Reposted from swimswam.com

Burn Your Goals To Become The Person Of Your Dreams…

A couple months ago one of my golfer’s sent me her goals in a text message, and I responded.

“I want you to burn those.”

I knew my response was harsh, but I had reached a breaking point.

EVERYONE WANTS TO WIN.

No one is sitting around at the beginning of the season saying

“our goal is to finish last place in the conference”
“we want to have the worst shooting percentage in the country”
“we want to have a mediocre season”

You never hear this!

I think goals are like wishes.

The beauty of sports is winning and losing is defined for us, therefore we need to spend ZERO time on it.

I believe 100% of our energy should be on the process, controllables, and more specifically in this case, our commitments.

So, I told my golfer, “Burn your wish list. I want to see your commitment list. I want to know what you are committed to sacrificing and doing with your 24 hours a day to close the gap between where you are at, and where you want to be.”

Remember, one of the greatest coaches ever, John Wooden, won 10 National Championships, and he NEVER talked about winning. He focused on the process. He started with the basics. The first day of practice he showed the freshmen how they should put on their socks, and tie their shoes. It worked out pretty well for him both in terms of results, and more importantly in his relationships with his players long into their lives.

Three weeks later my golfer blew out the field and won the tournament with the person in second finishing 5 strokes behind her. The next tournament she didn’t play as well, but she is starting to understand you cannot control goals, but you can control your commitments, and paradoxically by letting go of the results you can actually play better.

I know that for many of you removing goals is like taking away your training wheels or your ‘blanky’, but it’s long over due. At some point your training wheels are more of a hindrance than a help. You can’t make sharp turns around the bend, you can’t hit the brakes and power-slide, and you cannot fly off of jumps! No one has ever competed in the X-Games with training wheels. Though training wheels may give you balance and security, they strip you of the opportunity to experience the full potential of riding a bike.

Here is what I’ve found. Consistently giving your very best, every single day, is a much higher standard than arbitrary goals.

Some coaches have said, “BUT some of my players need an outcome goal to chase after!” If that is how you feel, I would encourage you to revisit your mission in coaching. Most coaches tell me their mission is something along the lines of “training and equipping their athletes for life.” If that is the case, then it is our job—I would go as far as to say it’s our responsibility—to do what we believe is best long-term for our athletes.

Kids want to have dessert before dinner. It is a parents’ responsibility, however, to make sure that doesn’t happen. Because I think we all can agree that if we equipped our kids with this type of dietary strategy, there would be some detrimental long-term effects.

So, what is a more beneficial strategy? We develop a compelling vision for our life of who we want to become as a person and a player that is 100% controllable and not results based. We then create a commitment list of what we are willing to sacrifice and do with our 86,400 seconds per day to close the gap between where we are at, and where we want to be.

This isn’t semantics.

When we were young, we didn’t know the difference between lust and love. The older we get, we start to realize these two words are worlds apart.

When we were young, we didn’t know the difference between happiness and fulfillment. The older we get, the more we start to realize the two words are leap years apart.

The difference between being goal driven and mission/vision driven is MASSIVE! I think goal driven coaches are much more likely to be transactional and mission/vision driven coaches are much more likely to be transformational.

I encourage you.

Take off the training wheels.

Put your blanky in storage.

You can’t control the results anyway.

Fall in love with the process.

Focus on your commitments.

Focus on giving your very best, treating people really well, having a great attitude, and unconditional gratitude, REGARDLESS of your circumstances. It’s a much higher standard, and much like bicycles with no training wheels, it’s not for the faint of heart.

We can enjoy the security and predictability goals provide, but I would argue you can never achieve your fullest potential with them.

Well, what do you think? Please leave your thoughts, comments and questions below.

This thought provoking  blog post was written by our friend Joshua Medcalf, Founder of Train to be Clutch. Joshua is the Mental Training Coach for renowned programs such as UCLA Women’s Basketball and University of Oregon Women’s Golf, as well as numerous elite high school, collegiate and professional athletes. He is the creator of the first mental training apps in the world for basketball, soccer and golf. You can follow his work on Twitter at @joshuamedcalf, and check out some of his free mental training videos and mp3s at www.traintobeclutch.com .

HANDLING LAST-MINUTE NEGATIVE THINKING AND SELF-DOUBTS

7/9/2013

BY ALAN GOLDBERG, PHD//COMPETITIVEDGE.COM

The problem...
You're behind the blocks feeling pretty good about your BIG meet. Your best race starts in just a few minutes and everything has gone OK for you leading up to this meet. Your practices have been good and your taper felt right. But when you get behind the blocks, the “noise upstairs” starts. “Oh my gosh! What if I false start?” “This is my last chance to qualify, and if I don't, my entire season has been a waste!” “What if I die on the last 75 again?” “I don't think I got enough sleep last night!” “Maybe I ate too much… or not enough…” As you listen to this stream of negativity, it seems to build in intensity. Soon, your confidence and all those good feelings rapidly do a disappearing act! You try to “be positive,” but it's as if that negative part of you isn't listening...

Did you know that you can still swim your best under pressure even if you are flooded with last minute negative thoughts and self-doubts?
That's right! You can still have the race of your life even if all of those old familiar negatives are loudly playing in the back of your mind. The trick here is learning how to effectively manage them, and the very first step in doing this is to understand some of the myths that swimmers believe about these last minute negatives and doubts.

Key myths about last-minute negative thinking and your racing:

• You have to “be positive” in order to swim fast
• Negative thinking always lead to poor swims
• You can control your negative thinking so that you stay positive
• When last minute negatives pop up, you must immediately push them away
• Negative thinking and doubts are very bad and mean you're not ready

What's really true here?
First off, you need to understand that all of this last-minute negative stuff is absolutely and totally NORMAL! Even the very best swimmers in the world entertain last-minute negative thoughts because it's simply part of being human. Just because you may be flooded with last minutes doubts, doesn't mean that you're not ready or you'll swim poorly. These unexpected negatives are simply a reflection of your nervous system amping up and getting you ready for the upcoming race.

The problem here is not the negative thinking or doubts by themselves. The REAL problem is how YOU respond to them!

That which you resist, persists!
When you get freaked out behind the blocks because your mind has suddenly turned negative, and then you try to push the negatives away with things like, “I have to stay positive!” and “Don't think that,” what ends up happening is that your negative thoughts and doubts get even stronger and louder. Why is this? Because you can't really control your thinking! Don't worry! NO ONE CAN! And the good news here is that you don't need to! What you need to do is train yourself to have a calmer, more accepting stance whenever the negatives start clamoring for your attention.

How do you calmly handle the negatives?

• Avoid fighting with your negatives and trying to turn them into positives
• Remind yourself that last minute negative thoughts and doubts ARE NORMAL
• Reassure yourself that you can still swim YOUR VERY BEST with them
• Understand that your response to the negatives is what's important here
• Immediately refocus your concentration on your pre-race ritual behind the blocks

Focus on DOING and FEEL, not on THINKING
Swimming fast when it counts the most is all about keeping your concentration on what you're DOING both before and during the race. This means that both your pre-race and during-race focus should be on FEEL! So rather than engaging the negative thoughts with more thinking by trying to “be positive” or pushing them away when you're behind the blocks, switch your focus to the feel of your stretching, taking slow, relaxed breaths or whatever else you typically do in your pre-race ritual. If the negatives pop up while you're racing, let them be and immediately refocus your concentration on staying long and smooth, on how much water you're pulling, your breathing pattern or what you need to be doing in order to swim fast.

Keep in mind that I have worked with Olympic medalists who have taught me this very important lesson. Last minutes doubts and negativity DO NOT predict the kind of race you're about to have unless you engage them by fighting with or trying to change them. When your thoughts turn negative, relax, let them be and refocus your concentration on the task at hand.

As a sports psychology consultant, Dr. Alan Goldberg works with swimmers at every level. A presenter at the Olympic Training Center, swim coaches clinics and clubs around the country, Dr. G specializes in helping swimmers struggling with performance problems, get unstuck and swim fast when it counts the most. He works over Skype, providing one-on-one consultation with swimmers and other athletes around the world. Dr. G has written over 35 mental toughness training programs and books. In addition, he is a regular contributor to Splash Magazine.
For more FREE mental toughness tips and swim articles, go to Dr. Goldberg's website, www.competitivedge.com and click on “choose your sport” and then “swimming.” You can also visit him on Facebook, follow him on Twitter and sign up for his free, monthly mental toughness newsletter.
Want to get a head start on your mental toughness training? Dr. Goldberg's BRAND NEW 7 CD Swim Program with track-by-track Training Guide now available! All products in his store at a 10% discount for USASwimming.org. readers. Coupon Code at check-out: USASwimming. FREE SHIPPING NOW AVAILABLE.
Questions? I hope you'll feel free to contact Dr. Goldberg at Goldberg@competitivedge.com or call directly (413) 549-1085.

Taken from usaswimming.org

ABCS OF MENTAL TRAINING: X IS FOR “X-GAMES MENTALITY”

6/26/2013

BY AIMEE C. KIMBALL, PHD, CC-AASP

I was brainstorming with colleague Lenny Wiersma about what my “X’ article was going to be. I was leaning towards “x-pectations” but being a Californian he suggested “X-games” and noted that swimmers could learn a lot from the free-wheeling, chillaxing mentality of X-gamers. I agreed, so this article will address how swimmers can benefit from a no fear, enjoy the ride, kick-butt-and-take-names mentality.

No Fear
Many X-games events are about speed, height, and testing gravity. What you need to succeed in these events are guts; fear will certainly be your downfall (literally and figuratively). The athletes who participate in these games love the adrenaline rush and love to challenge themselves to go bigger and be bolder than everyone else. It’s mentally impressive. So what can athletes who swim in straight lines learn from this? A lot, but what I’d like you to gain is perspective in that the only consistently “scary” fear swimmers often have is losing/not swimming well. X-gamers have those same thoughts of losing but to them it’s simply a concern. They’d laugh if you said “I’m afraid to lose” and tell you that the physics of swimming is a lot more forgiving than the physics of a half-pipe. Next time you catch yourself being afraid to fail ask yourself “is this a fear or is this a concern?”

Accept the Challenge
My outside impression of most X-gamers is that they get genuinely pumped for someone who performs a new trick that they’ve never seen before. Watch a skateboarder throw something “sick” and you’ll see his competitors jump out of their seats in excitement, knowing they just witnessed something cool. I love this about the X-games. Competitors enjoy seeing the bar raised. They see this as a new challenge and then they work hard to top it. They are constantly trying to up their game and go beyond what others thought was possible. In swimming terms, instead of being hard on yourself because someone beat you or broke your record, see this as a new challenge. Embrace this as an opportunity to assess your habits and see what you can do better. Get excited to see a competitor’s hard work pay off, but in your head throw down the gauntlet and say “I’ll beat you next time” or “I’ll break your record soon.”

Have Fun and Get Lost in the Moment
X-gamers compete because they love it. In the 2006 Olympics Lindsey Jacobellis, a snowboardcross rider, had a big lead on her opponent and was about to win her race but decided to do a trick over a jump rather than just hitting the jump cleanly. She fell and it cost her the gold medal. When asked why she did the trick she responded, “I was caught up in the moment…I was having fun and that's what snowboarding is. I was ahead. I wanted to share with the crowd my enthusiasm.” Sure, she had a little too much fun and in hindsight she admits she messed up. However, she knows she was the fastest that day, the outcome just doesn’t show it. What this example demonstrates is that the number one priority of a lot of X-gamers is to enjoy what they are doing. Winning helps make the sport more enjoyable, but ultimately, they just want to compete their best and have fun doing it. This translates to all sports—the more you love it, the harder you’ll work. The harder you work, the better you’ll do. Ultimately, have fun and everything else follows. Even if you don’t win, you’ll likely swim faster if you enjoy the process.

Roll Like I Roll
In the last Winter Olympics they interviewed a snowboarder who was admittedly nervous before he competed. They asked him how he calmed himself down. He said something to the effect of, “I reminded myself I knew what I was doing. I told myself to go put on a show and just roll like I roll.” I loved this phrase because I think it’s something important for all athletes to remember-that you just have to go out and do your thing. Whatever the sport, it’s what you do every day. You know what you’re doing; you know how to swim fast. Simply put, go swim how you swim.
Make it Great!

Dr. Aimee

About Aimee C. Kimball, PhD, CC-AASP
Dr. Kimball is the Director of Mental Training for the UPMC Center for Sports Medicine. She is an Association of Applied Sport Psychology Certified Consultant, and is a member of the American Psychological Association, the United States Olympic Committee’s Sport Psychology Registry, and the USA Swimming Sports Medicine Network. She works with athletes, coaches, and parents to help them achieve success in sport and life.
For more information contact: kimballac@upmc.edu, 412-432-3777,http://tinyurl.com/UPMCmentaltraining

Taken from usaswimming.org

CONCENTRATION: THE MASTER SKILL OF MENTAL TOUGHNESS

5/7/2013

BY ALAN GOLDBERG, PHD//SPORTS PSYCHOLOGY CONSULTANT

What you focus on both before and/or during your races will largely determine if you soar with the eagles or gobble with the turkeys!
Your training and health being equal, what you concentrate on at meets is the main cause of your best and worst swims. When you struggle with going faster in practice than races, faster in your off-events than your best ones or being unable to break through and get a certain time, faulty concentration is usually the main cause.

What you focus on as you go into a race will dramatically affect:

• Your ability to stay calm and loose under BIG meet pressure
• How quickly you're able to bounce back from disappointing swims
• Your level of self-confidence
• Your skill in avoiding getting psyched out and intimidated
• How well you handle adversity

Did you know that you're ALWAYS doing a great job of concentrating, but most swimmers concentrate on the WRONG things?
That's right! When you swim your fastest and when you totally fall apart under pressure and add gobs of time, you're doing an excellent job of focusing! The key question here is, “ON WHAT?” When you go fast, your concentration tends to be on the RIGHT things both before and during the race, and when you struggle performance-wise, your focus is on all the WRONG things.

What SHOULD you focus on?
Championship concentration involves focusing on two, overlapping things: The first is the NOW, as opposed to the PAST or the FUTURE. Whenever you swim, your focus always has to be in one of these three “mental time zones.” The NOW is what is happening in the present and is the only time zone you have total control over and can swim fast in! If you're stretching behind the blocks, three minutes before your race, your focus needs to be in the NOW on your stretching, not on your last race, (the past) or whether you'll make tonight's finals, (the future).

The second important target for your concentration is on what YOU are doing as opposed to what everyone else around you is doing. In other words, before and during your races, you want mentally to“stay in your own lane,” focusing on yourself and no one else. All too often swimmers get caught up comparing themselves, paying too much attention to their competitors or focusing on what others watching (parents and coaches) might think of them.

What does it really mean to stay in the now and in your own lane?
Staying in the NOW and in your OWN LANE means that your pre-race and during race concentration needs to stay on the FEEL of what you're DOING before and during your swims. This means that if you're behind the blocks pre-race, you want to focus on the feel of the stretching, NOT your thoughts about the race. Focusing on feel during your swim might mean that your concentration is on feeling long and smooth, how much water you're pulling, your pace, feeling your chest pressing down just the right amount during fly or any number of other things depending upon what stroke you're swimming. FEEL IS THE “GAS PEDAL” FOR FAST SWIMS!

Performance-disrupting distractions come from both outside and inside the swimmer!
OUTSIDE: Swimmers need to let go of all of the external distractions, such as who's watching the meet, how their teammates or competitors are doing, the conditions of the pool, the clock, how crowded warm-up is, what their coach may do or say, who's in their heat, their lane assignment, how important their race is and what's at stake, their parents’ reactions to how they swim, etc.
INSIDE: Distractions from the inside encompass the swimmer's thoughts about everything above as well as how they feel that day, whether they got enough sleep, how their training has been, whether they missed critical practices because of illness, how the taper went, the last time they swam this meet, how the season has gone so far, how they felt in warm-up, how big and fast their competition is, things going on in their personal or academic lives, etc.

Concentration is a two part skill:
#1) Recognize that your focus has drifted from what's important
#2) Quickly return your focus to what's important

What hurts swimmers isn't that they lose their concentration. Breaks in concentration are absolutely NORMAL. What really hurts you, is when you lose your focus and you don't immediately catch it and bring it back!
How do I get good at recognizing that I've drifted and then bringing my focus back?

• You must spend regular time in practice deliberately working on this mental skill Throughout practice, for two minutes at a time, both during your warm-ups and through the main set, practice noticing when your focus drifts, and then immediately returning it to what you're doing in the NOW
• If you start thinking about what happened in school today, the past, quickly bring your focus back to your breathing pattern or keeping your stroke long as you swim
• If you notice that you're thinking too much about another teammate, return your concentration to your lane and the feel of how much water you're pulling, one stroke at a time
• In dryland training, focus on the feel of each exercise, one rep at a time

By regularly practicing this master skill of concentration, you will develop the ability to consistently swim fast when it counts the most!

As a sports psychology consultant, Dr. Alan Goldberg works with swimmers at every level. A presenter at the Olympic Training Center, swim coaches clinics and clubs around the country, Dr. G specializes in helping swimmers struggling with performance problems, get unstuck and swim fast when it counts the most. He works over Skype, providing one-on-one consultation with swimmers and other athletes around the world. Dr. G has written over 35 mental toughness training programs and books. In addition, he is a regular contributor to Splash Magazine.

For more FREE mental toughness tips and swim articles, go to Dr. Goldberg's website, www.competitivedge.com and click on “choose your sport” and then “swimming.” You can also visit him on Facebook, follow him on Twitter and sign up for his free, monthly mental toughness newsletter.

Want to get a head start on your mental toughness training? Dr. Goldberg's BRAND NEW 7 CD Swim Program with track-by-track Training Guide now available! All products in his store at a 10% discount for USASwimming.org. readers. Coupon Code at check-out: USASwimming

Questions? I hope you'll feel free to contact Dr. Goldberg at Goldberg@competitivedge.com or call directly (413) 549-1085.

Taken from usaswimming.org

MIND OF A CHAMPION: BUILDING YOUR OWN MENTAL TOUGHNESS TOOLBOX

4/9/2013

BY ALAN GOLDBERG//SPECIAL CONTRIBUTOR

Why do you need to train your mind as well as your body?
Want to go as far as possible in this sport and turn those big swimming dreams of yours into an exciting reality? Then you need to get serious about developing and strengthening your mental muscles on a regular basis. Far too many swimmers only work on the physical side of their sport. They do what they need to in the pool and during dry-land, but then go to their big meets and hope they'll swim fast!
Unfortunately, when you leave the mental side of your racing to chance, you'll struggle with the following:

• Do you go faster in your off events than your best ones?
• Do you get too nervous and tight before you compete?
• Does your mind race out of control and rob you of your self-confidence?
• Do you regularly outwork and beat other swimmers in practice and then lose to them in meets?
• Can you swim really fast times at the end of a grueling practice and not even come close to those when you race?

While hard work and physical training is a critical MUST DO for you to become a champion, once you get to that all important meet, swimming to your potential depends almost entirely upon what's going on between your ears, what I call your “mental technique.” 

• Do you have the ability to focus on what's important and let go of everything else?
• Are you able to handle the last-minute negative thinking and self-doubts so common to big races?
• Can you stay calm and composed under pressure and are you able to avoid getting intimidated?
• Do you know how to quickly rebound from bad races and disappointments?

You can't just train physically and hope you'll swim fast when it counts the most!
In high-pressured situations, hope just won't cut it. Instead, you have to have the confidence and composure to KNOW that you'll do your best. The only way to gain this confidence is by having a complete mental toughness toolbox. You have to know how to handle all of the mental challenges that await you both in practice and at meets. Having mastery over the mental side of your sport is always what separates the best swimmers from all the rest. 

STAYING CALM & COMPOSED UNDER PRESSURE THE FIRST MENTAL TOOL EVERY SERIOUS SWIMMER NEEDS IN THEIR TOOL BOX

The secret to swimming fast when it really counts is having the ability to calm yourself down the night before and day of your BIG meet whenever you get too nervous. If you get over-amped as a swimmer – either too excited or too nervous – then your muscles will tighten and your breathing will get faster and shallower. Tight muscles and faster, shallower breathing will shorten your stroke, kill your endurance and ensure you swim poorly.

What You Can Do to Stay Calm Pre-Race:

Slow & Deepen Your Breathing

• The first place nervousness hits you is in your breath, so deliberately focus on inhaling to a slow count of four, holding your breath in to that same count of four, then exhaling to a four count and then pausing to that count before you begin the process over again. Practice this breathing technique every night before bed. It's important that as you practice this, your breathing should stay relaxed and effortless.

Switch Your Concentration from Thinking to What You're Doing

• Your pre-race focus should be in your body on what you're DOING, and not in your head on what you are THINKING. Go through your pre-race ritual, and while you do, concentrate on the feeling of it, one step at a time. As you stretch behind the blocks, be sure to feel the stretch in your body. If you get distracted by thoughts, quickly return your focus to the feeling of the stretch.

Allow Your Negative Thoughts to Come and Go

• Many swimmers under pressure are flooded by negative thoughts and try to combat this onslaught with “positive thinking” or telling themselves to “STOP” thinking. This strategy rarely works and tends to make you feel even more nervous. Understand that negative thinking is normal and won't affect the outcome of your race as long as you immediately let it go. Negative thinking is like quicksand. The more you listen to, fight with and/or follow it, the more you get sucked under. Practice letting your negative thoughts come and go by noticing them without judgment and then refocusing your attention on the music you may be listening to, your stretching or whatever else you're doing behind the blocks.

Stay In Your Own Lane

• Focusing on other swimmers will kill your confidence and make you uptight. Don't compare yourself. Don't allow yourself to focus on the size, speed or strength of your opponents. Stay away from “studying” the heat sheet. Your concentration needs to remain totally on YOU. Whenever you do notice that your focus drifts to others, quickly return it to YOU, as often as you need to. Keep in mind that this happens to all swimmers and what's important here is to immediately bring yourself back without getting frustrated with yourself.

Leave Your Goal Times at Home

• Your goals are a motivational tool for PRACTICE ONLY. Bringing them into races will only get you too uptight to swim fast. While it is normal to want a fast time, thinking about this pre-race represents a BIG mental mistake. To stay calm, you need to keep your concentration in the NOW, on what you are doing. This means that the instant you mentally jump ahead to the future and start to think, “I need to break 2:00 minutes” or “qualify for Nationals” you want to quickly return your attention to what you are physically doing in the moment.

Have FUN

• In order to stay calm pre-race, you have to let yourself enjoy the challenge of the moment, the butterflies, excitement and even the doubts. If you get too serious about the importance of this race, your nervousness will crowd out your enjoyment. If you've forgotten what it feels like to have fun at a meet, then you need to remember WHY YOU are swimming. Too many swimmers wait until they swim fast before they'll allow themselves to have fun. This is backwards! You have to have FUN first before you can then swim fast!

Handling pressure like a champion is NOT a chance thing! You need to work on it to get good at it. Use these tips to help yourself stay calm and composed when the heat of competition is turned up high! 

As a sports psychology consultant, Dr. Alan Goldberg works with swimmers at every level. A presenter at the Olympic Training Center, swim coaches clinics and clubs around the country, Dr. G specializes in helping swimmers struggling with performance problems, get unstuck and swim fast when it counts the most. He works over Skype, providing one-on-one consultation with swimmers and other athletes around the world. Dr. G has written over 35 mental toughness training programs and books. In addition, he is a regular contributor to Splash Magazine.

For more FREE mental toughness tips and swim articles, go to Dr. Goldberg's website, www.competitivedge.com and click on “choose your sport” and then “swimming.” You can also visit him on Facebook, follow him on Twitter and sign up for his free, monthly mental toughness newsletter.

Taken from www.usaswimming.org

DO YOU REALLY WANT TO REACH YOUR ATHLETIC DREAMS?

Want to know why your competition may be beating you? Every athlete practices about the same amount of time every day. Learn why a select few athletes consistently excel.

TAKING YOUR TRAINING TO THE NEXT LEVEL!

Want to take your game to the next level? Got a BIG, SCARY sports dream that you'd desperately like to turn into reality? Well, the secret to you doing just this lies in HOW you practice on a daily basis. Most serious, competitive athletes in your sport put about the same amount of time into their training every week. Despite this, only a select few of these athletes REALLY get a lot out of their training and therefore improve a bit faster and slightly more than everyone else! What's their secret?

The vast majority of athletes train PHYSICALLY. That is, they regularly put the time into developing their physical skills, establishing a solid training base and developing the speed and strength necessary to excel. When you train PHYSICALLY you will improve! Then there's a much smaller percentage of athletes who train both PHYSICALLY and MENTALLY. That is, they learn the proper strategies of the game and then spend consistent time working on their MENTAL GAME. They learn how to stay calm under pressure, concentrate and let go of distractions, quickly leave their mistakes and failures behind them and mentally prepare for big performances. When you train PHYSICALLY and MENTALLY you will get a lot out of your training and out-compete those athletes who just train their bodies! Finally, there's an elite, much smaller, third group of athletes who regularly train PHYSICALLY, MENTALLY and EMOTIONALLY! That is, while they train their bodies and minds, THEY HAVE THEIR HEARTS IN WHAT THEY ARE DOING! When you train PHYSICALLY, MENTALLY and EMOTIONALLY, you will get the VERY MOST out of your practicing and go much further in your sport than others who only train the first two ways.

What does it mean to HAVE YOUR HEART IN YOUR TRAINING? It means that when you practice every day, you're doing it because YOU WANT TO! Because YOU LOVE IT!!! You're doing it because you have an EMOTIONALLY COMPELLING reason to train that day. You have something that you desperately want to achieve and this achievement has little to do with pleasing other people and most everything to do with YOU! To train EMOTIONALLY means that, as tough as practice is, and as much as you may be hurting, you want to be there and this desire is fueled by that important goal you're working towards.

Training EMOTIONALLY means that on a daily basis you remind yourself EXACTLY WHY you're doing what you're doing. Athletes who practice this way don't just go through the motions. They don't practice and wish they were elsewhere. They train with an internal sense of purpose that periodically asks them, "HOW IS WHAT I'M DOING RIGHT NOW GOING TO HELP ME GET TO MY GOAL?" In this way, the quality of their training is consistently high because it's always goal directed and fueled by their emotions and desire.

Want to lift the level of your training? Then start adding YOUR PASSION to your training. Know exactly why you're out there today! Be sure you're training for YOU and that your efforts are directed towards something that is EMOTIONALLY IMPORTANT to you. And when you start to waiver, get tired or begin to drift off, ask yourself that question: "HOW IS WHAT I'M DOING RIGHT NOW, GOING TO HELP ME GET TO MY DREAM?"        

Copied from Dr. G’s blog at www.competitivedge.com

Dr. Alan Goldberg, internationally known sports psychology consultant and director of Competitive Advantage specializes in helping athletes across all sports at every level, bust slumps and overcome performance fears and blocks. Dr. G's website,http://www.competitivedge.com offers thousands of pages of FREE resources including mental toughness questionnaires for athletes, parents and coaches, articles on every aspect of coaching and parenting in youth sports, as well as a mental toughness blog.

Problem-Solving Swimming

Posted by Glenn Mills on Sep 13, 2011 09:53AM
The new season is upon everyone.  How you approach how you're going to reach your goals will be an important aspect of starting your season.

Swimmers will typically start each season either excited for the training, dreading the training, or with goals so lofty that they' maybe a little bit tentative with what's upon them.  Starting the season with a plan is probably the most important thing you can do, or setting training goals that are realistic when thinking of your season goals.  However, don't focus only on "how much" you're going to train, but start the season thinking of "how" you're going to train.

When you think of swimming, are you constantly analyzing how you approach the water?  Do you think about how your hands initiate the catch, how the fingers slide against the water and the exact point in which you make that connection and start to move forward?  Or do you approach the sport with the notion that by just training harder, you'll accomplish what you set out to do.

When you think of swimming as a series of equations, or problems that have to be looked into, or solved, there are a never-ending number of problems, and solutions to help you continue to swim faster.
Identifying wasted motion is actually pretty easy.  Case in point, I went for a jog yesterday.  While not a runner, I understand there is technique in everything we do, so I started to think about why I am so slow.  Taking physiology, age, and being a breaststroker out of the equation, I started to think about littlle details in what I was doing.  How was my posture (leaning back)?   How high was I lifting my feet off the ground (barely, more like shuffling)?   How did my feet connect with the ground... heel-toe, or toe-heel (side first then rolling to flat)?  What were my hands doing (actually relaxed)?  What was the cadence of my breathing (started inhale for 3 strides, exhale for 3 strides... turned into inhale for 1 stride, exhale for 1 stride)?  What I learned from a simple 3-mile jog (other than the fact that I could listen to the entire Pink Floyd Dark Side of the Moon album), is that there is SO much to think about when I'm trying to do something that we're naturally supposed to do... how much is there really to think about during swimming?

It's easy to get so caught up in making intervals, or hammering sets, that we forget this is a technical sport, and it's the times that we're hammering that give us the best opportunities to solve problems.

My favorite quote over the past year has been one by Albert Einstein -

"Doing the same thing over and over again, and expecting different results, is the definition of insanity."

If you swim the same way every day, without a doubt, going from out of shape, to IN shape... you're going to get faster, but are you really teaching yourself the skills necessary to reach the next level?  I've written on the site many times about being the hardest worker, and it's great if you are (you strive to be).  However, the people we'll be watching in London next year, are the ones who don't just work hard.  We'll be watching the swimmers who solve problems... problems that come with being human in the water.  Awkward bodies not meant to move through the water quickly, creating tremendous resistance, and lying horizontal in a substance that keeps us from getting what we need to survive... oxygen.
In looking at a very quick list, if you're in the middle of a very difficult set, having a hard time keeping up, or in the zone where you simply can't hurt enough (I remember those days... LONG ago!), then here are some ideas of ways to solve the problem of not going as fast as you want:

• Switch responsibility of the pull from your arms to your lats - all strokes.
• When are you going to air?  Early, or late in the stroke cycle? - freestyle.
• Rotate your shoulders completely out of the water on each recovery - backstroke.
• Use your hips more to help you clear the surface for your breath - butterfly.
• Where are looking? - all strokes.
• Are you pointing your toes off the push off? - all strokes.
• Where are you finishing the stroke? - all strokes.
• How fast are you recovering your hands? - breaststroke.

Rather than me just sitting and thinking of endless possibilities of things to think about, list yours below.  These are not things to think about during drill sets, but rather, when you're in the thick of training, when it's very difficult.

Most athletes, when in pain, focus on the pain.  Great athletes, when in pain, focus on how to keep shifting responsibilities of the body to keep going as fast as they have been.

Don't fall in to the trap of being a regular athlete.  Use the mental capacity you've been given, and use your brain to solve the problems that come with pain, and being tired.

On that note... I'm going for a jog.  Hopefully be back before dinner.
brain training, swim technique, swim training

Posted from GoSwim.com

The One Extra Degree Makes All The Difference

At 211°, water is hot. At 212°, it boils. That one extra degree makes all the difference. Are you content with just being pretty good? Or are you ready to go the extra degree?

GET IN CONTROL: ANXIETY-REDUCING TECHNIQUES

6/12/2012

As mentioned in the previous article discussing what anxiety is and why it’s caused, there are two types of anxiety-somatic (dealing with the physical symptoms of anxiety) and cognitive (dealing with the mental and emotional symptoms). This article will address how to gain control of your anxiety so you can regain control of your performance.

Reducing Somatic Anxiety
Since somatic anxiety has to do with the body, any technique that helps to reduce the physiological response (racing heart, tight muscles, stomach issues) falls into this category. Keep in mind that techniques that decrease physical signs of anxiety will also decrease cognitive anxiety.

Techniques for Reducing Somatic Anxiety:

1. Deep breathing-There are numerous methods for using deep breathing to reduce anxiety. Basically, if you breathe in through your nose and out through your mouth as slowly and deeply as possible you’ll be in good shape. You should never feel like you’re holding your breath or forcing it out. Try to imagine breathing through your heart; it can better help to decrease your heart rate. Focusing on your breathing and counting each breath as you exhale can distract your mind from worried thoughts.
2. Progressive Muscle Relaxation (PMR) - Take a few minutes each day to go through all of your muscle groups, tightening a muscle for a few seconds and then relaxing it. By doing this progressive relaxation you can recognize where you are carrying physical tension and learn to physically loosen your muscles so that you can perform your best. Physical tension leads to mental tension and vice versa.
3. Biofeedback-There are several computer programs that can help teach you how to breathe properly and to control your thinking. It can help swimmers to “see” changes related to techniques they are trying.
4. Prerace routines- By doing the same thing before each event, you will focus on what you need to do to swim well rather than the situation. Your pre-race routine should include: a) music that creates your ideal arousal/energy level, b) imagery of how you want to swim or that physically relaxes you, c) positive focus and self-talk, and d) deep breathing and PMR.

Reducing Cognitive Anxiety
Cognitive anxiety typically comes from two places: Fear of Failure or Inappropriate Focus. It’s important to know that you control the way that you think. While your brain might be wired to worry, you still have the ability to logically think through these worries and refocus your mind more appropriately. It’s not always as easy as people make it sound, but with practice you can create more effective mental habits.

Fear of Failure Results From:

1. Lack of confidence
2. Too much emphasis on the outcome
3. Focus on emotions related to failure rather than success
4. High self-expectations and self-imposed pressure
5. Being untapered/physically tired
6. Lack of trust in coach
7. Returning from injury or illness

Techniques for Reducing Failure-Related Anxiety

1. Don’t dwell on potential outcomes prior to or during a race; just focus on racing
2. Focus on success–related emotions (how good will it feel when you win/get a good time/swim the way you trained)
3. Play the odds; you’re more likely to swim well than you are to have an awful race
4. Set realistic expectations, especially when untapered or returning from injury or illness (don’t expect a personal record if it’s been a hard training week)
5. Work on communication with your coach; get him/her to explain their training philosophy and the physiology behind why it works.

Examples of Inappropriate Focus:

1. Uncontrollable/situational factors (competitors, event importance, parents, injury, etc…)
2. Past races/meets
3. Future thinking (What does it mean if I lose?)

Techniques for Reducing Focus-Related Anxiety

1. If you don’t control it, let it go. Make a list of your worries and cross off anything that you can’t directly impact. If you can control it, make a plan.
2. Simplify the race. Focus on what you need to do to swim well (quick start, strong turns, powerful kicks, etc…)
3. Focus on the task (swimming) rather than the situation (championship)
4. Focus on right now, how to make it a great race
5. Trust that if you swim like you’ve trained to, the outcome will take care of itself

Summary
Anxiety does not have to keep you from performing your best. You may have some physical activation (faster heart rate, quicker breathing) but you can control this. Work on reducing both the physiological signs of anxiety as well as the cognitive anxiety. Leave some time for a pre-race routine that allows you to physically and mentally relax. While it requires training, you can regain control of your body by taking control of your mind.

Article from USASwimming.org

FIGHT OR FLIGHT: UNDERSTANDING ANXIETY IN SWIMMING

6/12/2012

  With the Olympic trials around the corner and hundreds of swimmers trying to make qualifying times, sometimes what separates those who make it from those who don’t is their ability to control their nerves. In this first of a three part “swimming anxiety” series, we will address the concept of anxiety and how it manifests itself both physically and psychologically. 

What is anxiety?

Whether you call it anxiety, nerves, or pre-race jitters, it’s all part of the same physiological mechanism. All animals (humans included) have what’s called the “fight-or-flight” response in which our mind and body prepare either to fight a challenge or to run away from it. This response naturally gives us the extra “umph” to battle through competition. Typically, when the mind recognizes an upcoming challenge it causes our heart rate to increase, our muscles to tighten, and our thoughts to narrow. We need a certain amount of physiological and mental energy so we can be ready to compete, but too much can be a problem. Therefore, anxiety can be just as helpful as it is harmful-it all depends on the extent to which you experience it and your ability manage the symptoms of anxiety.

To throw in a little science, there are two types of anxiety:

1. Somatic (the body)- physiological arousal

a. There are varying degrees of somatic anxiety and individuals have an ideal level of physiological activation/somatic anxiety under which they perform their best.

b. Some signs of somatic anxiety:

• Shaking Hands
• Tight muscles
• Difficulty breathing
• Rapid breathing
• Increased heart rate
• Sweating
• Need to urinate
• Sleep disruption

2. Cognitive (the mind)- detrimental changes in thoughts or emotions

a. It’s often an individual’s negative or worried thoughts which lead to performance declines.
b. Signs of cognitive anxiety include:

• Worried thoughts
• Narrowed focus
• Irrational thoughts
• Emotional instability
• Impaired attention and concentration
• Difficulty planning and making decisions

The biochemistry of these anxiety symptoms is quite complex, with adrenalin being a prime chemical involved in these reactions. Serotonin, dopamine, and nor-epinephrine are involved as well. The balance of these chemicals is a determinant of the extent of your symptoms and your control over them. Keep in mind that common behaviors can cause physiological reactions that mimic (or amplify) panic and anxiety, such as:

• Consuming high doses of caffeine
• Consuming high concentrations of sugar
• Taking recreational drugs

What’s the difference between anxiety and a panic attack?
Though they have many of the same somatic and cognitive symptoms listed above, the symptoms of a panic attack are more intense and often disproportionate to the situation. Anxiety symptoms typically are much more controllable and tend to linger longer. A panic attack comes on suddenly and consists of an overwhelming sense of fear. At its extreme, panic can be very disabling and can feel like you are having a heart attack or are unable to breathe. Because the “fight or flight” mechanism is overactive while a panic attack is happening, you can behave and think irrationally (you might suddenly “freeze up” in the water, think you are dying, or grab the person next to you for safety). 

What causes anxiety?
Anxiety can have a number of causes, including both external challenges (the upcoming race) and internal stressors (worries, what-ifs). Reactions to internal stressors can be just as strong as reactions to external challenges. That is, we can feel just as nervous worrying about a race the night before as we do when we are actually standing behind the blocks.

We create our own anxiety when we focus either on the what-ifs (ex: What if I lose? What if I swim poorly? What if I don’t make the qualifying time?) or when we lack confidence in our abilities (often causing these “what-ifs”). Think of a race you had that wasn’t important to you or where you knew you would win it easily. You probably didn’t have the same signs of anxiety because you didn’t see this event as being “pressure packed” or challenging. The perception of a challenge or of pressure can make athletes feel anxious. Therefore, a specific race or situation only produces an anxious response if we choose to interpret that situation as an important challenge.

Summary
Anxiety can be normal and, in many cases, necessary to prime your body to perform. The swimmers who consistently perform well do so by practicing controlling their physiological arousal and their thoughts so their anxiety does not become overwhelming and detrimental to performance.

Part II in this series of articles will focus on how to create the mind of a champion by alleviating the cognitive and physiological signs of anxiety.

Article from USASwimming.org

Changing the Way Your Brain Functions – It CAN Happen

I thought this YouTube link was well worth putting up. Dr Joe Dispenza has spent the last 10 years researching "spontaneous remission" in diseases. What do people who have had spontaneous remission have in common? We are always talking about changing the way you think well here is some interesting information to back it up. It's a fairly long video, but even watching the first 12 minutes can make a difference in the way you think!

Another Level

By Head Coach Paul Yetter of T2 Aquatics from his blog, Developing the Champion Within.

What must an athlete do to “Take it to Another Level” ?

I often find myself in conversation discussing this subject. It’s discussed in the office, on the pool deck, over the phone with friends, coaches, parents – and on the deck with swimmers. It’s occurred to me that different people have their own ideas of what “Another Level” actually is, and differing opinions regarding how we go about getting there.

I have a problem accepting the idea that “Another Level” is an actual place or circumstance. To me, “Another Level” can happen anywhere, based on an individual’s mind-state – particularly in regards to swimming training and performance.

I’ve heard collegiate swimming referred to as “The Next Level”, in comparison to USS club swimming. Also, I’ve heard club swimming referred to as “The Next Level” when compared to High School swimming. I understand the idea behind these statements, but consider them to be large generalizations – generalizations which are believed by athletes, and in my opinion do them an injustice. “The Next Level” is not a fixed state, circumstance, or place – is a readily accessible mind-state, to which we have constant and ever-expanding access.

The “Next Level” is whatever we make it. The “Next Level” is OUR CREATION. Without interaction with the “Next Level” – and I mean exciting, personal interaction – the “Next Level” only exists as a fictional place in a fictional time.

We are at the Next Level as soon as we wake up and create it in the pool, on the track, on the deck, or in the office each day. As soon as we raise our standards, we are THERE – looking the next level directly in the eye. Once we are seeing that next level in daily training, we must begin to search for the next NEXT LEVEL. There is always another level! The next level is not found as you move from High School swimming to Club swimming, although the amount of practice time may increase and your coaching may change. Similarly, the next level is not reached because you take yourself from a Club swimming situation (as a High School Student) to a Collegiate swimming situation (as a College Student). The next level is reached by changing your mind – changing the way you think, changing your standards of what it means to be successful, changing your ability to think bigger than your currently are, changing your sense of creativity and what you consider possible, changing your resolve to experience physical discomfort, changing your determination to put off overloading social ‘responsibilities’, changing your ability to not only ignore – but dismiss detractors of your goal from your mind.

It takes practice and confidence to feel this way, and create your next level. You have to think about it a little bit, and decide that you are the creator of your life.

Out-training and out-working your “Old Self” is one way to create your “New Self” – and once you do it, THAT’S the next level.

Yes You Can!

The Importance of "Self Confidence" in Achieving Your Swimming Goals

Belief is the knowledge that we can do something. It’s the inner feeling that what we undertake, we can accomplish. For the most part, all of us have the ability to look at something and know whether or not we can do it. So, in belief there is power: our eyes are opened; our opportunities become plain; our visions become realities. (Unknown)

By Wayne Goldsmith
Have you said (or thought) any of the following in the past few months??? "I can’t do it," "They are much faster than me. I’ll come last," "I’m hopeless," "I’ve never been able to do that, so I know I can’t do it now," "It’s just too hard. It’s impossible."

You are not alone. Many swimmers have these thoughts and say these words from time to time. Most swimmers (and people generally) have times when they get a little negative and lack faith in their abilities.

When swimmers say "I can’t" or "it’s too hard," what are they really saying?

Swimmer says: "I can’t do it." Swimmer means: "I am not prepared to try because if people might think less of me."

Swimmer says: "They are faster than me. I’ll come last." Swimmer means: "If I can’t win there’s no point trying."

Swimmer says: "I’m hopeless." Swimmer means: "I have no faith in myself or my ability to succeed. I have no confidence."

Swimmer says: "I’ve never been able to do that, so I know I can’t do it now ." Swimmer means: "I’ve never really prepared for this or learnt how to do it correctly so the chances of me doing it now are not very good" or "I tried once and failed, so I am not going to try again."

Swimmer says: "It’s just too hard. It’s impossible." Swimmer means: "I’m not prepared to try.”

Confidence is believing in yourself to do what has to be done. To do what needs to be done, with faith in your ability to achieve it. To meet new challenges with an expectation that anything is possible. To accept failure as an opportunity to learn from the experience and try again. And try again. And try again if necessary.

Confidence is trying to achieve and if you fail knowing that it was the nature of the task or the circumstances or just plain bad luck, not your lack of character that is to blame. Confidence is learning from that failure and trying again with more energy, more commitment and greater determination than before.

What do some of Australia’s most successful people say about CONFIDENCE??

"Confidence comes from accepting a challenge and achieving it using the best of your ability. Confidence builds through training to meet your challenge". Phil Rogers (Commonwealth Games and Olympic Medalist).

"Confidence is about believing in yourself and your ability to do something -- not necessarily believing in your ability to do it perfectly or better than other people, but believing that you have as good a chance as anyone to achieve something. Confidence is having the courage to get up and try and face whatever the outcome is -- good, bad or something in between." Chloe Flutter (Australian Representative Swimmer -- now Rhodes scholar).

"In my experience, confidence is best achieved through controlled independence. If a young athlete is constantly challenged to be independent (within reasonable bounds), they will learn to rely on themselves and know how to thrive without the assistance of others in moments of greatest need. The ability to follow good decision making processes is a crucial part of this. For young athletes, teach them to take personal responsibility ( control the controllable and develop a chameleon-like ability to deal with the rest). Confidence is the ability to believe you can do something and the courage to do it - if others have made the hard decisions for you and you have never had to live with the results of your own actions, you can never be expected to know full confidence and the power of the self". Marty Roberts. (Dual Olympian, Commonwealth Games Gold medalist, University Graduate, father of two).

“Attitudes such as belief, optimism, high aspirations, and anticipation of the best possible result—all these positive states of mind add up to confidence, the keystone for success. But of course it pays for all of these to be built on the firm rock of a sound preparation". Forbes Carlile (Legendary Coach, successful business man, author, leading anti-drugs in sport campaigner).

Confidence it seems, is a skill -- a skill that can be learnt. You learnt to swim. You learnt to tumble turn. You learnt how to do butterfly. You can learn to be confident.

Leading Melbourne based Sports Psychologist, Dr Mark Andersen agrees: "Many people believe that confidence is something that comes from the inside, but we probably develop confidence from the models we have around us, that confidence really comes from the outside. If we have coaches, parents, teachers and instructors that model confidence in our abilities and let us know that they think we can do good things, slowly their confidence in us becomes internalized".

A few tips to develop confidence:
accept who you are and learn to like and respect yourself.

Nothing helps build confidence like learning the 3 P’s. Practice to the best of your ability. Develop a Positive Attitude to trying new tasks. Persevere, Persevere, Persevere.

Understand what motivates you to do well then you can harness your energy in the right directions.

Failure is a race or a meet or a task -it is not a person. Failure is not the person: it’s not you- it’s the performance. Learn to separate who you are from what you do.

Learn to talk to yourself positively. When the negative thoughts come, learn to replace them with positive ones. I can’t = I can, I won’t = I will, I will try = I did. Remember the old saying, "If you think you can or think you can’t, you’re probably right".

"The greatest achievement is not in never failing but in getting up every time you fall". Keep trying and it will happen.

What you believe, you can, with effort and persistence, achieve. Dream a dream, believe in that dream, work towards achieving it and live the dream.

Anything worth having is worth working to achieve. Talent is important, but there are many talented swimmers who don’t make it to the top. TOUGH, TENACIOUS TRAINING makes up for most talent limitations.

Successful people are not afraid to fail. They have the ability to accept their failures and continue on, knowing that failure is a natural consequence of trying. The law of failure is one of the most powerful of all the success laws because you only really fail when you quit trying.

Ladder of Achievement 100% I Did 90% I Will 80% I Can 70% I Think I Can 60% I Might 50% I Think I Might 40 % What is It? 30% I Wish I Could 20% I Don’t Know How 10% I Can’t 0% I Won’t This is called the Ladder of Achievement. It shows how your attitude towards a goal or task can impact your ability to achieve it. The ladder of achievement suggests that an attitude of "I can’t" has almost no chance of success whilst "I won’t" is no chance at all. Change "I can’t" and "I won’t" to I CAN - I WILL - I DID !

Swim Coaching Brain

ABCs OF MENTAL TRAINING: V IS FOR VISUALIZATION

BY AIMEE C. KIMBALL, PHD, CC-AASP

You’ve all been told to imagine yourself swimming your best race. You’ve undoubtedly sat up before a big meet and thought about how you were going to do and tried to “see” yourself winning. This article will discuss how to make the most of your imagination and how to visualize correctly so that you’ll reap the performance benefits.

It Really Works
Without going into the science or citing a bunch of research, there is a lot of evidence on the power of visualization in sport as well as many other domains. Basically, there are various theories as to why it works, some claim it strengthens neuropathways while others think it is effective because it bolsters psychological skills. Regardless of WHY it works, the majority of the research does show performance is enhanced through visualization, provided the athlete does it correctly.

The Keys
I should really stop calling it visualization because technically the correct term is “imagery.” The reason it’s not “visualization” is because when doing it correctly, you are using more than just your visual sense. The first key to proper imagery is to incorporate all of your senses. Not only should you see yourself swimming well, but you should feel your hands pulling through the water, smell the chlorine, hear the crowd, and maybe even taste the Gatorade you drank as you were preparing for your race. Vivid details are essential for imagery to be effective.

Another important aspect is to try to imagine your race in real time. I know a few coaches who give out stopwatches to their swimmers and have them imagine their race as close to their goal time as possible. Along with this is the need for controllability and positivity-you must dictate where your imagination takes you and you should ensure you are always imagining a desired outcome and correct technique.

For added benefit, include mental cues and positive self-talk. You can create a CD/Mp3 that you listen to that will guide you through the race. Such guided imagery should include positive statements to program your race-day thoughts (ex: “As I pull through the water I feel how strong and powerful I am” or “As you stand on the blocks you focus on only your lane and feel confident in your preparation and are ready to race your best”).

Do it often, don’t wait until right before your meet to imagine the race you want. When you wake up every morning you can imagine performing well in your upcoming events. Before practice you can visualize your goals for the day. Before each set you can quickly imagine how this will help you in a race. It can even be helpful to picture something not going as planned (ex: goggles snap, a bad race, etc.), but imaging an appropriate and effective reaction (though I suggest keeping everything positive the night before/day of a race).

Déjà Vu
The purpose of imagery is to mentally prepare you for various situations. You want to have vividly imagined every aspect of race day so that when you arrive at the pool, your mind thinks it has already been there, done that. Your mind can’t always tell the difference between what’s real and what it’s created, so by convincing it that you’ve already successfully swam this race you’ll be calmer, more confident, and appropriately focused—a state of mind that in and of itself will help you to perform your best. Also, the more you feel yourself swimming (rather than imagining your race like you’re watching a video of yourself), the easier it will be to create this Déjà vu experience. So go start mentally rehearsing your future success now!

Make it Great!

Dr. Aimee

Dr. Aimee C. Kimball is the Director of Mental Training at the University of Pittsburgh Medical Center’s Center for Sports Medicine. She received a PhD from the University of Tennessee where she specialized in sport psychology.

She is an Association for the Advancement of Applied Sport Psychology Certified Consultant, and is a member of the American Psychological Association, the United States Olympic Committee’s Sport Psychology Registry, the USA Swimming Sports Medicine Network, and the NCAA Speakers Bureau.

As a Mental Training Consultant, Dr. Kimball has worked with professional, collegiate, high school, recreational, and youth athletes in a variety of sports, and assists the Pittsburgh Steelers in analyzing potential draft picks.

She has been a featured speaker at conferences across the nation and has appeared in Men’s Health Magazine, Runner’s World, Athletic Management Magazine, various local and national newspapers, and has appeared on ESPN, NPR, and news broadcasts across the country.

She is a Clinical Faculty member in the University of Pittsburgh’s Department of Orthopaedics and an adjunct faulty member in the Sports Marketing Department at Duquesne University. Currently, Dr. Kimball works with athletes and other performers to assist them in achieving success in sport and life. For more information contact: 412-432-3777; kimballac@upmc.edu

Reposted from USASwimming.org

The Question/Answer Cycle Problem

By Head Coach Paul Yetter of T2 Aquatics from his blog, Developing the Champion Within.

In the lead-up to competition, athletes who picture a positive result in performance are more likely to reach peak performance, as compared to athletes who picture a poor result. This reality of competitive sports is well-known among sport psychologists, coaches, and athletes – and must be accounted for when considering an athlete’s race preparation.

It is the athlete’s mindset that determines the deftness with which we walk a path of readiness – and make no mistake about it: readiness to succeed is essential to peak performance. The mindset of an athlete who is ready to achieve peak performance can be defined as an “answer—based” mindset. It is proper training, skill, talent, and physical gifts that separate one athlete from another in competition, but it is mindset that separates our “best selves” from the side of ourselves that is too riddled with anxiety and negative thought to perform at the peak level. There is an important distinction to be made here, because it is obvious and simple to understand that an athlete who does not train hard, often, and well, will not think her way into a win when competing against a trained, ready competitor. But to compete against yourself – “your own best self” – is really the task for all athletes because, simply put, competing against your own “best self” is the task any athlete can learn to control. You cannot control your competitors, but you can control yourself.
An athlete’s ability to control her mind and thus her environment allows her to unlock the free-flow of energy available to her at the time of peak performance!

It is near impossible for most athletes to prepare for competition without asking oneself questions like: “Am I ready?”, or “Is my training plan going to work?”, or “What is my competitor going to do”? It is this type of inner-questioning that makes an athlete, to differing degrees, anxious and insecure about their upcoming performance. To their detriment, athletes tend to dwell in this sort of “question-based” mindset more often as the competition draws closer on the calendar. This type of questioning, posed to one’s self in a habitual way, leads to the athlete’s less-than-ideal picture of what may happen in competition – a picture that readily creates its own reality through performance.

An athlete in the “question-based” mindset may think:

“What if I am unsuccessful like I was last year?”
“What will my parents think if I don’t achieve my best time?”
“Am I ready for this meet?”
“Will my taper plan work out?”

These questions have no definitive answer. One can speculate an answer, but to actually find an answer to these questions is impossible. The answers are impossible because the answers can only be found in the future. The future is uncontrollable. The only thing we can control is the present!

A positive athlete will learn to give proper weight to the answers, and give less power to the actual questions. In doing so, an athlete can learn to control their self-talk, and bring their thought process into the controllable present. It’s ok to field the questions, because let’s face it: no matter how hard we try, questions regarding one’s own personal readiness for competition will always make themselves heard. But with a proper “answer-based” mindset we can either turn a question into a positive answer, or dismiss it from our mind.

The basic question “Am I ready?”, in an “answer – based” mindset, is followed with the inner-statement: “Yes, I am ready. Today, I am stronger and faster than I’ve ever been in my life“. You can stop the cycle of questions by answering definitively.

Stopping the ‘Question/Answer” cycle at one question and one answer is essential! Concisely answered questions tend to create an optimistic picture in an athlete’s mind. The question, “What is my competitor going to do?”, in an “answer – based” mindset, is dismissed because as an athlete you are incapable of discerning what anyone else may or may not be capable of and so logically there is no way to field the question. The question, “What if I am not on my pace halfway through my 800?” can be answered definitively with the answer: “I know I can do an 8:40 in my 800, so if I’m off my pace at the 400 I probably have enough in reserve to make it up on the second 400”. By answering definitively and positively, the focus of an athlete’s internal conversation becomes the answer instead of the question. It is much easier to control the answers you give than it is to control what questions may pop up in your head!

Hard, consistent, skill-oriented training is a key ingredient to achieving peak performance, and certainly there is no substitute. We cannot “will” ourselves to a different level of performance with our minds alone! But it is the “answer-based” mindset that separates us from our previous best selves, stops an otherwise habitual cycle of questions/answers, and allows us to transcend our own peak performances.

FOCUS: BEING IN THE RIGHT PLACE AT THE RIGHT TIME

BY DR. LENNY WEIRSMA//SPORT PSYCHOLOGIST

One of the greatest mental skills an athlete needs to learn is to focus. The ability to focus—to be in the right place at the right time, mentally—is such a critical aspect of swimming success. Whether it be to focus on your goals, on a specific part of your stroke, on certain parts of your body during warm-up, focusing is a skill that that is probably as important to your success as any other mental skill. To illustrate this, I want you to take a few moments to imagine yourself doing the activities below.

First, imagine that you are standing about 10 feet away from a group of your friends. Each friend is holding a ball of a different size, color or shape. You ask each of your friends to hold up a ball, and you choose which one is your favorite. Choose only one. Now, on the count of 3, all of your friends—at the exact same time—throws his ball in your direction so that you may catch it. To only catch your ball, you have to be in the right place at the right time, mentally. In this case, you need to focus on the one ball that you want to catch, while ignoring all the others. Most of the time, you are able to do so because your focus allowed you to catch the ball as if it was the only one being thrown to you.

Now, imagine if I asked you to identify two balls you wanted to catch, both at the same time. Your friends all throw the balls at the same time, and you attempt to catch two. More often than not, not only would you not catch two, you wouldn’t even catch one. Why? Because trying to focus on more than one thing at the same time limits your ability to focus on anything.

Now, imagine that you are at a swim meet. At the meet are a variety of things that may catch your attention, some of which would be helpful for a proper mindset and some of which would not help your performance. Teammates. Competitors. Parents. The weather. The pool. The crowd. Your sore arm. The song that is going through your head. Your doubts. Your goals. Your swim bag. The snack bar. Qualifying times. Your coaches. Your race plan. Expectations. The amount of information – and potential distractions – at swim meets can be overwhelming. But it doesn’t have to be if you have a plan.

Now, imagine that each of those things mentioned above – expectations, goal times, your parents, etc. – are represented as a different color ball that was held by your friends. Imagine, as you did in the first exercise, that you were to choose something very specific to focus on at a meet – during warm-up, behind the blocks, or during a race. It would be as easy to direct your mental energy at that as it would be to catch just one ball out of many coming at you. It would be easy because you have chosen very carefully ahead of time what you wanted to focus on, and in the process that would allow you to ignore, or block out, all of the other potential sources of stress or distractions around you.

The key here is that you want to create a mindset so that YOU are in control of your focus, no matter what is going on around you. You certainly don’t want your environment, or what happens in it, to control your mindset.

Before your next meet, write out one very specific thing you want to focus on in the car on the way to the meet, during warm-up, when you are standing behind the blocks and during your race. Just one specific thing for each of those four settings. Talk to your coach if you need help with this. Then, practice this most important mental skill – being in the right place, at the right time.

USA Swimming – Speedo Tip of the Week

Goal Setting at the Beginning of a New Season

Goal Setting Process

This is not the only way to work when setting your goals. It is, however, a proved process and we suggest you consider the steps before moving forward. You will need a paper and pencil and a little time. You can begin whenever you want, take a pause in the steps, and then return as time allows. We do know this for certain, no one in history has ever made a significant improvement – and retained it – without writing a goal down. Please, at the very least do that much.

Step One: Take Responsibility.

If you are not responsible for something you cannot change it so this is the first and most important step. For instance, if you want to break 2:00 in the 200 and to do so you will need to get into really good shape and have excellent technique, then you need to be responsible for that part of the process. No one is keeping you from doing that.

Step Two: Investigate and Eliminate.

You are going to ask yourself a few questions so here is where the paper and pencil come in handy.

1. Ask yourself what it is you want. Write it down…sub 2 minutes for the 200.
2. Ask, why I want this. Write it down…I want this because it will qualify me for the next big meet; it will improve my chances for being on the A relay; it will help my college prospects.
3. This one may seem counterintuitive but it is very important. Ask yourself why you do NOT want this to happen. Now you may wonder about this one…but of course I want this, why wouldn’t I? Well, let’s consider this for a minute…Now the coaches will expect more from me; to really get this I will have to miss some social functions and those may actually be more fun; I’m not sure I want the pressure of competing at this faster level…

The point here is that there are going to be ramifications in your current life if you actually dig in and make a change – said another way, if you set a goal, work toward it and then achieve it your life will be different and you need to be ready for that difference.

The main purpose of this second step is to find what you want and to eliminate those things that will stand in your way.

Keep in mind that the number one thing people resist is change; even if it is for the better! This is not rocket science.The way to change anything in your life: 1 – eliminate what isn’t working for you and 2 – replace it with what you want.

If you know your stroke needs tuning up then simply do it…that is, work on the things you know need fixing. Ask one of us to help you. And then do it. Stop “trying” and start “doing”. Even if you are only able to do it correctly for a lap or two before you get tired. Start now and work forward from this point. Think about this sentence: It takes preparation and work to make a change, large or small, but it does not take time. It may take time for anyone to notice the change but it doesn’t take time to make the change.

So, get your pencil and paper out and start the process. Think about what you would like to have happen – short, mid and long term, as we.

Sooner than later we need you to turn in your goal sheets so we can look them over and share our feedback with you. This doesn’t need to happen today but it does need to happen. Spend some time thinking about why you want what you want and then some time why you may not want it. In the end, we need you to come up with a few goals that you are willing to work toward.

This season is going to be a very special one for our team, and that means for you. To capture the full opportunity we all need focus. Goals give us that focus; goals give each day meaning and purpose. Very few things match the satisfaction of a person who knows what she/he wants and is “willing and able” to execute the plan. We will help provide the “able”; you let us know about the “willing”.

Training With Imagination

Coach Paul Yetter of T2 Aquatics and former coach of swimming great Katie Hoff wrote this and I wanted to share this with all of you. He has a very active blog called “Developing the Champion Within”, check it out!

To train well takes imagination. Simply showing up to practice and “working hard” does not accomplish preparation for high level performances in meets. Why? The answer is simple: there are MANY people in the world of athletics who show up to practice and “work hard”; most of them feel as if they ‘deserve’ to go fast in meets or athletic competitions of any sort. This type of thinking will get you fast at first (as an age grouper or young athlete)….but there comes a point in time where the hard work you put in is just the same old hard work you’ve BEEN putting in for years. The body and mind adapt to this work. You get into a rhythm. You perform about the same, maybe a second or so slower or faster per 100 meters…but more or less the same performances happen because the same work happens.

Yet, in today’s world, for a myriad of reasons that all have to do with easy answers and instant gratification – we feel like we should access some superior results just because we’ve “sacrificed” and gone to practice….or “sacrificed” to wake up early before school….or “sacrificed” by getting our heart rate up during some repeat 100s in practice. This attitude is a disease that will attack us our entire lives, unless we stop it.

What is sacrifice? Is sacrifice REALLY giving up some sleep? Are we sacrificing when we choose to come home at 11pm instead of staying out until 2? Are we sacrificing when we expand our practice schedule from one season to another? Are we sacrificing when we sweat more at practice, and go faster than our best times in practice? These things are not what I consider sacrifice. These things are called TRAINING.

I believe 90% of teams out there have trouble with the concept of “How to Train”. I believe this because my standards are high, and I don’t feel like it’s a tremendous accomplishment to go to Nationals with three people just like I don’t feel like it’s a tremendous accomplishment to stay in the same job, without promotion, your entire life.

I was extremely lucky to have the opportunity to apprentice with Coach Bob Bowman in 2001-2002, during the time Michael Phelps was developing into the most accomplished swimmer the world has ever seen. Routinely during that season I would watch Michael swim under National Time Standards (cuts for Nationals) in practice. Once Michael started doing these things, others followed. During that year I watched no less than a half dozen OTHER SWIMMERS (not Michael) swim under the National Cuts in practice. Would those other swimmers have accomplished those practice swims without Michael having done it first? Probably, but not in WAVES like it happened that year. Soon, there were 10+ Olympic Trials qualifiers in the group, up from 1 two years prior to that time.

Since that time, I have been fortunate to coach athletes who have thought big enough to shoot for huge goals in practice. Some of these thoughts were implanted by me as the coach, and some of those thoughts came directly from the athletes each day in practice. At T2, we are beginning to think in this way, but we are not there yet. And if we are simply focused on being the best swimmer in the practice group, or the best High School swimmer in the county, then we are stunting our growth in a serious way. If you want to be the athlete who takes our team to the next level – than you have to take our team to the next level in practice. You can’t just swim a little bit ahead of the next guy and pat yourself on the back because of it.

You have to redefine “what is fast” in practice every day. If you go your best times in practice you will go to the meets with the unbelievable confidence that you’ve basically already made it happen, you just have to do what you’ve done before again in a meet. If you want to get a National cut, or a Junior National cut, or a Sectional cut you can either wait for the meets we have once per month to test yourself out, or you can simply go for it every day. Why not? The only reason why we don’t do this type of thing is because we lack the IMAGINATION to make it happen. Not many people consider actually going their cuts in practice. You have to think it’s possible (because it is and it happens ALL THE TIME) – and then you have to intend to make it happen. You are already taking the time to train, you might as well make your training unbelievable – ridiculously good – while you’re at it.

You really only have one choice if you want to be more successful than you currently are. Raising your level of expectation within yourself and for yourself -- and using your imagination for the ENTIRE practice, EVERY practice -- is going to be the key for you to take your swimming to the next level.

You are in charge of this. It won’t be me, your parents, or your teachers at school. It’s all in YOUR MIND and YOUR IMAGINATION.