Those Who Do

swimtelligence.blogspot.com

Here's an excerpt from Dara Torres' book Age is Just a Number.

"When I was training for the 1984 Olympics at Mission Viejo, a sociologist named Daniel Chambliss watched us practice nearly every day. Chambliss then wrote a book called Champions: The Making of Olympic Swimmers. That book totally captures the details-matter mind-set... swimming is sort of like one of those Impressionist paintings made with millions of dots. Sure, a dot is a dot. What's the big deal? But if you care enough to make each dot the exact right size and the exact right color in the exact right place, something amazing occurs."

She goes on to say:

"The truth is simple: Most swimmers choose every day not to do the little things. They choose, in effect, not to win...In some sense everyone 'could' win the Olympic Games, but 'could' doesn't count. The gold medal is reserved for those who do."

I couldn't have said it better myself... the gold medal is reserved for those who DO.

Not those who dream.
Not those who wish.
Not those who want.
THOSE WHO DO!

A Cluster of Healthy Behaviors

SPEEDO TIP OF THE WEEK

BY KATHLEEN WOOLF//Correspondent

Did you know that behaviors are found in “clusters?”

Engaging in a healthy behavior, such as eating fruits and veggies, increases the likelihood of adopting additional healthy behaviors. On the flip side, trying a cigarette (or another unhealthy substance) increases your risk of taking on multiple risky behaviors, even later in life. This phenomenon is known as “behavior clustering.”

As an athlete, you participate in regular physical activity – a healthy behavior. Cluster this activity with other positive behaviors to promote good health and improve performance. Here are some suggestions:

• Eat breakfast! Breakfast is the most important meal of the day and influences performance at school AND practice. A healthy breakfast should include whole grains, fruit, dairy and protein.
• Avoid smoking, drinking and other risky behaviors.
• Get enough sleep. Lack of sleep slows your thinking and makes it tough to focus on a task. Juggling practice, school, work and social events makes it difficult to get to bed on time. However, if you don’t get enough sleep, you are more likely to take more risks.
• Decrease time spent watching television and playing computer games one to two hours per day. Too much television interferes with other healthy behaviors, such as reading, doing homework, spending time with family and friends, and being physically active.
• Increase consumption of fruits and veggies. They are loaded with essential vitamins, minerals and fiber, which may help protect you from chronic disease.
• Decrease consumption of high-fat foods. Saturated fat (full-fat dairy products and fatty meats & poultry) and trans fat (processed cookies, cakes and chips) can be dietary villains.
• Consume a variety of nutrient-rich and tasty snacks throughout the day. Store snacks in your backpack so that you have healthy foods available rather than relying on a vending machine for between-meal snacks.
• Drink plenty of water. As a swimmer, you are at increased risk of dehydration. Consume fluids before, during and after exercise to ensure you are getting enough.

About Kathleen Woolf

Kathleen Woolf, PhD, RD is a registered dietitian and a member of the American Dietetic Association, the Sports, Cardiovascular and Wellness Nutrition Dietetic Practice Group, and the American College of Sports Medicine.

The Virtue of Failure

swimtelligence.blogspot.com

One of the trends of the last several decades often lamented by coaches in many youth sports is that parents and administrators have become consumed with making sure that each and every child NEVER experiences failure. I spoke to one coach recently who told me about his son's little league baseball experience. Apparently, it takes four strikes to strike out. If a child does strike out, he still gets to go stand on first base. That way he FEELS successful. Though this may seem paradoxical, I can think of few things that we as coaches could do that would harm our athletes more than not allowing them to fail. Failure can be a tremendous learning experience. Failure is often the building blocks for future success. If a child never fails, how does he know when he is successful?

The senior swimmers I coach will tell you that they fail in practice frequently. If they didn't, I probably wouldn't be asking enough of them. It is on that border at the edge between CAN and CAN'T that an athlete finds out the stuff of which he is made. This is where he explores his abilities and summons his motivation to push himself to new heights. Being on this edge is how he learns to do what it takes to excel in life.

Check out this video from YouTube about some incredible successes who began as failures:

Failure is vital to an athlete's development of the characteristics that it takes to be successful. Failing helps define success. As the valley is deep, so is the mountain high.