Swim Fit

The Swim Fit Squad Programs are highly competitive with swimmers who are committed to training all year round.Over the past few years the coaching team has spent considerable time focusing on creating a well-balanced, supportive culture within our squad groups.

Michael Sage, Head Coach at Cotton Tree, has the following to say: "My belief is that we aren’t just creating a swimmer; we are creating a culture in which the swimmer can immerse themself thus enabling them to reach their fullest potential. I believe that if the swimmer has a well rounded program which is suited to their age, physical state and mental ability they will stay in the water year round and achieve positive results."

Coaches are always asking themselves how much, how often and how hard does each swimmer need to train as there is a fine line between training at their optimum level and over-training. It is important to be aware that both over-training and under-training can cause the swimmer to lose motivation, become fatigued and in the worst case scenario, quit. For most people it’s pretty easy to understand that over-training leads to swimmers burning out however not many people realize that under-training can have the same effect. As a general rule a swimmers’ training should continually increase throughout every season. This is why patience is the key to a long, successful career.

Physically, mentally and physiologically the swimmer must be in balance in order to adapt their body to the next level. They must also have a sound global self concept as to the importance of each race in relation to their world.

Physically a swimmer is able to adapt their body through their energy output (exercise) which must be equaled with their energy input (food). Physical adaptation can be easily calculated as there is lots of readily available research which has been done by dieticians in the area of food energy.

Mentally each swimmer will go through periods of emotional and mental exhaustion and to compensate for this it is important that they have a relaxing and enjoyable social environment in which to unwind and release tension. If they do not, their physical well-being is affected as tension and stress in the mind translates to tension and stress in the body. It doesn’t take long for a swimmer to tighten up physically if their mind is stressed.

Physiologically the swimmer can be over-trained if they continually do the same type of training using the same type of energy system. Each swimmer’s make-up is different. Sprinters have a stronger anaerobic system while distance swimmers tend to have a stronger aerobic system. Each system needs specific training which aims at working and overloading at precise times of the season to get the optimum results at major meets. It is the coaches’ responsibility to keep a close eye on how the swimmer is adapting to precise work loads in order to realise the changes in the swimmer’s body.

A Global Self Concept is the ability for a swimmer to weigh up the importance of themselves and what they are trying to achieve in relation to what is happening in their world. For swimmers to be successful at a higher level they need a positive Global Self Concept. For example a swimmer who focuses on maintaining a balance between their swimming, education and lifestyle in general and who understands what is important to them on a global scale is less likely to stress about each race than a swimmer who only focuses, and thus worries about, their swimming. Swimmers need to approach each race with a positive will to win not the fear of losing. For a swimmer to do this they must be able to enjoy the experience and judge the importance of each race and not judge themselves.

Having a greater understanding of these concepts will enable you to become a well-balanced swimmer who is able to enjoy a long swimming career and perform to realise your fullest potential. Remember that it’s not just your pool sessions that count but your dry-land work, recovery time and diet which all adds up to give you the ability to perform at your best. As we all know there is nothing better than standing on the blocks at the start of your race knowing that you have worked to your fullest. You are more relaxed, more confident and ready to put all your training into practice when the starting gun goes off.