I have some news to you new swimmers: There are no shortcuts in swimming and training.
You put in the work and the quality and volume of that work dictates your results. You put in junk you are going to get junk results. But if you put in quality and consistent work you are going to achieve your goals.
Unfortunately with swimming, the gains can be small and definitely do not occur overnight: five seconds here; a few less strokes per 100; breathing every 3 strokes instead of every stroke; only having to take a break after each lap instead of every length; swimming outside without panicking.
All of these small gains should be celebrated. But what if I told you, that you could fast track these small steps. These are not shortcuts. Nor are they hacks because both of those will only give you temporary gains and can ingrain bad habits. These are proven actions you can take now to avoid the frustration of losing and wasting training sessions and time.
- Video analysis is the first and best way to fast track results. Instead of wasting time guessing what drill you need to do and what types of workouts you should do, video analysis and having a coach look over your stroke will target exactly what you need to focus on in your stroke and how to fix your problems step by step. Video analysis is so important that we include it for free with our upgraded TSC program. It is that crucial.
- A structured training program: Knowing the issues of your stroke and fitness is only half the issue. Once you know what you need to fix, you need a plan that will fix it. The plan should be specific, structured, and progressive. You cannot randomly go to the pool and do a speed session here, take a few days off, then get in again for maybe a continuous swim or just a few laps of drills, then take a week off. Well you could do this but you would not see authentic progress. One of the reasons that so many of our athletes have found success is that our plan plan is not random. It builds consistent and long lasting swim habits.
- Focus on one thing: When you get your stroke analyzed for the first time and see your seemingly complex training schedule, fixing your form seems like a Herculean task. Instead, you should first take a deep breath and focus on ONE small habit. One task that we really like to give our beginner athletes when they first join is the bubble drill. All you have to do is float on your stomach (or even more simply, put your face in the water) and blow bubbles. THAT’S IT. Then when you are comfortable breathing underwater, you move on to the next tweak in your form and then the next.
If you follow these 3 steps early on in your training, you will be laughing at the water without wasting weeks of training or being paralyzed by the work you have to do.
