The Swimming Expert

QUESTION:

Hi Gary,  I appreciate your time and dedication

First of all, I want you to get to know more about my 12 years daughter whose life dream is to become an Olympic champion and a world champion Her life is dedicated to swimming and actually she is a champion here in our country ( Egypt) I always encourage her and give her all the support she needs.

My question is, her coach advised me to start giving her protein supplement as a way of helping her having stronger muscles

I know that it’s better for kids to have a complete healthy meal rather than having supplements but my concern is that she has no time to eat a proper meal, she stays late at school till 6PM then she comes home for her training sessions. I can only control her supper late at night after her training but the rest of the day she eats at school.

she trains 6 days weekly, 2 hours each in water and 4 times weekly, 2 hours each in the track ( running and jumping obstacles,…)

P.S. she didn’t reach her puberty age yet ! Please advise !

Thanks,

Best Regards, RY

ANSWER:

Hi RY,

I do not believe in protein supplements for children and encourage children to eat a healthy meal and healthy snacks in between.

Protein is well known for its role in muscle development and recovery.  This role in development is especially important for the adolescent athlete who is still growing and maturing.

Protein is found in meats, meat alternatives and dairy products.  Good sources of protein include beef, lamb, goat, pork, duck, turkey, fish, tofu, egg, nuts, seeds, legumes (beans, lentils), soy products, milk, yoghurt, cheese and ice cream.

It is important that you look for ways to eat some of these foods at school when she is not in your care, as well as foods with the necessary carbohydrates and other vitamins.

For a 12 year old girl she is doing a lot of training 6 x 2hrs in the water and 4 x 2 hours on the track.

Please keep a close eye on her energy levels as 10 x 2 hour sessions a week is a lot.

I would strongly recommend that you download the following two eBooks to read, which will help you as parents and your daughter.

Swimming for Parents – www.SwimmingForParents.com

Nutrition for Swimmers – www.NutritionForSwimmers.com

All the best,

Regards

Gary

The Swimming Expert

QUESTION:

Hi Gary,

My daughter is 10 and my son is 9 and I was wondering how they can improve their swimming times to be able to compete in the NSW Country Swimming Championships . My daughter missed out last year but she is keen to go this year.   She is competing in different carnivals over the next few months and would love to see her achieve her goal.  She is between 3 sec – 5 seconds off her goal in 3 events of 50, 50 & 100 metres.

Does competing in carnivals improve their times or should they just keep training and show up for the main carnivals? Any advice would be helpful. I sometimes think it’s in the mind.

Many thanks, Ingrid

ANSWER:

Hi Ingrid,

Yes, competing in Carnivals will assist a young swimmers development as they will learn how to start, turn and finish in a racing environment and also practice their pacing for each lap and swimming fast.

Your coach will work with your children in regards to the balance between the number of carnivals versus having some weekends off to recover from the week’s training.

Training well continues to be important in between each carnival.

And yes, sometimes it is in the mind.  Some would argue more often than not for young swimmers, so it is really important that positive encouragement is provided around training and competition so that each child builds their own self-confidence, as well as their physical preparation.

Regards

Gary

The Swimming Expert

QUESTION:

Hi Gary,

I would like to know a couple of exercises for my butterfly kick and the easiest possible ways out of water and in! Is that possible?

Thanks Jade

ANSWER:

Hi Jade,

The best way to learn butterfly kick is in the water.  Your legs will start together and your toes will be pointed away from the body.  As your body undulates through the water, your hips will press down, and your legs will follow downwards.  Your knees will then bend slightly.  As your hips begin to rise, your knees will straighten as your feet quick downward in a fast action.  Your legs and feet will then follow the upward movement of your hips in preparation for another downward kick, and so on.

The best drills are to begin doing some butterfly (dolphin) kick on your back so that your face is out of the water and just focus on the movement of your hips, legs and feet.

Another great drill is to do dolphin kick on your front, with your hands beside your legs and push off underwater doing the dolphin movement.  Because you have water above and below you, this drill enables you to feel the water of your hips, legs and feet and fully understand what they are doing. This is my favourite with swimmers who are learning butterfly kick.

One further drill is to do butterfly kick on your side so that your hips, legs and feet are pressing from side to side, with plenty of water to displace.

Practicing dolphin kick both with and without fins (flippers) will assist you to develop the butterfly kick more quickly.

Hope this helps Jade,

Regards

Gary

The Swimming Expert

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If you have children who swim competitively then this book is a fantastic gift for your husband, wife, partner, children, coach or yourself!

As an extra special offer to all ‘The Swimming Expert’ subscribers, all copies purchased by midnight on Thursday 6 December 2012 can include a message from me and my personal signature.   All you have to do when you purchase the book online is include in the comment section ‘who you would like the book addressed to and a one line comment you would like included’.

Swimming for Parents has received rave reviews from parents, swimmers and coaches and is a great gift idea this Christmas for mum, dad, son, daughter or coach. There is something in it for everyone.

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QUESTION:

I have a 8 year old girl and a 9 year old boy.

They get entered into galas having to swim 800m as well as 200m IM, 100m freestyle, up to 7 or 8 races at a time. Is this very good for them?

As a parent I would like to ask the question, at what age is it healthy/unhealthy to make kids swim such big distances so young?

Thanks AJ

ANSWER:

Hi AJ,

Seven to eight races in a single day is a lot for a young swimmer, especially if there are one or two longer distance swims in there.

“Is this good for them?”  It really depends how they cope on the day.  To me the number of races seems a bit excessive for this age group and in my coaching experience I often found 4 to 5 good quality races would be the right number.

In regards to young children swimming 800m swims, I believe this is fine and so long as they are using correct technique, will be beneficial for them over time.  I’m not sure they need to do them all the time, as swims like this can also have the opposite affect and turn some children away from swimming – especially those who just like to race short distances or have short concentration spans.

The other benefit of doing a few 800m races is that those swimmers who practice on a regular basis will often perform better and see improvements in their times than those swimmers who turn up for practice irregularly and do not always put in a solid effort.

Some swimming coaches would even argue that children at a young age should only be allowed to race 200m events upwards because the 50 and 100 metre events can often reward the early developers who are stronger  at a young age, whilst the distance events reward the children who put in a consistent effort at practice.

Regards

Gary

The Swimming Expert

QUESTION:

Hello I’ve been swimming since I was 6 years old and I love it so much. I am 15 now and my times are not the best, I’d say okay, but I try my best to improve and I’m sure I will if I train a lot more. It’s also because I had to stop swimming for this past year and a half due to hard work I had at school and also because of a skin problem I had.

I am starting swimming again in september and I am willing to give it all I have to get back on track. So do I have a chance to get qualified for the 2016 olympics if I train more, or is it too late?

I live abroad, in Morocco, if that helps in any way. I am not part of the Moroccan swim team. My team swims 2 hours, 5 times a week. How can I do more? How can I get qualified if it isn’t too late? Thank you Hafsa

ANSWER:

Hi Hafsa, I have always encouraged swimmers to go after their dreams.

The key to you getting back into swimming is to start again and as soon as possible.  If you began swimming in the next week, I would suggest going for 3 x 1/2 hours swims for one week, followed by 3 x 1hr swims the following week.  Each week build up the amount of swimming you are doing until you are doing at least 5 x 1 hr swims a week.  If you can do this through August and early September, you will be semi-prepared to begin back doing the 5 x 2hr sessions with your swim team.

Once you are back into full training for 6 months you will need to lift the number of sessions you do up to 7 or 8 sessions a week and ensure you have quality programs that include all the different components that you need to improve your speed, endurance and racing ability.

As far as qualifying for the Olympics, it will depend on how committed you are to training for the next 4 years, your talent levels and who you will be competing against.  You will have a much better idea in 2 years time when you have built a solid base of training and racing and will have a foundation to go after your goal then.

Regards

Gary

The Swimming Expert

QUESTION:

How many times a week, should a 11 year old boy train swimming – if he is serious about training.

How long should the sessions be for?

Thanks Dina

ANSWER:

Hi Dina,

The number of sessions an 11 year old boy should train from child to child.

In general I would say 3 to 4 times a week if they are taking part in competitions.  Some, with a good background from a young age, may even do 5 or 6 sessions per week, especially if they are taking the sport seriously.  Alot will depend also on whether they are playing another sport and what other activities they have in their life.

The training sessions would normally be 1 1/2 hours with some at 2 hours for more advanced 11 year olds.

This question (and many more) are answered quite comprehensively in the book www.SwimmingForParents.com.  I am sure this book would assist you greatly with your son in this area and many others.

Regards

Gary

The Swimming Expert

QUESTION:

Hi Gary,  I have twins.  They are 9 years old.

I started swimming very late in life and I love the sport a lot, but I don’t want to be overbearing with my kids so I have them do all sports. Currently they are in basketboll 2-3 times a week and every weekend they swim for an hour about 1k.

I want them to love the swimming as much as I do.  One kid loves to compete and the other loves the water but two years ago when he was too young we went to a competition that was freezing and he did not liked the experience so he is not too keen on competing in swimming but he loves competing in basketball

My question is what do I do for them to like swimming and competition.  They are both very competitive boys but I am perplexed why the one that likes competing in other sports does not like competing in swimming.  If I made a mistake by sending him to a competition too young. Is there anything I can do to reverse the mistake?  And also in the summer I am planning for them to swim everyday 1k  (except Sat and Sun) and basketboll three times a week. They will have no other activity.   I wanted to send them to a summer camp in Florida but thougth their level is not great.. and  instead of raising their self confidence in swimming I may be hurting them.. any advise?  I will be greatful for any advise you can give me.

VF

ANSWER:

Hi VF,  Firstly, I admire that you would like your children to enjoy swimming for a lifetime, like you do.  It is a great sport and fitness / recreational activity for people of all ages.

In regards to your son who does not like competing in swimming, he may just want to try other sports and there is nothing wrong with this.  While a child’s first experience at a swim meet should be a positive one, it does not necessarily mean that they will not come back to competition swimming one day.  I would keep encouraging him to do some swimming and over time he may want to take part in a competition again.  The swimming will help his fitness and body development for other sports especially a game like basketball.

One other suggestion is that when you take them swimming over summer, once they have swum the 1k play some games and include in them some mini races.  This would be a great activity to guage how competitive he is in the pool, whilst having fun at the same time.

Regards

Gary

The Swimming Expert