QUESTION:
Hi Gary, My name is Canis. Firstly i would like to thank you for the Swimming Expert website you have. I found alot of interesting topics & tips to advance my swimming.
Gary, i have a question & i hope you can give me some tips on this matter.
What will be the best thing to do if you have some hours break between your prelims & final? For example, if your prelims is in the morning & you have around 4 – 5 hours untill warm up for your final.
So, what will be the best thing to do within the break? Will it be good if you sleep? Will it be good if you look up again your prelims video & find out what to change for final or visualitation while looking some other elite swimmer swimming on the utube?
Thank you Gary. Canis
ANSWER:
Hi Canis and thanks for your feedback on the Swimming Expert website and also for your ‘Likes’ on www.facebook.com/TheSwimmingExpert
The break between prelims (or heats) and finals is so important for swimmers. It gives you time to recover from the prelim session and regenerate before swimming in the finals session, usually held in the evening. A good meal as soon as possible after heats (see www.NutritionForSwimmers.com for some great hints on what to eat) and either a sleep or good rest can really help you perform at your optimum in finals. Having a good rest is especially important if you are swimming in a multi day meet and have to get up and perform in prelims and finals for more than 2 days.
In regards to having a sleep during the day, this is practised by most elite swimmers and usually an hour to 1 1/2 hours is sufficient to regenerate for finals . If you sleep for too long (more than 1 1/2 to 2 hours) it can be hard to wake your body up properly for finals and it also makes it harder to get to sleep at night, so each individual will need to experiment with the ideal amount of sleep for them.
If you get the chance to have a look at the video of your heat swim then look for areas that you can improve. It may be your start, turn or finish or something to do with your stroke. It is ideal to look at your video with your coach, so that they can provide feedback to you.
Finally, taking the time to watch how the best swimmers in the world race can be both motivational and also can assist your learning and development.
Good luck with your swimming Canis.
Regards, Gary
Comments are closed.