OPEN WATER – PRO TIPS

 You are an “open water swimmer”. That denotes from you bravery, audacity, strength, discipline and courage with Lifeguard Course near me. Still, if you want to get very high, you have to be able to deal with a lot of very difficult variables. You have chosen one of the most demanding and overwhelming sports and disciplines that exist. You know it and it motivates you. The knowledge and control of all these skills will make you a great swimmer, a great competitor, a great man.

Let's define your structure and preparation in three fundamental blocks that can be the key to success: body, mind and environment.

BODY:

At a structural level, the statistics tell us, and logically, that the best and fastest swimmers in the world have an average build, with a moderate percentage of muscle mass (light bodies with great resistance capacity). Do you have that profile?

In terms of physiology, we must recognize that high-performance open water swimming is a relatively new sport, and there is not much scientific literature on the subject. If we are clear that you must develop a great capacity to tolerate swimming rhythms close to your vo2max and have a good final sprint.

Do you measure your vo2max often?

Speaking of training, your sport is all about endurance, so try to explore and develop this ability to its full potential. Apart from swimming, he runs, rows, pedals, jumps rope, etc. And whenever you can, seek to challenge yourself: Reach the peak of that mountain, improve your mark on the bike course, add repetitions to the workouts, and above all, always finish your main swimming series very strong! motivates you?

Every training process demands a correct recovery. It will be essential that you respect your rest times, that you resort to regeneration therapies such as massages, physiotherapy, cryotherapy, etc. And that you take care of your nutrition in detail. Do you comply with this?

In the water we highlight several fundamental points:

– The technique:  the position of your body and stability of the trunk in the water will be crucial; especially to “save energy” over long distances.

– Your skills to control environmental variables:  wind, waves, orientation, food/hydration.

– Your experience:  knowing your rivals, the circuits, the conditions you are going to face, will allow you to develop a plan beforehand with which you will be able to benefit from the drafting, the currents, the swimming technique and strategy that you will use , of the most suitable glasses or neoprene type, etc.

MIND:

Here is the kit of the question! Your psychological preparation.

In endurance sports, the mind is what commands and wins the competitions. Literally…

It is the one that helps you stay focused, to fight for your goal, your dream. She is the one who gets the strength to get up early every day, so as not to miss even one of those exhausting workouts. It is the angel that fights with the devil over your head when you have to decide between going out with your friends or going to the gym, between eating a fruit or a chocolate cake, or between enduring the pain and trying to win a test or giving up trying. .

She is your best friend, your ally, the only one who truly believes in you and the only one capable of making you conquer the impossible...

Train this aspect:

Sports psychology, coaching and therapies such as meditation or mindfulness are great and powerful tools that can help you consolidate clear concepts about yourself and your goals.

This is undoubtedly the ace that you can hide up your sleeve, especially in long distance competitions or when it comes to aspiring to a podium.

I take this opportunity to remind you of my favorite phrase: Pain is temporary, Glory is for ever!

AROUND:

Here we could define two types of environments: natural and personal.

We have already commented on something natural in previous paragraphs. Remember, if you want to succeed, you must be an expert in swimming in the sea and its conditions, in rivers and their variables, in lakes and their temperatures. All these circumstances can and should be trained, especially in the final and specific stage of the preparation and in the tapering with American Lifeguard Association Miami.

With the personal environment, we mean your family, friends, colleagues, coach. It will be of utmost importance that this circle that surrounds you supports you, respects, motivates and above all believes in you. Dialogue and honesty will be essential...