Swimming in open water is not always easy for those who are used to swimming with their eyes fixed on the blue line at the bottom of the pool.
So even though the triathlon and open water swimming season won't start yet, we'd like to give you some great tips on how to prepare for your first races. The sooner you overcome your fear, the more specific your preparation will be and the better you will perform in races with Lifeguard Training.
The first step is to not allow fear to take over and face your fears. An invaluable piece of advice is to “similar and isolate”, this can make everything else less stressful.
swimming technique
Work on your swimming technique, isolate the problem, and simulate what might happen in a race. Breathing, on the other hand, is extremely important in open water, so learn how to count to 3. As we all know, three is the perfect number. Breathing every fathom will throw you off balance while breathing every 5 or 7 fathoms could be tricky if you're an inexperienced swimmer.
Always incorporate breathing exercises into your training sessions, such as freestyle 6/8 x 50m breathing every 3 strokes for the first 25m and then every 5 for the second 25m with a 20” rest.
The second step is to recognize any signals that are coming from your brain. Our brain has an extremely irrational, paranoid, and emotional side that thinks catastrophically. It is one of the oldest parts of the brain and is the Source of the fight/flight responses and also the Source of all our instincts and pleasures. Evolution has given it incredible powers such as the ability to collect and process information much faster than the rest of our brain and the ability to draw the attention of the rational brain to force us to think faster when our lives are in danger...
two technique
Give your "irrational ego" a free pass, as for a few minutes it could be a good tactic. In the time it will calm down and the rational part will regain control. After all, you are only participating in a triathlon race.
The third step is to use the mental image and the internal dialogue. After regaining control of your brain, make use of "facts" and "logic".
Dialogue internally and use two techniques: 1. accept the fact that "I have trained well"; “I have learned to keep the perfect rhythm in the water”; “nothing can surprise me in the race”.
Use logic in your approach to your race, for example when choosing tactics or selecting the right pace.
The final step is to be prepared and find a way to overcome any difficulties that may arise.
Preparation is vital, so train as hard as possible to ensure you are prepared to do the swim leg to the best of your ability. Training that is not focused on your goal will have a cascading effect on your mental, physical and motivational preparation for American Lifeguard Association Miami.
open water swimming
Train mainly in the pool, because recreating open water conditions is almost impossible. Learn how to change the rhythm and work on faster rhythms. This will help you when swimming in a group. Incorporate drills that might be helpful in a race, such as bilateral breathing, alternate breathing, or head-over-water breathing.
If you are still in doubt, try reading some of the previous articles such as Everything you need to know about open water swimming, here you will find excellent advice on the best possible physical preparation.
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