What can I do to become a much better swimmer instead of swimming long sets?
It all depends on your relationship with your coach. I have a few suggestions:Swim better, not more. In warm up, in the main sets, in warmdown, think about technique. Concentrate on and remember or record your times per fifty or hundred meters. This will vary by distance, but if you swim a few thousand well, that will be better than many thousand without concentration.See about changing your warmup. The main goal of warmup is to increase bloodflow and physically warm your muscles. Jogging, aquarobics, dancing, yoga, and etc can do that. Instead of two thousand meters of warmup, you could play basketball, then swim five hundred. You still need some swimming warmup to have personal focus on technique - to do your own drills as you see fit.These suggestions could cut your training distance by a third, again depending on your preferred racing distance and stroke. Which brings up a new problem; if you are a younger swimmer, perhaps still in high school, your preferred stroke and distance should be ‘all of them’ and specialization should wait until after high school.
How do I calm down nerves before a swim meet?
First, don't think about what you want the outcome of the race to be. Don't think about the time you want to get or who is in the next lane. Think about how to swim the race- think of a few key words you can repeat to yourself in the water (eg head position, pull, kick, flip, head position, pull, kick, flip). In the minutes before your race, get yourself into the zone. Michael Phelps doesn't talk to anybody an hour before his events, he just thinks. Think of yourself as an Olympic swimmer, just focus on the event and breathe. And convert the nervousness into energy, because being nervous can tire you out. Just be glad you are there and swimming, take a deep breath, get on the blocks, and start thinking- push off, streamline, tuck head. push off, streamline, tuck head. and go.
How can I calm my nerves for my first swim meet tomorrow? ?
Ok I'm not a swimmer but I am a gymnast and either way there's a lot of pressure. The first thing to do is breathe. Now relax a little (feel better?) What's done is done, if you have trained well you should do well and if you didn't learn from your mistakes and be ready next time. Yes it will be stressful and tense but don't psyche yourself out that will just terrify you which doesn't help when you are trying to concentrate. Picture yourself swimming perfectly (try even if you have trouble picturing it). Think about how it feels to glide through the water, the sensation it gives you. When you go to the event the crowd, coaches, teammates will probably go away. When you swim focus only on what you are doing at that exact moment. Every breath every kick and make it your goal not to win but to do you best because you can't lose when you preform to your highest and don't be afraid to loosen up a little and enjoy it. Hope this helps and good luck! =]
How do swimmers warm up before a race?
Hi there. Swimmers typically do a warm-up prior to the meet starting each day. That warm up will vary in distance, but generally you want to break through to your second wind. After that you continue to stretch and stay warm, keeping your muscles loose. Then before each race, swimmers do a shorter warm up and get a feel for the water again--this time the goal is to stay loose and focus on technique. One or two races before their race the swimmer will get out of the warm up pool and head to their starting block. This is where routines vary greatly. Some swimmers like to keep their parkas on and move around keeping their muscles loose, others like to listen to music, focus and think about their race and stay in a zone, others need a pep talk from the coaches. After each race, it is back to the second pool to warm down, relieving the body of the acid build-up from the race.
In swimming: why some lanes are considered to be better than others?
As one of your posters mentioned athletes are 'circle seeded' in swim meets. This means the fastest seeded swimmer is in the last heat and middle lane (lane 4 in an 8 lane pool). The second fastest swimmer is in the second to the last heat and middle lane. The third fastest swimmer is in the the third to the last heat and middle lane. The last three heats are the only 'seeded heats' so the 4th fastest swimmer will swim the preliminaries in the last heat in the second to the middle lane (lane 5 in an 8 lane pool). As another one of your posters mentioned it's advantageous to be in the middle because the middle lane is closest to ALL of the competitors plus the focus is in the middle of the pool (the highest seeds). However, what hasn't been mentioned is that the outside lanes have the disadvantage of the 'backwash' created by the waves of the swimmers hitting the wall and reverberating back creating more waves and less of a smooth surface to swim in. This has been minimized through technological advances such as deeper pools, flow over gutters on the deck, new designs in lane separators, and multiple lane separators between the outside lane and the wall. So in today's races it's attractive to be in the center lanes mainly to keep an eye on the competition as technology has taken care of 'most' of the other problems earlier competitors had to deal with. I hope this helps.
What are some tips for swimming in a swim meet?
So I have been swimming for 12 years, and will be continuing my swimming career at college. As two-year captain of my HS team, here's what I'd tell you:Everybody, and I mean everybody, is feeling the pain during dual meet season. The guy next to you is trying to hide his pain just as much as you are. Get up and race him. The mental aspect of dual meet season separates winners from losers, and it's something you have to train every meet. I never believed in myself during dual meet season, and thus, despite being state qualifier for all four years and conference runner up in the 500, I only won two 500 frees in my HS dual meet career.I was an any-event-first-half and 500 swimmer. I'd then hop out the 500 and do the 200 free relay and 400 free relay. It sucks. When I swam the 200 IM (best: 2:06.56), the idea was always to carry the momentum from the start through the fly, push the backstroke, fight the urge to get sloppy on breaststroke, then bring that SOB home with everything you have on the freestyle. If your state works like mine, the 200 IM is right before the 50. This is perfect. My fastest 50’s came immediately after the 500, on the 200 free relay. Hop out, shake it out, catch your breath, if you have time, swim it out a little. If not, don't worry. For the 50 (best flat start: 22.55; best relay: 21.56), I could swim it in blackout goggles. I knew exactly where my breaths came (in dual meets I took two--only one at championships), exactly how the flip would go. On the second 25, make sure you're not shortening up your stroke. And don't look around.Don't let fear and nerves overcome you. Everyone is scared. It's whether they let it consume them that determines whether or not they succeed.Best of luck!
Should i join the swim team?
You should DEFINITELY join! I have been swimming for a long time but i have also done other sports too. Swimming is definitely the hardest. You will have to work hard but don't even worry about your times compared to other people. You can't compare yourself to people who have been swimming longer than you. You should join your team and then focus on improving for yourself and work on beating your own times instead of other people's. It doesn't matter what other people are doing, just focus on improving for yourself.
How do I stop psyching myself out before an event (swim meet)?
Breathe. You won’t be able to during your race.Have fun. This is what helps me the most at meets. I mess around with my friends.Start a meet journal. I have one of these. I write down what I’m swimming and my goal time. Then, after my race, I’ll write down my actual time and + or - seconds.Listen to music. Music is relaxing. It can also get you pumped up. Make a playlist for when you’re at swim meets.Completely forget about the meet. Draw, read, post stuff on Instagram—do whatever you have to to forget where you are. Before you know it, your race is up next.It’s kind of hard to hear this now, especially if you’re just starting out, but it will get better with time. The more meets you go to, the more confident you’ll be in your abilities.Good luck!