Using Props With Your Workout

There are many different tools a props that you can use when swimming. In “Swimming for Exercise”, Greg Whyte helps to clarify the purpose of these items and what they can be helpful for.

Kick board and flippers - Helps if you want to focus on kicking which is my favorite because it is easy to talk while you do this. This also helps to give your legs a good workout which is important and helpful for your overall stroke. You can also wear flippers while kicking to intensify the amount of work your legs do, it feels easier and you move faster but it makes for a better workout. Whyte notes “It Is important to select the right length of flipper- the longer the flipper, the more stress you place on your ankles” (74). I have noticed that my ankles start to hurt after too much kicking with flippers (also called fins). Once I tried using a shorter fin and noticed that it was a lot easier on my ankles but I also needed to do more kicks per yard. Below are the flippers I usually use, they are pretty long, but I practiced with some that had been cut where the red line is, making them shorter and less stressful on my ankles.

Pull-buoy and paddles- A pull-buoy is used by placing it between your legs and only using your arms to “pull” which is a good arm workout and also helpful for perfecting your strokes. Paddles are used by placing your hands on them and swimming, by using these you will be able to have a more efficient stroke. I like to use these when I want to focus on my stroke technique. Both of these are usually used for freestyle but can be used for the other strokes as well.

Which is your favorite to use? Kick board, pull-buoy, flippers, or paddles?

Citation

Whyte, Gregory P., and Eddie Jacob. Swimming for Exercise. Richmond Hill, Ont.: Firefly, 2011. Print.

Goal Setting

Swimming can get boring if you do the same thing every time, or if you don’t have a goal to aim for. In “Swimming for Exercise” by Greg Whyte, he gives a few suggestions on how to keep swimming interesting. His first tip is to make goals, short term and long term. Your short term goal should be achievable with every practice or up to a month and can include swimming a specific distance or making a certain send off. While a long term goal should be a couple of months to a year and could consist of weight loss, improving your strength, or getting a specific race time (Whyte 69). I connected this to my swimming in the Kentridge season because my coach had us fill out a goals sheet at the beginning of the year. On my sheet, I made a short term goal that involved my daily practice. My goal was to have good turns off the wall and to come up after the flags. My long term goal was to get qualifying times by the end of the season as to move onto post-season.

Once you reach your goals, it is necessary that you reward yourself. It is also helpful to have something to look forward to that will motivate you to achieve your goal. Whyte says “Reward yourself when you reach your goals (both short-term and long-term). Make sure the reward is something that you really want, but do not allow yourself to have it if you have not reached your goal” (69).  He also says that short term goals should be smaller rewards such as staying an extra hour in bed while a long term goal can be larger such as new clothing. Whyte makes it clear to avoid rewarding yourself with food because that may stray you from your goals (69). When I was setting my goals and once I made them, I had a hard time finding something to reward myself with other than food because I am very motivated by food. Rather than getting food as my reward, I tried using other things such as sleeping in because I worked hard at practice for my short term goal. For my long term goal, I rewarded myself with a practice new suit that I had been wanting. By getting the new swim suit, it not only rewarded me making my goal but it also motivated me to go swimming more because I wanted to wear it.

I got my suit from: http://usa.jolynclothing.com/

What are your favorite incentives for making goals? Or if you don’t have any what do you plan to make them?

Citation

Whyte, Gregory P., and Eddie Jacob. Swimming for Exercise. Richmond Hill, Ont.: Firefly, 2011. Print.

Making Your Own Swimming Sets

During the offseason it is important to stay in shape. In the book “Swimming for Exercise” By Greg Whyte, he gives some helpful tips for making a training program that will work for you. Whyte recommends to use each stroke (freestyle, breast stroke, back stroke, and butterfly) in each workout as well as practicing kicking and pulling. (132)

“Having a swimming buddy, someone you regularly swim with, can increase your enjoyment of exercise and help you maintain your swimming program” (Whyte 70). I chose to workout with my friend Lindsay from swim team, we are about the same speed and endurance which is helpful for working out together.

Below is the set I made for myself to practice using sets that Whyte illustrated. I try to do about 1,000 yards for every half hour of swimming. I went swimming for one hour that night so my workout totaled up to 2,000 yards.

In this set, we wanted an easy workout just to stay in shape. One tip for remembering the set you have is to put the paper in a Ziploc bag, then you will be able to have the page on the pool deck without ruining it.

 What is your favorite stroke to practice? And what helpful drills do you like to do?

Citation

Whyte, Gregory P., and Eddie Jacob. Swimming for Exercise. Richmond Hill, Ont.: Firefly, 2011. Print.

Upper Body Stretches

It is important to stretch out most of your body, targeting mostly your neck, arms, shoulders, chest, side, legs, hips, and back. Each one of these areas are influential in your swimming and you want to make sure that they are well stretched and ready for any hard work out. We learn in “Swimming for Exercise” by Greg Whyte that; “Flexibility [stretching] should be part of your warm-up and cool-down for each of your swimming sessions.” (Whyte 98) although all of those areas are very important to stretch, I’m going to show you just a few stretches that will help you before or after your workout specifically for the upper body.

Neck

Stretch your neck forwards, backwards, and to each side; holding for about 20-30 seconds. Make sure to do this gently but still enough to feel a stretch. (Whyte 99) In doing this I noticed that it is easier to sit down while you stretch, either standing or sitting works but for me sitting on my knees (as pictured below) helps me stretch out the best.

Arms and shoulders

There are many different ways to target different parts of your arms and shoulders. These are a few stretches to get you started. My go-to arm and shoulder stretches include the triceps, biceps, and two shoulder stretches.

Biceps

This stretch works best standing with a wall or pole to rest your arm on. First, put your palm against the wall and then turn away from the wall, keeping your hand there until you feel a stretch. As before, hold for 20-30 seconds. (Whyte 102)

Triceps

Lift one arm above your head and place your hand down your back, then use the opposite hand to gently grab and pull your elbow towards you head until you feel a stretch. (Whyte 100) Make sure to be very cautions with this stretch as to not injure your arm or shoulder, be sure to keep your head looking up even though your arm may not go as far back, it is best to prevent injury.

Shoulders

1. Place arm across your chest and use the other hand to grab and gently pull your elbow towards you until you feel a stretch. (Whyte 100)
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2. Grab your hands and stretch your arms out in front of you, push out your shoulder blades and round your shoulders. (Whyte 100) This stretch is weird in the way that you feel the stretch, so be very careful on this one since shoulders are very important in swimming and shoulder injuries are very common.
   

What are your favorite stretches to do before or after your workout?

Citation

Whyte, Gregory P., and Eddie Jacob. Swimming for Exercise. Richmond Hill, Ont.: Firefly, 2011. Print.

Having a Good Swimmers Diet

While reading “Swimming for Exercise” by Greg Whyte, a former Olympic Swimmer, I learned a few new tips and tricks for how to have an effective swimmers diet. Whyte focuses on making sure you keep a good balance of carbohydrate in your diet. Carbohydrates are short term energy used the cells. “In general, your muscles require carbohydrates as fuel for exercise.” (Whyte 94) If your muscles require them and you are doing a rigorous swimming workout, it is a good idea to eat/stay fueled before, during, and after your workout.

Before

If you are going to eat a large meal make sure it is 1-2 hours before your swim so you do not cramp up. Even if you do not eat a full meal, it is important to get some food in before a workout. “Energy-rich carbohydrate foods, such as chocolate, fruit, cookies, or energy bars… have a high glycemic index (GI), which means that the glucose appears in your body very quickly, making them great snacks for exercise.” (Whyte 94) Before a workout, I usually like to have a gondola bar and if I have enough time I like to have a fruit smoothie. This has worked very well for me because it is a big enough snack to fill me up after school without leaving me too full and sluggish before practice.

During

During my workout I usually drink water to keep my mouth from running dry and to stay hydrated. Whyte suggests that you will need a subtenant drink with carbohydrates for long durations of swimming. (Whyte 94) Drinks that would work would include any sports drink that has carbohydrates and electrolytes. Such as Gatorade or power aid.

This plan can also be in effect for a swim meet. It is important to keep up on carbohydrates during a meet to be prepared for your race. Eating foods as suggested to eat for before your workout, fruit, chocolate, cookies, energy bars, etc work well during a meet.

After

After my workout, I tend to be very hungry leading to a full meal. Whyte says that you should eat within 30 min of a workout, “Try to consume carbohydrates within thirty minutes of finishing a swim session- this period after exercise is the most effective time for your body to store carbohydrates.” (Whyte 94) Eating carbohydrate rich foods that also had other values to them, will make you able to fuel your body in order to gain muscles and be prepared for your next workout.

What are your favorite pre and post workout/practice snacks?

Citation

Whyte, Gregory P., and Eddie Jacob. Swimming for Exercise. Richmond Hill, Ont.: Firefly, 2011. Print.