What its like to be a Swimming Athlete

Competitive swimming IT'S not easy.

Swimming athletes put in hours of training into every day, often dedicating every moment to becoming a better swimmer. In the end, they are rewarded with being the best athletes in a highly-competitive sport.

Have you ever wondered what it’s like to be a swimming athlete? Take a look at an average day to get an idea of what it takes to be the best...

Wake Up Very Early

Generally, a swimming athlete’s first training and practice session will begin sometime around 5:00 am. You can’t just be present, you need to be awake, alert, and ready to train your mind and body. You’ll may be waking up around 3:30 or 4:00 just to make sure you are at the pool on time.

First In-Pool Exercise (Early Morning)

After a general warm-up on dry land, where you stretch and loosen your abs, shoulders, legs, and arms, it’s into the pool, which will probably feel ice-cold on your still-sleepy body. In the pool, your coach will likely be looking at the specifics of your swimming motions, including stroke length, stroke count, and speed around turns. This is a great time to tune your swimming techniques as well as develop your conditioning.

Strength Training (Late Morning)

For most athletes, a mid-day training session in the weight room will be used to strengthen muscles and enhance explosiveness. The focus of these weight training sessions will often be short, explosive bursts of power, which can enhance takeoff from the platform or after a turn.

Second In-Pool Training (Afternoon)

After some stretching and a bit of rest, it’s back to the pool for a final daily workout. Because your body has been through so much throughout the day, this is really is an essential workout. Your coach may call for rigorous training to maximize your conditioning, or you may have a lighter workout if the earlier training was particularly intense. Either way, the last workout of the day is your final chance to improve your body. That is, until tomorrow...