Olivier Poirier-Leroy is a former national level swimmer based out of Victoria, BC. In feeding his passion for swimming, he has developed YourSwimBook, a powerful log book and goal setting guide made specifically for swimmers. Sign up for the YourSwimBook newsletter (free) and get weekly motivational tips by clicking here.
As the season starts to roll ahead, so with it comes those sets. You know, the ones that make you cringe a little bit in your Speedo. The ones where you cannot swim warm-up slowly enough. Where excuses and reasons to get out early tantalize and tease you–
I have too much homework… My shoulder is starting to act up… My goggles are on the verge of snapping…
But what do you do? You troop it out. You suffer through the pain and exhaustion because you know at the end of it there awaits a tougher, faster swimmer. And being that swimmer is what it is all about.
Here are 6 ways to soldier through those tough sets this fall like a boss:
Just. One. More.
How many times have you pulled up to the wall, looked at the clock, with the second hand speeding towards your departure interval, gasping for air, muscles already aching, and felt the weight of a realization that you still have 15 more reps to be completed? You’re not alone.
Focus on simply doing the next rep instead of getting lost in the mountain of work ahead of you. A simple way to put this line of thinking into practice is to recommit yourself to “just one more!” each time you cruise into the wall.
Two excellent feelings await you.
Not only will you get that influx of warm fuzzies – also known as the post-workout/set high – but you will also be beset with another super rad emotion: pride. In the midst of that tough set, when you are struggling and your goggles are filling with sweat, focus on those two feelings waiting for you at the finish line.
Be technique driven.
Get your mind off of the difficulty of the set by focusing on the details of your stroke and technique. Divert your attention from the exhausting nature of the set towards having a perfect catch each time. Nailing your turns. Snapping your feet together at the end each kick.
Set milestone goals.
Break the set down into chunks, milestones, or mini-doughnuts, err, mini-goals. If you’re working out a set of 20×50’s, aim to complete 4 or 5 at a time. In the same way that “just one more!” keeps your brain off of the enormity of the set, segmenting the set into chunks makes it less intimidating.
Arrest the negative self-talk.
We can get awfully negative when we are in the opening stages of a tough set and we already feel like our muscles and lungs are about to give out. One of my favorite ways to combat those pesky negative thoughts is to refrain them in a way that asks what is possible, and what benefits lay ahead. Here is an example:
Before: I will never be able to finish this set.
After: I will never be able to finish this set… but if I do finish it how much of a gangster will I feel like?
Have a tough set mantra.
Similar to the way that a good song can keep our mind off of the struggle, having a mantra can come in handy to keep you focused on punching that tough set square in the nose. Unleash your mantra when your struggle is at its peak – using it overzealously during warm-up, drill sets, and when you are in the hot tub afterwards will water down its effect. In this way it will act as a trigger or a cue for you to plow through.
Here are some sample mantras to throw at the next big set that comes your way:
- This set will not defeat me.
- I am the boss of my swimming.
- Nobody works harder than me.
- Bring it!
- I will never be outworked.
What are some of the ways that you trick yourself into pushing through those challenging sets?
About YourSwimBook
YourSwimBook is a log book and goal setting guide designed specifically for competitive swimmers. It includes a ten month log book, comprehensive goal setting section, monthly evaluations to be filled out with your coach, and more. Learn 8 more reasons why this tool kicks butt.
NEW: We now have motivational swimming posters. Five of ’em, actually.
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Thank you so much for writing this! It has helped me through a lot of tough sets!