Swimmers are some of the few competitors in the Olympics which have the physique of a superhuman. Swimmers need to be in impeccable form to compete professionally. Many different nationalities converge to compete in the Olympics.
The ‘long size’ Olympic swimming pool is 50.0m long. The ‘short size’ Olympic swimming pool is 25.0m long. The minimum requirement for the depth of the pool is 2.0m (6ft 7in), and a recommended depth of 3.0m (9ft 10in).
How Do Olympic Athletes Compete?
In the 2016 Summer Olympics, swimmers needed to have a time of less than 23 to 26 seconds in the freestyle event to qualify. The width of a football field is 48.76m wide. To put that into perspective, swimmers are covering 50m in less than 30 seconds.
Swimmers need to train with a strong and ideological commitment to achieve such rigorously challenging performance benchmarks. Before beginning to teach your child how to breathe properly in freestyle, make sure that swimming is the sport they enjoy. Do not make your child forcefully participate in a sport they do not like.
Building Self-Esteem and Confidence
If you want your child to get their hand on the wall first on the other side, you need to find out why your child is participating in swimming. Is it because you are forcing them by having unnecessary expectations? Or is it because they enjoy being in the water?
Try to develop a love for swimming in your child and the confidence to help them achieve. Even if they fail to make the number one spot, don’t insult your child. Teach them to challenge themselves to achieve better performance. With the right encouragement, there are no limits to what children can achieve.
High-Intensity Workouts Inside the Swimming Pool
Olympic swimmers have an extremely strenuous schedule. Swimmers wake up at four in the morning and train more than twice a day. The warm-up session is early in the morning. Speedsters’ training sessions focus on strengthening their speed and power. Speedsters use a device called a power rack.
The power rack adds resistance in the water flowing against the swimmer. It becomes even more difficult for the swimmer to swim against the current with a power rack installed. Swimmers must perform various exercises in the water to make their arms and legs stronger. Competitive swimmers need to be lean and accomplish hypoxic swim sessions.
Coordinating With the Swimming Coach
The swimming coach will motivate your child to challenge themselves physically by setting specific goals. The swimming coach should not threaten your child to perform better. Getting an athlete to perform by threatening them can have positive short-term effects, but devastating mental health effects in the long-run.
The coach should be able to persuade the child into performing better. Instead of saying, “You have to do it!†The coach should be saying something like, “I know you can do it.†Instead of focusing on the outcome, the coach should be able to teach the swimmer the proper technique.
Exercising on Dry Land
Swimmers are one of the few athletes who have just as a tough workout on land as they do underwater. At the gym, swimmers need to start by performing a variety of stretches. They must concentrate on their upper body just as much as they focus on their legs.
Once the warm-up session is complete, swimmers will do bench-presses, inclined bench-presses, flying exercises. They must do several other shoulders and upper body exercises. Swimmers must complete aerobic exercises to help them develop endurance. They do jump rope, balance beam, and cycling exercises to build their balance and stamina.
Maintaining a Healthy Diet
Swimmers need to have an extensive diet plan to achieve their maximum performance in such elaborate exercises. Their bodies need to have just the right amount of energy to perform all these workouts. If they overeat, there is a chance that they can become fat and cumbersome.
A swimmer might not be able to achieve their full performance if they do not get enough nutrients. The coach will design a swimmer’s diet to include a majority of natural drinks, fruits, and vegetables using a calorie calculator.
Focus on the Performance, Not the Result
During the competition, there are two types of competitors. The first is the athlete who concentrates on their performance. The second is the competitor who focuses on the outcome. The latter takes into account different factors, the lighting, the temperature of the water, their position, and so on.
To eliminate all the other disturbances in an athlete’s mind, the competitor must focus purely on their performance. If they have practiced and believe in themselves, this is the moment of truth. The competitor is bound to crumble if they focus on the outcome. Concentrating on their execution, the athlete gives their best performance, without the added pressure.
Relaxing Before the Big Competition
A taper period starts a month before any big competition or race. The frequency and intensity of an athlete’s training and exercise gradually decrease. Competitors go through a taper period so that they can perform their best on the day of the big competition.
Swimmers stop all their strenuous physical workouts instead of their daily pool workout sessions. The pool practice sessions are adjusted to be less exhausting. To relax their muscles for the big competition, some athletes use escalators and the elevator. The taper session is the time to get a massage, but nothing extremely exquisite.
Defining Success Depending on Winning or Losing
Advertising and social media bring all the unnecessary hype to a competition. They quickly forget about all the past failures of today’s winner. According to them, the winner today is the god of the day. The loser gets all the negative criticism and attention.
It is essential to teach your children good sportsman spirit. A game is just that, a game. There will be winners and losers. If your child does not make it to the number one spot, don’t hold it against them for the rest of their life. It is crucial to boost your child’s confidence by letting them know that, at least they tried their best.
Guest post by Stella Lincoln
Stella Lincoln is the owner of the Educator House blog. She loves to interact with people from different walk of life. Stella also pursues a career with King Essay as their Fitness Trainer.
