Last Updated on November 19, 2023 by admin
In this article, we will provide advice, hacks and tips on how to best help you when recovering from swimming training.
Competitive swimming training can sometimes be gruelling, especially,
- When you are coming back to training after a period of relative inactivity, such as starting a new season
- Coming back to training after an enforced layoff due to illness or injury
- Joining a new squad or club which can require you to increase either the intensity and/or duration of your training.
Learning to effectively recover from swimming training is essential to ensure you can undertake your swimming training programme at your optimum level.
- This involves ensuring that you follow some protocols and procedures before, during, immediately after and during the periods in between training sessions.
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Effective ways of recovering from swimming training
Listed below are some of the most effective ways of recovering from swimming training
Keeping well hydrated
A fit and healthy body needs to be well hydrated to perform at its optimum and to recover from the rigours of training.
- Although most of a swimmers’ training is conducted in the water, they still lose a great deal of body fluid through physical exertion.
- This lost fluid should be replaced, as dehydration is one of the most common causes of poor performance and a slow ineffective recovery.
- Competitive swimmers should ensure that they stay sufficiently well-hydrated throughout the day.
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Eating the correct food
Proper swimming nutrition is essential for optimum swimming performance and an effective way of recovering from swimming training
- It provides the swimmers with the energy they require to cope with the rigours of training and competition.
- Proper swimming nutrition also helps create new muscles and helps maintain and repair existing muscles.
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Warm-up and cool-down properly
Warm-ups
Competitive swimmers should conduct a series of warm-ups, including pre-pool, in the pool and post-pool warm-ups.
- They are of key importance to swimmers because, to swim fast and effectively, the swimmer’s muscles need to be warmed.
- This increases their flexibility and enhances their range of movement, making them more efficient whilst swimming.
- Warm-ups and cooldowns also help the swimmer during the recovery process.
- Swimming with warm and supple muscles helps to reduce the chance of injury.
- An effective warm-up also prepares the swimmer’s heart to pump larger amounts of oxygen-rich blood throughout their body whilst swimming.
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Cool-downs
An effective cool-down has many recovery benefits. These include,
Removing metabolic waste by-products
- During the rigours of competitive swimming, metabolic waste by-products can accumulate in the swimmer’s muscles.
- These can often make a swimmer’s muscles stiff and sore.
- An effective swimming cool-down can help remove these waste by-products.
Muscle repair
- Intense swimming can often lead to the swimmer’s muscle tissues breaking down.
- These should recover with the correct rest and nutrition.
- An effective swimming cool-down can help in the muscle tissue repair process.
Recovery of the nervous system
- An effective swimming cool-down can help recover the swimmer’s nervous system.
- This can enable the swimmer to be more efficient and quicker to react.
Related article on an effective competitive swimming cool-down.
We have produced a related article on an effective competitive swimming cool-down. You can view it by clicking this link: an effective competitive swimming cool-down.
Other effective ways of recovering from swimming training
Get Enough Sleep
Sleep is one of the most important ways to help a swimmer’s body and mind to rest, repair and rebuild from the rigours of swimming training and competition.
- A good night’s sleep can also help to improve a swimmer’s general health.
- Most medical professionals recommend swimmers get between 8 to 9 hours of sleep per night.
- Believing that getting less than 7 hours of sleep per night is insufficient.
- However competitive swimmers often require more sleep to help them fully recover.
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Learn to relax
The ability to be able to relax is of great benefit to any swimmer wishing to train and compete at their optimum level.
- Dryland relaxation techniques can help swimmers reduce any self-doubts, worries or physical anxieties while increasing their concentration and performance.
- Relaxation techniques can also be used to aid a good night’s sleep and to help a swimmer to rest and recover from the rigours of training or competition.
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An active recovery
An active recovery, such as slow, low-intensity swims between periods of intensive training sets, is an effective way to dissipate waste by-products that build up in the swimmer’s body during training.
- It enables the blood to remove waste by-products which can contribute to muscle fatigue and stiffness.
- Many swimmers find gentle dry/land-based exercises such as Pilates or yoga, very beneficial as ways of effectively recovering from the rigours of swimming training.
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Use a foam roller
Using a foam roller can provide a swimmer with many benefits, these include,
Relieving muscle pain
Many swimmers use a foam roller to help them release stiff and tender muscle knots called trigger points.
- Trigger points can be caused by muscle imbalance, overuse or injury.
- Some swimmers find a foam roller an effective method of reducing DOMS (delayed onset muscle soreness).
- This is when a swimmer experiences sore, stiff or tender muscles for days after their swim.
Increase flexibility
Many swimmers find that combining foam rollers with static stretching after a swimming session can help to develop a swimmer’s flexibility and range of motion.
- Foam rolling can be effective in helping to break down muscle scar tissue.
- It can also help to reduce the risk of injury.
Related article on foam rolling for swimmers
We have produced a related article on foam rolling for swimmers. You can view it by clicking this link: foam rolling for swimmers.
Takeaways
Competitive swimming training can sometimes be gruelling, especially,
- When you are coming back to training after a period of relative inactivity when starting a new season
- Coming back to training after an enforced layoff due to illness or injury
- Joining a new squad or club requires you to increase either the intensity and/or duration of your training.
Learning to properly recover from swimming training is essential to ensure you can undertake your swimming training programme effectively.
- This involves ensuring that you follow some protocols and procedures before, during, immediately after and in the periods between training sessions.
Competitive Swimming Drills Publications
We have published a portfolio of competitive swimming drill publications for butterfly, backstroke, breaststroke and freestyle. Each publication contains a series of stroke-specific competitive drills.
They are now available in both Amazon Kindle and paperback formats.
#swimmingpublications #swimmingdrills #freestyleswimming #backstrokeswimming #butterflyswimming #breaststrokeswimming
https://eatsleepswimcoach.com/publications/
Swimming resource library
We have provided a swimming resource library.
- This contains links to all of our publications and blog articles.
- Now with an easy-to-use index.
- To access any article simply click on the attached page link: swimming resource library
Recommended swimming equipment
We have provided a recommended swimming equipment page.
- It contains the swimming equipment that we and our swimmers use and recommend.
- You can access this page by clicking on the following link: recommended swimming equipment.
The Competitive Swimming Exchange – Facebook Group
We are members of the Competitive Swimming Exchange.
- This is a competitive swimming Facebook group to help exchange ideas and information to collectively improve the sport we love.
- It’s an international group for all swimmers, coaches, teachers, masters, triathletes and swimming parents. In fact, it’s for all those who are interested in competitive swimming, either in the pool or in open water
For more information about joining this group please use the following link: The Competitive Swimming Exchange