5 Ways to Address and Overcome Age Group Swimming Plateau

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Photo Courtesy: Rob Schumacher-USA TODAY Sports

By Emily Thirion, Swimming World College Intern.

Plateaus. They are one of the most miserable facets of being a competitive swimmer. Everyone experiences them at one point or another, but they are a special kind of pain when you are an age-group swimmer. “I worked so hard this season, but I still added time,” or “I have been crushing it at practice, but I swam even slower in my actual race,” are common refrains.

While it may be comforting to know that you are in good company, it doesn’t make the experience any less aggravating. And let’s be honest, swimmers perform their best not only when they are putting in the work but also when the can see the direct results from the work they are investing.

Here is what young swimmers need to know about plateaus:

1). Everyone makes gains at their own rate.

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Photo Courtesy: Taylor Brien

Plateaus are intensely personal experiences that can sometimes feel like an awkward public spectacle. You are left feeling lousy while your friends are making major improvements. It is so important to remember that everyone gets better at their own pace. Comparison can be paralyzing. While swimming is a competitive sport and it is impossible to entirely disregard your teammate’s gains, you only have control over your own swimming. “Staying in your own lane” and focusing on what you can do to improve your swims is paramount.

2). Sometimes, getting worse leads to getting better.

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Photo Courtesy: USA TODAY Sports-USA TODAY Sports

Do you remember when you first learned how to ride a bike? Most likely, you were bad before you were good. And you were okay with tipping over or having trouble starting, because you were learning. Swimming works the same way. No one is perfect at every stroke when they begin. But as you progress through your swimming career and become more technically proficient, your expectations rise. When you begin to struggle or even gain time, it can be heartbreaking- but that is all part of the process. As you grow and develop in the sport, sometimes things are bad before they get better. Just stick with it; you’ll be shocked to find that you might make improvements when you are least expecting it.

3). Adjust your expectations.

Photo Courtesy: Taylor Brien

Improvement comes in increments. It might not always be in the form of a giant break through. Being discouraged is okay, but part of the sport is having a healthy dose of realistic perspective. The older you get, the harder it is to make massive progress. That’s just a fact. Age group swimming occurs in adolescence. You don’t always grow three inches in a year. Your technical adjustments slow, and you’ve begun to set a strength and endurance threshold. One way to avoid being demoralized be plateaus is to avoid setting unrealistic goals for improvement. If you engage with every practice and try your best, the times will drop. It may be slow, but it’ll come.

4). Improvement isn’t only the time on the clock.

Photo Courtesy: Hillsborough Aquatic Club

Swimming is such a time-driven sport that we have the tendency to view it as the only measurement for success. When you get frustrated with your times, your coach can be your reminder of the good hings happening. Maybe you are getting better at executing your race strategy; maybe the technical aspects of your stroke are improving; perhaps you’ve been frequently taxing your endurance threshold; or maybe your starts and turns look really good. Improvement can be having a better attitude or a stronger mental fortitude after a bad swim. Improvement can look like becoming a better teammate. While plateaus may look like major ruts, there is a lot more to the sport than the time and place on the scoreboard.

5). Comfort can breed complacency.

Photo Courtesy: Eileen Hall

As both a coach and swimmer, this one can be hard to recognize or acknowledge. Odds are that you or your swimmer might not even be plateauing. If you do the same thing day in and day out for months or years at a time, you aren’t going to be able to get much better. Your comfort zone isn’t where you grow. When you practice pace, do you have the same hold time as you did the year before? Are you adding to your strength regimen? Have you been working on your mobility? Are you going above and beyond to improve your nutrition? Sure, you might be working hard, but are you really challenging yourself? Plateaus come when we are too comfortable. We aren’t pushing ourselves when we are stagnant with our training process.

While plateaus may be inevitable in the sport, they are not insurmountable. If you keep your foot on the gas pedal and maintain a strong mental resolve, the results will eventually reflect this.

All commentaries are the opinion of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of Swimming World Magazine nor its staff.

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Anne Coates

5 years ago

Sami Jono worth a read

Sarah Nutter Hamblin

5 years ago

Emilee Hamblin

Paula Moore

5 years ago

Alyse Colombo Moore share with Dan Moore. Good read:) Swim fast! Have fun!!