{"id":199050,"date":"2016-05-02T09:00:05","date_gmt":"2016-05-02T16:00:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=199050"},"modified":"2016-05-02T07:51:33","modified_gmt":"2016-05-02T14:51:33","slug":"5-major-differences-between-open-water-swimming-and-pool-swimming","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/5-major-differences-between-open-water-swimming-and-pool-swimming\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Major Differences Between Open Water Swimming and Pool Swimming"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Abby Bergman, Swimming World College Intern<\/em><\/p>\n

While open water swimming and\u00a0pool swimming are both part of the same larger sport, there are many differences between the two that many swimmers may not be fully aware of. Through interviews with marathon swimmer and former English Channel record holder <\/span>Lynne Cox<\/b>, English Channel Swimmer and former Smith College swim team captain <\/span>Paige Christie<\/b>, and Head Coach of Team Santa Monica and member of the 2016 Rio Olympic Games Coaching Staff <\/span>Dave Kelsheimer<\/b>, I have compiled a list of some the major differences between pool swimming and open water swimming.<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Mental Preparation<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"Lynne-Cox-Open-Water\"

Lynne Cox swims in open water. Photo Courtesy: Lynne Cox<\/p><\/div>\n

Mental preparation is important for both pool and open water swimmers, but takes somewhat different forms in each context. Cox describes how swimmers who train to primarily compete in the pool can have doubts in their ability to achieve a goal time or place on any given day, \u201cbut they can be fairly certain that they will be able to complete their races.\u201d<\/p>\n

This is in striking contrast with the anxiety of open water swimmers, who must also deal with the possibility that they may not finish their swim or even be able to start based on conditions. Cox explains the difference when she says, \u201cThere is no guarantee that they will be able to complete a channel swim or long distance swim, and unlike pool swimmers that can compete in the next swim meet and improve their times, open water swimmers may only have one opportunity to achieve their goals.\u201d By understanding the mental aspects of both pool and open water swimming, athletes can best prepare for whichever pursuit they choose to undertake.<\/p>\n

2. Physical Preparation<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"Charlotte

Photo Courtesy: Simon Watts\/www.bwmedia.co.nz\/Swimming New Zealand<\/p><\/div>\n

Just as there are differences in mental preparation for pool and open water swimming, physical preparation also changes based on the athlete\u2019s goals. In the same way that the training for each pool distance is unique, training for open water races also varies based on distance. For race distances up to 10k, Kelsheimer recommends that athletes, \u201cprepare like the 1500 [pool race]– depending on the athlete, it might take a bit less rest. They may need to keep the volume up longer toward race day.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

In addition to training volume, some open water swimmers also stress the need to adapt to new and volatile situations. Christie, who is currently training to complete all seven stages of the 8 Bridges Swim<\/a>, explains that one of the foundations of her preparation is to, \u201cconstantly put myself in uncomfortable situations during my training\u2026that way I can roll with the punches come marathon swim time.\u201d While one of the appeals of open water swimming is the excitement of the constantly changing environment, Christie feels that, \u201cnothing will ever scare me because I\u2019ve already simulated it in training, or I have the mental capacity to deal with it and move on in order to execute the goal.\u201d In some ways, mental training for these long swims is even more important than physical training because it helps athletes to overcome pain and obstacles come race day. <\/span><\/p>\n

3. Emotional Preparation<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"Paige-Christie-Fly-Smith-College\"

Photo Courtesy: Paige Christie<\/p><\/div>\n

In both open water swimming and pool racing, emotions can have both positive and negative effects on performance. In the pool, emotional reactions mainly involve success or failure defined by achieving a certain time or place in a given race. In open water, emotions can manifest as doubt in one\u2019s ability to complete a task and also as a factor of the many hours put into training. <\/span><\/p>\n

Open water swimmers “have to be comfortable with themselves, and find inner resolve and a will to continue when things seem impossible,\u201d Cox says. In this way, swimmers can use their emotions to help them get through the roughest parts of their swims. Just as emotions can help swimmers, Christie also cautions that, \u201cRapid emotions can ruin even the most prepared swimmer. Doubt in yourself is only removed by actions of preparation. When you\u2019re about to go to bed at night and you are alone with your thoughts you\u2019re going to feel a certain way about your training. Train to feel unstoppable and train to feel like a champion.\u201d By paying enough attention to emotions during training, swimmers can begin to learn how to control them during stressful situations, such as when things don\u2019t go as planned during a swim.<\/span><\/p>\n

4. Coaching<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"Dave-Kelsheimer-Coaching-Open-Water\"

Dave Kelsheimer coaches swimmers before an open water race at Lake Castaic, CA. Photo Courtesy: Cathy Gomez<\/p><\/div>\n

In the same way that coaching approaches change based on race distance in the pool, there are apparent differences in the way coaches approach training for open water athletes. Kelsheimer, who coaches both pool and open water swimmers at Team Santa Monica in California, explains that one major difference in training for open water is the focus on high yardage rather than speed. He also notes that the \u201cproblem with volume is that you really don’t have time to do much of anything else, so it can be hard, though not impossible, to train for both disciplines effectively. <\/span>While increasing training distances can be extremely beneficial for more experienced swimmers, it can also lead to injury and fatigue if technique is not maintained properly.<\/span><\/p>\n

\u201cSpend a lot more time working on your technique, your relaxed technique and your breathing,” Kelsheimer recommends for those switching to open water training.\u00a0“You really need to be overly conscious to about the stress you are putting on your body normally while swimming and then limit that so that you can be as relaxed as possible for as much of the race as possible.\u201d In this way swimmers can preserve their technique and prevent injury even while training for long distances.<\/span><\/p>\n

5. Motivation<\/strong><\/h2>\n
\"Paige-Christie-Jump-English-Channel-2014.

Paige Christie jumps into the English Channel. Photo Courtesy: Paige Christie<\/p><\/div>\n

Lastly, but perhaps one of the most obvious differences between open water swimming and pool swimming are the reasons that people choose to participate in one discipline over the other. Pool swimmers are of course motivated by a love of the sport, but perhaps also by a desire to win or achieve a certain time. In many ways, these external motivators play a larger role in pool swimming than in open water, maybe because there is more recognition available for pool swimmers in the non-swimming community. <\/span><\/p>\n

Conversely, open water swimmers are often motivated by the internal desire to complete a goal or even to just finish a swim. \u201cMarathon swimmers are bored with controlled environments,” Cox says. “They seek adventure and love to have new experiences.\u201d <\/span><\/p>\n

Another feature of open water swimming is that it appeals to people who are burned out with pool racing. It provides a new environment in which to test one\u2019s athletic ability. \u201cAspiring open water swimmers, get clear on why you are doing the swim and surround yourself with people you trust completely,” Christie advises. “With a strong reason or cause and with people you trust around you, obstacles seem less daunting.\u201d By fully understanding the source of one\u2019s motivation, a swimmer can best train to achieve any goal, whether it be a best time in the 50 free or a successful English Channel crossing. <\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Abby Bergman, Swimming World College Intern While open water swimming and\u00a0pool swimming are both part of the same larger sport, there are many differences between the two that many<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3462,"featured_media":199052,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":false,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"dois","enabled":false},"version":2}},"categories":[17,11],"tags":[55240],"class_list":["post-199050","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-commentary","category-open-water","tag-abby-bergman"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"yoast_head":"\r\n5 Major Differences Between Open Water Swimming and Pool Swimming<\/title>\r\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"By 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