{"id":252787,"date":"2017-05-04T10:00:36","date_gmt":"2017-05-04T17:00:36","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/?p=252787"},"modified":"2017-05-03T09:55:25","modified_gmt":"2017-05-03T16:55:25","slug":"3-positive-practices-to-improve-performance-in-the-pool","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.swimmingworldmagazine.com\/news\/3-positive-practices-to-improve-performance-in-the-pool\/","title":{"rendered":"3 Positive Practices to Improve Performance in the Pool"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Landon Bennett, Swimming World College Intern.<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

In a sport as relentless as swimming, sometimes we get lost in the fray of the seemingly nonstop practices, grueling meets, and exhausting daily life. With a routine as trying as a swimmer\u2019s, important pieces of a healthy lifestyle fall through the cracks without much warning. Even if you’re on top of your sleep schedule, school work, and diet, sometimes you can have practices that don’t go as well as you know they should. Occasionally, you can attribute this to an off day, a goof. <\/span><\/p>\n

Consistent lack of performance in the pool, whether at practice or in meets, can often be attributed to a swimmer\u2019s failure to check up on their mental health. Negativity is an easy mental state to slip into and is dangerously easy to ignore. As all coaches love to remind swimmers, swimming is 10% physical and 90% mental, but it\u2019s much easier to observe and check physical than mental strength. <\/span><\/p>\n

For many swimmers, a poor mental state explains the majority of their issues in the pool. Overcoming poor mentality, anxiety, or stress are not simple feats, but they are manageable if approached the right way. Here are three keys to staying on top of the mental game in swimming.<\/span><\/p>\n

1. Positive Performance Tracking<\/h2>\n

Practice logging has gained traction in the past few years, and for good reason. Logging<\/a> allows swimmers to consistently remind themselves of their successes and track their work towards goals. It only requires five to ten minutes of a swimmer’s day, and once worked into a daily routine it seems to use no time at all. <\/span><\/p>\n

A good model for logging is to find two to five questions to reflect upon and write down responses to those questions each day. Below is a list of common questions that could be used:<\/span><\/p>\n