How to be the Hardest Working Swimmer in the Pool
How to be the Hardest Working Swimmer in the Pool
Everybody wants to be great. Everybody wants the medals, the records and the glory.
They just don’t want to have to work for it.
It’s easier to settle for the thought that there is a shortcut somewhere, a sneaky way that gets us results with less effort.
But there isn’t.
Hard work is unavoidable, no matter how much our culture of insta-results likes to claim otherwise, or how talented your coach and parents tell you that you are, or how pre-destined you consider yourself for greatness.
The benefits of being a devastatingly hard worker go beyond just faster swimming:
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You rule the process. Being the swimmer that puts in the work means you are consistent in effort and attendance, and in turn this creates athletes how understand the value in the process versus being fixated on results.
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Gives you swagger. There is a rock-solid type of confidence that comes from putting in the work that is impossible to fake.
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Creates mentally tougher swimmers. A swimmer who is unafraid of hard work is unafraid of challenging circumstances, which, if swimming fast at the big meet is important to you, comes in handy when you step up on the blocks during pressure-packed situations.
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Gives you the power over today’s performance. Swimmers who work their tail off understand the urgency in making the most of today’s opportunities, which means they refuse to wait for what might appear like more favorable circumstances to take action.
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Makes you a generally faster swimmer. And of course, at its most basic level, hard work promotes faster swimming.
How to be the Hardest (& Smartest) Working Athlete in the Pool
“I’m sold!” you might be thinking. “Let us be working hard!”
But before plunging into the water and belting out 4,000m at the highest intensity you can muster here are a few things you should consider in order to make the most of your new-found desire to have a legendary work ethic:
