Psychology of Masters Swimming - Your Input Please

RE: Psychology of Masters Swimming - Your Input Please

Erudition — Fri, 06 Apr 2012 02:58:43 GMT

I am a 32 y/o male with Cystic Fibrosis. I swim to stay alive. I manage treatments, family, and work, but swimming is right at the top, because if I do not have my health, none of the others will be around. The only major downside is that I have to travel a decent amount for work, and I lose my fitness level much faster than normal athletes. Fortunately, I have a great team! (TXLA)

RE: Psychology of Masters Swimming - Your Input Please

Former Member — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 08:08:59 GMT

Rob - you know what I would really appreciate? A thread of sorts with sports psychology HELPS. I have only recently begun to appreciate my "improvements" at the masters level - in other words, I've stopped comparing myself to my times as a youth. Some masters swimmers seem to be able to retain, or regain the speed of their youth, but I, alas, am not one of them! This really held me back for a long time & I see some comments on here & hear them at practice or at meets as well, that let me know I'm not the only one! My last two meets have been some of my funnest, because I have finally begun (again) to swim the entire meet without negative self talk! This has been a huge breakthrough for me, and not just in terms of time improvement, but also my happiness factor! It would be great if you could help us all in this way, Hi - this is a big one for a lot of masters swimmers. One of my team mates was the British record holder at 100 ***, and joined masters 7 years later. She just couldn't reset her expectations, and hasn't been back - hopefully she will try again. If the appetite is there I will start a Q&A type thread for psychology. It will also help me to generate ideas for articles.

RE: Psychology of Masters Swimming - Your Input Please

ddskier63 — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 04:29:26 GMT

To Mr. Stark, it was a pleasure meeting you at Pac Masters Champs. Unfortunately the only time I spotted you was immediately following your 50yd. breaststroke. Not an optimal time for an introduction but I needed to formally thank you for your postings regarding breaststroke drills, competition, and the psychology of a highly technical stroke. BTW, nice swim.:applaud:

RE: Psychology of Masters Swimming - Your Input Please

Debugger — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 02:12:09 GMT

Hi - this is a big one for a lot of masters swimmers. One of my team mates was the British record holder at 100 ***, and joined masters 7 years later. She just couldn't reset her expectations, and hasn't been back - hopefully she will try again. If the appetite is there I will start a Q&A type thread for psychology. It will also help me to generate ideas for articles. I absolutely understand her. For 25 years break I had no desire to come to the pool. If not doc's prescription to swim I would never return. That actually helped a lot because my mind set was: I need it for my health. So I didn't worry much about results. If I worried about the result 1st day I returned to the pool I would give up swimming again - that's for sure. Only after 1 year swimming for health I felt that I became stronger and understood that I miss competitions again.

RE: Psychology of Masters Swimming - Your Input Please

Elaine Krugman — Mon, 02 Apr 2012 01:26:06 GMT

If the appetite is there I will start a Q&A type thread for psychology. It will also help me to generate ideas for articles. :turkey: Yep, it's there; at least with me! That would be great, Rob- thanks! :D

RE: Psychology of Masters Swimming - Your Input Please

Celestial — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 05:22:20 GMT

Just found this www.stumbleupon.com/.../ Great beginnings Rob, thanks!:)

RE: Psychology of Masters Swimming - Your Input Please

jswim — Sun, 01 Apr 2012 03:15:37 GMT

Hi everyone - Thanks again for the rich and thoughtful responses. Broadly they seemed to fall into 3 categories - motivation, challenges and fears/barriers. Here's the first article, on masters swimmers motivations for swimming. I'll summarise the challenges / fears / barriers soon and hopefully be able to do a few practical articles on the specifics. Rob Nice article and blog Rob, thanks for sharing!

RE: Psychology of Masters Swimming - Your Input Please

Celestial — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 09:24:57 GMT

RE: Psychology of Masters Swimming - Your Input Please

Allen Stark — Sat, 31 Mar 2012 05:21:00 GMT

I have been trying to live by the philosophy that the NEXT big meet is the important one.I generally have 3 taper meets/yr : SCY,LCM,and SCM.Those are my big meets.By making the next one the big one it keeps my focus forward.It keeps my training focused forward.If I swim a poor race I can use it as learning for the next meet.If I feel I wasn't prepared well enough for a meet I know better what to do for the next meet. Paradoxically the biggest impediment to this philosophy is swimming really well.At LCM Nats last year I swam a 200M BR much faster than I thought I could go.I spent about 2 mo replaying it over and over in my mind,resting on my laurels instead of focusing forward and my training suffered.One of the greatest thing about Masters is that it is a lifetime sport, really a fountain of youth, and there is always another meet.

RE: Psychology of Masters Swimming - Your Input Please

TomK3 — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 09:11:48 GMT

A hard workout relaxes me better than any drug I could imagine (ideally I don't get too relaxed and doze off :)). In fact, I try to schedule stressful meetings right after swim. The challenge for me is the beginning of a workout. I don't know if it's being 66, but it takes me at least 1500 yd before I start feeling good, and it takes major will power to push through the first half of the set. Eventually I stop hurting and start cruising, and it's a great feeling when that happens, too.

RE: Psychology of Masters Swimming - Your Input Please

ColoJoel — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 07:15:59 GMT

As Steve and Couldbebetterfly mentioned, it's the journey that counts, and that can start at any time and go in any direction. It's an even greater accomplishment to come to this sport without the earlier swimming. Swimming is complex and requires an enormous amount of training to do it well. You are accompllshing what many wouldn't even think to try. And, if you follow some of the threads, you'll notice that some swimmers have lots of problems with swimmer's shoulder (often shreaded rotators) and sometimes knees and ankles too, possibly the result of too much yardage when they were younger. Hopefully, you've managed to miss any and all of those problems, and can now "backend" your journey. It was comparatively easy for me to get back in the water, I've been at it for a long time. However, I too wonder "what might have been." Yes, I have expereiences that go further back in time, but you and swimdaily have the advantage of looking at swimminig through fresh adult eyes as a new sport for you, and deserve the kuddos for great accomplishment. Good luck, don't look back, you never know what jaws might be gaining on yah, and keep it up! I, too, seem to be one of a fairly rare breed (at least here on these forums) that began swimming seriously as an adult. I heard of masters many years ago, but only started with it a bit over 2 yrs ago. I so agree with the first part of Sojerz' quote -- its the journey that counts, that this is a difficult & technical sport, and that I'm likely doing more in masters than 99% of the general adult population :) After saying that I'd "Never do one", I started doing meets last June & haven't looked back since! I use them as a gauge of my training, coaching, and techniques -- & really don't worry about what other swimmers do (timewise) at them, just how I'm doing (hopefully better than last time). For the most part, that's been my experience :agree:. I say that I'm quite glad that I didn't swim competitively in my younger years (only swim lessons as a kid); I have nothing to 'regain', didn't 'burn out'; nor do I seem to have the classic swimmer's ailments or at least 'issues' that others mention (thanks be to God!). It's been a great sport for my health, fitness, & confidence -- all of these have helped me to become a better person, I feel! :). And when my ego is deflated at times, I just remember that there's more to life than swimming -- hence my signature!

RE: Psychology of Masters Swimming - Your Input Please

Redbird Alum — Fri, 30 Mar 2012 01:51:04 GMT

I've now added a follow-up article on the challenges faced by masters swimmers. All shares/likes and comments appreciated. Thanks Rob - Reading this, I found myself thinking that really, only point 3 seemed to be soley a Masters level issue. The others are common to all swimmers regardless of one's age, aren't they? Also, you want to correct your last sentence, where you used "won" in place of "one".

RE: Psychology of Masters Swimming - Your Input Please

Former Member — Thu, 29 Mar 2012 09:17:59 GMT

I've now added a follow-up article on the challenges faced by masters swimmers. All shares/likes and comments appreciated. Thanks

RE: Psychology of Masters Swimming - Your Input Please

Former Member — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 13:56:00 GMT

Although I have made great strides since I began, I do have to manage a sense of, I don't quite know what it is - frustration, disappointment, maybe - that at age 41, not only am I unlikely to fully realize whatever potential I might have had with an earlier start, but that the window in which I can accomplish certain goals in terms of performance is not particularly large. Start from now, set yourself a goal and enjoy the journey. I'm 37 and aiming for a lifetime best this year to get into the TT for the 400 free. I did swim when I was younger, but not at a very high level. I didn't make the University team, took 7 years off, came back, did 4 lifetime bests age 31 after having my 1st baby, had my 2nd baby, moved across the pond, and am now on the comeback once again. It has been said before, but its all about doing your best with what's available to you right now.

RE: Psychology of Masters Swimming - Your Input Please

moodyrichardson — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 12:42:43 GMT

For me, the motivation of Masters is the enjoyment. Unlike so many here, I don't have a background in swimming at all. I never swam age group, high school, or college. It wasn't even offered in the small town, where I live. I never took a swim lesson. I'm self taught. I have always LOVED to watch competitive swimming, though. I'm an Olympic junkie! One day, I decided that I wanted REALLY swim. The Masters program members and coaches said that it wasn't too late for me to do that. So, I joined and that's exactly what I did. This is only my second year competing, and I'm totally addicted! The feeling of accomplishment and pride after a good practice or meet, is what keeps me motivated and coming back! Also, it was fun to finally realize my childhood dream of swimming competitively!!

RE: Psychology of Masters Swimming - Your Input Please

philoswimmer — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 10:59:56 GMT

Here is my swimming history: I swam summer league starting when I was about age 5, then at age 13 swim all year round, but only twice a week with a Y team during the school year (my thought that more would take too much time away from other activities that they wanted me to do :P). Then in high school I swam with my high school team (which was great, we were a really good and fun team), and, in the last couple of years, an age group team. I always felt behind the curve and was mediocre at best. I swam my freshman year in college, but the coach was overtraining us and it was a miserable experience, especially on top of keeping up with classes, so I quit. There was a new coach my junior year, but by the I felt like I'd be out of the pool too long. (Ha!). Then I did masters for a few years in my late 20s until I moved to CA. I couldn't find a team that worked for me time-wise until I moved to my current location about 5 years ago. Now I am training consistently and loving it, although I wish I could get into the pool more often than I do -- I am training 3X/week for 1 hr each session. I have a sabbatical from my job coming up and I am hoping to use it to get more swimming in. Looking back on my swimming as a child, I was always frustrated that I was not a better swimmer even though I was working hard, was tall and strong, etc. From my perspective today, I can see that two things were holding me back: 1) a lot of negative self-talk and 2) asthma (my coaches liked to make fun of my breathing, but no one ever thought to send me to the doctor :bitching:). I'd like to say that knowing these things has made me a better swimmer, but those are the same two main things I struggle with today (aside from not being able to train as much as I like). I still feel like I am not swimming as well as I should be, and I get embarrassed about my times, but I can't seem to move forward in any significant way.

RE: Psychology of Masters Swimming - Your Input Please

Sojerz — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 10:50:36 GMT

Unlike the majority of folks here, I have no background in age group, HS, or college swimming at all. Moreover, I had no experience in any team sports whatsoever when I was younger. For a number of reasons, I was never afforded the opportunity. One thing I personally love about masters is that it gives me the chance to do something as an adult that I always felt I missed out on when I was younger: compete in athletic events as part of a team. However, I wasn't even aware of the existence of masters swimming until I was in my late 30s. Although I have made great strides since I began, I do have to manage a sense of, I don't quite know what it is - frustration, disappointment, maybe - that at age 41, not only am I unlikely to fully realize whatever potential I might have had with an earlier start, but that the window in which I can accomplish certain goals in terms of performance is not particularly large. As Steve and Couldbebetterfly mentioned, it's the journey that counts, and that can start at any time and go in any direction. It's an even greater accomplishment to come to this sport without the earlier swimming. Swimming is complex and requires an enormous amount of training to do it well. You are accompllshing what many wouldn't even think to try. And, if you follow some of the threads, you'll notice that some swimmers have lots of problems with swimmer's shoulder (often shreaded rotators) and sometimes knees and ankles too, possibly the result of too much yardage when they were younger. Hopefully, you've managed to miss any and all of those problems, and can now "backend" your journey. It was comparatively easy for me to get back in the water, I've been at it for a long time. However, I too wonder "what might have been." Yes, I have expereiences that go further back in time, but you and swimdaily have the advantage of looking at swimminig through fresh adult eyes as a new sport for you, and deserve the kuddos for great accomplishment. Good luck, don't look back, you never know what jaws might be gaining on yah, and keep it up!

RE: Psychology of Masters Swimming - Your Input Please

__steve__ — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 08:17:36 GMT

. Although I have made great strides since I began, I do have to manage a sense of, I don't quite know what it is - frustration, disappointment, maybe - that at age 41, not only am I unlikely to fully realize whatever potential I might have had with an earlier start, but that the window in which I can accomplish certain goals in terms of performance is not particularly large. Just means your potential is yet to come

RE: Psychology of Masters Swimming - Your Input Please

Former Member — Tue, 20 Mar 2012 07:15:04 GMT

'saw a USMS team at a meet with T-shirts that said,"xyz Masters Swimming: Last one alive wins". (It didn't say "xyz", I just don't remember the name of the team.) That about sums up a big part of Masters swimming. Brilliant!

RE: Psychology of Masters Swimming - Your Input Please

Karl_S — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 11:05:58 GMT

RE: Psychology of Masters Swimming - Your Input Please

Former Member — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 10:54:24 GMT

RE: Psychology of Masters Swimming - Your Input Please

swimshark — Mon, 19 Mar 2012 08:04:43 GMT

RE: Psychology of Masters Swimming - Your Input Please

Celestial — Sat, 17 Mar 2012 05:14:38 GMT

It seems like the older I get, the more perfect conditions have to be for me to have a "good" swim - whether in workout or in meets. Although I don't think of myself as an accident waiting to happen, it seems I have chronic injuries - I envy those who have never had sore shoulders or knee problems! Sometimes I have to remind myself that there is more to life than swimming, and that these are the only arms/legs I'm going to get, so I should listen to my body & be careful - there is a fine line between that however, and pushing your body to the limit to maximize performance! How to find the balance between pushing yourself safely & injuring yourself? My biggest struggles in years gone by were Mommy issues - it was always way more important to me to get the kids to their practices & meets etc than it was to do mine - after all, I had the opportunity when I was a kid. Now that they have all flown the nest, I have nothing holding me back & I am loving it!

RE: Psychology of Masters Swimming - Your Input Please

tpost2 — Fri, 16 Mar 2012 09:45:54 GMT

Interesting thread... Back story: I started swimming because a friend invited me to join her in age group around age 12 (a little late by some standards). I swam in HS but was fairly mediocre and probably would not have continued into college except that by a mere fluke my coach discovered my breaststroke was actually pretty good and began encouraging me. My relative success in that stroke motivated me to continue through my NCAA Div III college years. After college, life overtook swimming interest. I didn't log a single lap for 20+ years. The last couple of years were spent trying to motivate myself to get to the gym and lose weight.... and failing miserably. Present day: Last fall, I joined a local Masters team and found much to my extreme pleasure that I am completely hooked! I have (re?)discovered my joy of swimming, workouts are fun and painful in a good way, I've dropped weight without feeling like I'm trying, and I am setting my sites on re-attaining my college times (or maybe even better :D?). I use competitions to set personal goals and to assess my progress. Motivation: Granted, not being a morning person it's tough to get out of bed in the wee hours, especially when it's cold and dark and my husband is cozily snoring away next to me, but I know I will regret it later in the day if I don't go. Juggling life: Hubby is supportive, but work can sometimes get in the way. But working out in the early morning means I have time for home and hubby in the evening, and I don't run the risk of a work crisis keeping me too late to make it to the pool. As for the weekends... would I rather catch up on laundry or go to a swim meet? Mmmmmm....

RE: Psychology of Masters Swimming - Your Input Please

Former Member — Thu, 15 Mar 2012 13:32:21 GMT

I could've written everything Jethro just said--except I'm 43, not 41! Sometimes I get caught in a regret/rage cycle about WHY didn't I discover this earlier. But then I work back to acceptance and gratitude that I did get this wonderful opportunity to find my sport and to be nurtured by coaches that were interested in developing me.