Keeping Motivated

Every time there is a thread about "why do competition" I note that it keeps me motivated to swim hard.I am discovering the truth about that for me in a less helpful way.I have a partially torn rotator cuff tendon(supraspinatis) in my left shoulder.Currently they are treating it conservatively with PT.If that works,fine,but if not, I will need surgery.Due to this injury I missed Indy and now MV.I am not supposed to swim with that arm yet,and since I have had problems with the right shoulder before, I thought it best to not do one arm swimming.With only kicking workouts available, and no meets to shoot for, am finding it very hard to enjoy workouts.Yes I can work on streamlining and SDKs etc.,but without a meet that isn't as important as I wish it was.I know many of you have been in this position before and I was wondering how you kept motivated.The one good thing,at least this happened in a year I am at the top of my age group(64.) No-one can tell you how to be motivated, but there are a couple of basic starting points for me. You can focus on getting back into competition and break that goal down into more manageable chunks - as it might be a bit too far off to feel real - or perhaps start finding new goals, which might be more to do with health and fitness, with competition as a secondary goal for now... Some (inexhaustive) thoughts / lessons around goal setting and injury rehab: A return to full competition might feel too far away to be tangible - this is where realistic time-bound goals are important. They keep you focused on moving forward but also help with patience. If you're clearly moving towards a goal by doing SDK etc, then it's less boring. They are also part of a process of getting back into competitive shape. Other parts of the process will come later, when this part is complete. Consider a new challenge in the interim, that might not directly contribute to competitive success in the future but will support it in terms of staying active and providing that enjoyment that you might lack in the interim, e.g. entering some running/cycling events? Now is a time to re-evaluate your motivations. Do you want to continue to treat competition (swimming) as the central focus of your physical activity? How might a new focus provide you with a greater impetus and still, potentially, allow you to compete if you choose to? I run in 10ks every now and again, and incorporate running into my routine not specifically to enhance my swimming performance (though it is a very time efficient way of getting some aerobic work in) but to keep up the variety and provide new challenges. I also value my fitness, for its own sake and for my health, far more than I used to, and so am happy doing things that may or may not be especially beneficial to swimming breaststroke races - though I'll admit that racing is also pretty important too. Revisiting your swimming goals and building in shorter, more rehab focused goals will help you, but it might also be an opportunity to re-evaluate what's important. Even if the answer is still competitive swimming, that in itself should provide additional resolve to get through this sticky period...

Every time there is a thread about "why do competition" I note that it keeps me motivated to swim hard.I am discovering the truth about that for me in a less helpful way.I have a partially torn rotator cuff tendon(supraspinatis) in my left shoulder.Currently they are treating it conservatively with PT.If that works,fine,but if not, I will need surgery.Due to this injury I missed Indy and now MV.I am not supposed to swim with that arm yet,and since I have had problems with the right shoulder before, I thought it best to not do one arm swimming.With only kicking workouts available, and no meets to shoot for, am finding it very hard to enjoy workouts.Yes I can work on streamlining and SDKs etc.,but without a meet that isn't as important as I wish it was.I know many of you have been in this position before and I was wondering how you kept motivated.The one good thing,at least this happened in a year I am at the top of my age group(64.) No-one can tell you how to be motivated, but there are a couple of basic starting points for me. You can focus on getting back into competition and break that goal down into more manageable chunks - as it might be a bit too far off to feel real - or perhaps start finding new goals, which might be more to do with health and fitness, with competition as a secondary goal for now... Some (inexhaustive) thoughts / lessons around goal setting and injury rehab: A return to full competition might feel too far away to be tangible - this is where realistic time-bound goals are important. They keep you focused on moving forward but also help with patience. If you're clearly moving towards a goal by doing SDK etc, then it's less boring. They are also part of a process of getting back into competitive shape. Other parts of the process will come later, when this part is complete. Consider a new challenge in the interim, that might not directly contribute to competitive success in the future but will support it in terms of staying active and providing that enjoyment that you might lack in the interim, e.g. entering some running/cycling events? Now is a time to re-evaluate your motivations. Do you want to continue to treat competition (swimming) as the central focus of your physical activity? How might a new focus provide you with a greater impetus and still, potentially, allow you to compete if you choose to? I run in 10ks every now and again, and incorporate running into my routine not specifically to enhance my swimming performance (though it is a very time efficient way of getting some aerobic work in) but to keep up the variety and provide new challenges. I also value my fitness, for its own sake and for my health, far more than I used to, and so am happy doing things that may or may not be especially beneficial to swimming breaststroke races - though I'll admit that racing is also pretty important too. Revisiting your swimming goals and building in shorter, more rehab focused goals will help you, but it might also be an opportunity to re-evaluate what's important. Even if the answer is still competitive swimming, that in itself should provide additional resolve to get through this sticky period...