I haven't been in the pool in over a week. My dog had some serious surgery. The experience sapped my energy, and I just lost interest in doing any exercise, including swimming. I've been too tired to do much of anything but sit in front of the tV and catch up with Orange is the New Black and Longmire. I've only been swimming six months, and on top of the doggy issue, am discouraged with my lack of progress i.e., being the slowest one in the lane. Is it possible this is just newbie burnout, and I'll get my swimming mojo back? When I swim I'm careful to eat clean, but of course the bad stuff has worked its way back into my diet.
I'd like to know whether any of you go through swimming burnout, or if you did at the beginning when you were just really learning the sport (if you can remember that far back LOL), and how you push through the stressful times that threaten to sideline you and halt any progress you're making.
No, probably not "newbie burnout" (although points for the cute idea). But it does sound like a drop of a depressive spell following a big setback. It's perfectly normal to get a little depressed after something major like your dog needing surgery. It's not normal if it lasts for several weeks after.
The best way to cut it off at the pass is to make yourself do one or two things that made you feel happy before the blues came on. You may just not want to for a few times before your normal self kicks back in. And make sure your downing lots of nutritious foods to boot (even if you eat the veggies with a healthy dose of ice cream, get all those whole food vitamins crammed in). I'll bet you've been eating a lot of low nutrition foods out of survival mode, so it's a good idea to get your nutrition back up to speed and get plenty of water.
But if you are looking to shake it up with some fun swimming goals, it doesn't have to be being the faster. Actually, I know after going through something crummy I'd probably be quite happy in the slow lane for a while.
Some ideas:
- maintaining a speed over a distance or being able to hold a time on a set
- work on one or two pieces of technique...once it feels like second nature add a new piece
- if you currently do a specific yardage, set a time frame to add small incremental bits more
- shake it up: just go to the pool and do sidestroke/ feel like a mermaid day. No counting, no racing, no caring, just feel the water.
- seeing how far you can get on your push-offs or how far 5 strokes will take you
Or just get a new swim toy (hello, swim MP3 player!) so you have a fun new thing to look forward to.
Good luck! And make sure you give doggie plenty of snuggles!
No, probably not "newbie burnout" (although points for the cute idea). But it does sound like a drop of a depressive spell following a big setback. It's perfectly normal to get a little depressed after something major like your dog needing surgery. It's not normal if it lasts for several weeks after.
The best way to cut it off at the pass is to make yourself do one or two things that made you feel happy before the blues came on. You may just not want to for a few times before your normal self kicks back in. And make sure your downing lots of nutritious foods to boot (even if you eat the veggies with a healthy dose of ice cream, get all those whole food vitamins crammed in). I'll bet you've been eating a lot of low nutrition foods out of survival mode, so it's a good idea to get your nutrition back up to speed and get plenty of water.
But if you are looking to shake it up with some fun swimming goals, it doesn't have to be being the faster. Actually, I know after going through something crummy I'd probably be quite happy in the slow lane for a while.
Some ideas:
- maintaining a speed over a distance or being able to hold a time on a set
- work on one or two pieces of technique...once it feels like second nature add a new piece
- if you currently do a specific yardage, set a time frame to add small incremental bits more
- shake it up: just go to the pool and do sidestroke/ feel like a mermaid day. No counting, no racing, no caring, just feel the water.
- seeing how far you can get on your push-offs or how far 5 strokes will take you
Or just get a new swim toy (hello, swim MP3 player!) so you have a fun new thing to look forward to.
Good luck! And make sure you give doggie plenty of snuggles!
