Hi. :help:
Was just wondering how you handle practicing by yourself. My team only practices two times a week and that is obviously not enough time in the water to improve. At practice, we do anywhere between 3,200 and 3,800... and I usually do the same when I swim by myself (right now I'm getting in two solo practices, but I'd like to do more). Usually the USS team or High School is practicing at the same time and that sorta helps get me moving. But how do you guys motivate yourself to keep going - because weekly I am starting to ask myself - "why am I doing this"... when I'm trudging along solo. I do compete and love it... but I just get down and in the gutters once in a while. I usually get my workouts from the "workout forum" here on the site... but do you have any thoughts on how to get more motivated? I hope I don't sound desperate, but just need some feedback from those who are going thru the same thing.
Parents
Former Member
Sarah -
I am pretty much in the same boat - 2 or 3 times a week (~4000 yards) with others and then on my own the rest of the time. In the last two years I did up to 55,000 yards/week in preparation for MIMs, so I had lots of time by myself.
What really helped/helps me is to have a very targeted and specific goal (e.g. MIMS) and then to periodize my training towards that goal. By periodizing, each workout was part of a larger goal and had a specific purpose within that goal. This meant that even things that might be considered by most to be "junk yardage" actually had a purpose such as recovery and/or technique refinement and was planned for within a training cycle. Of course, no matter how you slice it there will always be days when you want to, as a friend of mine used to say, "Take two weeks off and then quit."
So, pick a goal and then carefully work backwards to now, defining what you need to do in small steps to reach that goal. In the middle of those long, lonely workouts you at least will have a sense of purpose to keep you going.
-LBJ
Sarah -
I am pretty much in the same boat - 2 or 3 times a week (~4000 yards) with others and then on my own the rest of the time. In the last two years I did up to 55,000 yards/week in preparation for MIMs, so I had lots of time by myself.
What really helped/helps me is to have a very targeted and specific goal (e.g. MIMS) and then to periodize my training towards that goal. By periodizing, each workout was part of a larger goal and had a specific purpose within that goal. This meant that even things that might be considered by most to be "junk yardage" actually had a purpose such as recovery and/or technique refinement and was planned for within a training cycle. Of course, no matter how you slice it there will always be days when you want to, as a friend of mine used to say, "Take two weeks off and then quit."
So, pick a goal and then carefully work backwards to now, defining what you need to do in small steps to reach that goal. In the middle of those long, lonely workouts you at least will have a sense of purpose to keep you going.
-LBJ
