Ande has done a great job of having all the various physical aspects of swimming covered but I need help with the mental aspects.
I'm really struggling with negative self-talk while I'm swimming. It feels like there's a huge jumbo-tron in my brain and messages are just running accross it non-stop while I'm swimming:
'Give up'
'ease up'
'quit'
'breaststroke's coming up, why not stop?'
'you suck'
I'm having trouble getting this stream of consciousness to stop. Not only that but I feel like such a fraud with my kids when I'm coaching. I stand there and tell them to get tough mentally but I seem to have the mental fortitude of a Krispy Kreme.
Not being able to 'get out of my head' seems to only happen when I swim.
Help?
My problem lately has been getting to the pool consistently. I'm swimming four days per week most of the time, but there are definitely times when I plan to swim, but then find myself driving home instead (I swim after work). The strange thing is I'm always glad I swam after the workout is done, but after work I usually feel like I just want to take a nap rather than swimming. Any suggestions? Swimming before work is problematic because I like to be at the office (~30 minute drive) before 7:00 a.m. and I really don't want to get up any earlier than I already am.
You might try swimming just three days a week, but tell yourself that those three days are not optional. This is just what you do, you go to your job, and then on the days you've picked out -- likely Mon, Wed, Fri, you will just go swim. I am not explaining this well, but I find that makes it easier to just make the commitment to myself and to go regardless. If you make it Mon, Wed, Fri it's a little easier to do that because you are never going to the pool two days in a row and so it always feels like it's been awhile since you've been swimming. There's not that "I'm at the friggin pool all the time" feeling. Then maybe after you've been doing that for awhile you'll feel more positive about going to your workouts and can sneak that fourth one back in.
My problem lately has been getting to the pool consistently. I'm swimming four days per week most of the time, but there are definitely times when I plan to swim, but then find myself driving home instead (I swim after work). The strange thing is I'm always glad I swam after the workout is done, but after work I usually feel like I just want to take a nap rather than swimming. Any suggestions? Swimming before work is problematic because I like to be at the office (~30 minute drive) before 7:00 a.m. and I really don't want to get up any earlier than I already am.
You might try swimming just three days a week, but tell yourself that those three days are not optional. This is just what you do, you go to your job, and then on the days you've picked out -- likely Mon, Wed, Fri, you will just go swim. I am not explaining this well, but I find that makes it easier to just make the commitment to myself and to go regardless. If you make it Mon, Wed, Fri it's a little easier to do that because you are never going to the pool two days in a row and so it always feels like it's been awhile since you've been swimming. There's not that "I'm at the friggin pool all the time" feeling. Then maybe after you've been doing that for awhile you'll feel more positive about going to your workouts and can sneak that fourth one back in.
