I’m breaking the blog streak (sorry to my devoted readers for the long hiatus) with an experience that taught me a lot about the importance of all four facets of performance.
For those that don’t know, while at Minnesota as a Senior I was the first Big Ten swimmer to break 19 seconds coming in at 18.95. I have only ever gone an 18 (from a flat start) once in my life. Also, for those that don’t know, I like to race at the Short Course Wisconsin State Meet every year in March to make sure my Madison Aquatic Club athletes know that I can still kick their butts (not really the reason, but nonetheless feels good).
Last March at the 2019 State Meet I had the goal to go an 18 second 50 free with only 8 weeks of training, a VERY lofty goal (this is also after not swimming since the previous State meet in March). I’m going to lie to you all and say that I totally believed I could do it! (really, I didn’t, I just wanted to see how fast I could go). So, I created an 8-week training program that I dubbed the “ 18 in 8” program. Now, I could have named it “19 in 8,” but that sounds stupid, and “19 in 9” was one more week than I was willing to train. The program consisted of very specific sprint swim and weight sessions, 3 of each throughout the week, each workout lasting about an hour.
These sessions were short and there weren’t many of them, so I made absolutely sure that I got everything I could out of each rep, stroke, repeat, start, turn, streamline, etc. I have never been more mentally dialed into my training. I focused on developing the four factors of training and balancing myself as close to perfection as I could.
Not only that, but I developed a recovery plan that I went through twice per week, Wednesdays and Sundays. This involved stretching, foam rolling, ice baths, compression, meditation, certain nutrition, and many more techniques. I started a training log to rate my workouts and keep track of what was working well and where I needed to spend more time developing. For those 8 weeks I stepped away from added sugar, ate a lot, and ate healthy. I prioritized sleep and kept my mind in a strong positive place.
I went from feeling out of shape to one of the best shapes of my life within those 8 weeks. The attention to detail, creation and utilization of plans, and dedication to do what needed to be done progressed me farther than I thought it would.
I didn’t go 18 seconds, but again, I never really thought I would. When I went that 18, I was training over 20 hours per week in college with all the help I needed and wanted at my disposal. This goal might have been a little overzealous. BUT, I did go a 19.2, one of my fastest times in my life. I was shocked! It blew my mind how fast I could go with such little training, just by doing EVERYTHING I could to Excel.
So, here is the moral of the story: Stop just going through the motions. Yes, you might get a little better. But if you want to really shock yourself, your teammates, coaches, parents, get a scholarship, swim in college, go pro, whatever your goal might be, make the conscious effort in every facet of performance to get there. I guarantee you; you will not regret it.
No one remembers staying up late that one night until 3am playing Fortnite, or lounging on the couch watching Stranger Things while downing a box of Oreo's, or that one practice where you “just made it through.” What you’re going to remember is your successes, your major hurdles, your accomplishments. Make the changes, train how you want to be, not how you are. It is definitely worth it! I am always here to help anyone with any facet of their performance. I live to watch athletes Excel!
Below is a video of my going my 19.2 at the State meet. Thanks to Excel Athlete Shane Rozeboom and family for the video!
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