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10 tips to improve our training technique
This summer, like many other people, I have been on vacation for my land to be close to the family. These days are going well to disconnect and also reconnect. In my case, one of my reconnections has been with the triathlon, of course!
Carlos Plata with his children on vacation, carrying 226ers t -shirts
Before continuing I would like to clarify, that This post is a pure and hard reflection of summer, of those that sometimes we become and help us improve as much as coaches or athletes. This It is an article for those people who seek sports to help them improve their lives and believe that having defined sports objectives or sports goals is exclusively reduced to athletes. If you are reflected, keep reading, to see if my reflection can help you change your mind and see the importance of planning how to practice sports, be it for the reason you do it.
Triathlets swimming at IM Lanzarote 2022
Carlos Plata with his children on vacation, carrying 226ers t -shirts
Before continuing I would like to clarify, that This post is a pure and hard reflection of summer, of those that sometimes we become and help us improve as much as coaches or athletes. This It is an article for those people who seek sports to help them improve their lives and believe that having defined sports objectives or sports goals is exclusively reduced to athletes. If you are reflected, keep reading, to see if my reflection can help you change your mind and see the importance of planning how to practice sports, be it for the reason you do it.
Train for health: errors that we must avoid
These vacations have served me to observe other athletes whose ultimate goal was to train for health. I realized that the essential things when sports are practiced, even if they take into account, sometimes the mistake of leaving some margin is made, not because they are not important, but because they are obvious. During the days I was on vacation, I often frequented the pool of a family gym, near Manresa, where I could teach my children to give their first strokes. I noticed that there were swimming a wide range of people: from very young to very old people. My professional training caused that I could not avoid quickly analyzing the technique of these amateur swimmers, observing some common behaviors in the vast majority of them, such as: for example:- Almost all came without a bottle or container with liquid to hydrate.
- They were swimming all the meters that could, without previously heating.
- They carried many accessories in their training: Pull Buoys, shovels, tables, snorkels, athletes, etc.
- Very cool swims.
- Last generation watches.
- And, and worst of all, with very little intention of working the swim technique.
Triathlets swimming at IM Lanzarote 2022
10 tips to improve our training technique
You are already a novel athlete as elite, then I leave you some tips to improve faster than you have ever imagined:- Always take a bottle full with your favorite isotonic drink, it will help you maintain your level of effort and you can pay how you like. In my case it is ISOTONIC DRINK.
- Heats previously, work the technique and cool after training: Try to swim a few meters before training as previous warming, for example, a couple of lengths can be made, but they can be more or less, everything will depend on our physical condition or training habits. Once you go swimming, try to work the technique, so as not to harm you when you train and you can enjoy the exercise more. Once you finish swimming/train, do not forget the cooling, something as fundamental as heating. Cooling is an active form of recovery and serves to release tension and make blood flow through the body. For example, once we finish training, we can swim about 200 meters without pressure, simply, swim free to relax the body and mind.
- If you have doubts, always ask an expert: If you have been recommended to use fins, for example, you may not have an adequate level for it and you could suffer any injury or, also, you could worsen your swimming technique. Always ask a coach or monitor before, to avoid greater evils and above all, improve your technique.
- Get used to hydrate: Try to give little sips of your bottle in each short pause you have. And many people believe that the body does not sweat to be in the water, something totally wrong. Therefore, drinking an isotonic drink with flavor, in addition to contributing to the body carbohydrates, will help us to hydrate and provide an extra to our energy. If you want to know more about the importance of hydration, click here.
- Perform active recovery between series: Try to introduce some soft technique exercises, they will help you recover better since the rhythm of execution is always at low speed.
- Nothing first without accessories and then adds the one you like: If you have already taken more experience in your swimming technique and use an accessory on a regular basis, such as palmless gloves, fins, pullbuoy, ..., the ideal would be that you swim between 100 and 400 meters without accessory, as a transfer. In this way our body can more assimilate and apply the technique previously worked.
- Try to know why you use an accessory: In this way the training will make more sense.
- If you think your technique is not correct, it is surely like this: If necessary, hire an expert swimming coach for a couple of hours to observe you, to have an analysis of your technique and give you some addresses to follow, such as that you have to improve and what exercises do you have to do.
- Work your legs well: And it is that the vast majority of people, including me, are not kicking, so, if we work our technique to improve our whipped, this will help us gain more speed in water with the same effort.
- Do not forget the strength work: And it is that performing strength exercises in the gym is a great complement, so, if you do not yet, a 45 -minute session in the fitness room could serve as a shuttle to reach those goals you pursue.
