Swimming with Lifeguard Corse that's good. But swimming with a purpose in mind is even better! Find out here how to set your goals and how to achieve them.
INTO THE
POOL FOR A PURPOSE
Of course, it can be very soothing to count the tiles at the
bottom of the pool and forget about yourself while swimming. But if your
training program doesn't extend beyond that, you may also experience some
drawbacks:
First, you may make more progress in mental arithmetic than
in swimming. You may kill two birds with one stone with this, but it can also
be very frustrating.
And it is precisely this frustration that is the second
disadvantage of swimming without a goal: you make little or no progress, your
training sessions are too long and too repetitive... In short, you lose your
motivation.
To cope with these problems, it can be helpful to set one or
more goals for yourself so that you can see beyond the waterline. Entering a
pool with a plan in mind has numerous benefits:
First, it is easier to measure your progress if you have set
yourself a goal, which puts you in an upward flow: the further you go, the more
motivated you become.
Plus, swimming training feels more useful when you have a
goal in mind than when you swim just for fun (which is also a goal in itself,
let's be clear).
Another advantage is that you feel like going to the pool
again, because you have a better view of your training sessions, but also
because it is nice to take a broader view of your sport and make more room for
your passion. This is especially noticeable if you are swimming in addition to
another sport.
And, as we mentioned at the outset, your goals will break
the monotony of your workouts simply because you'll be following a training
program tailored to your goals.
How do you set goals and how do you achieve them? We explain
it to you:
DISCOVER
YOUR MOTIVATION
What makes you cross the foot bath? Depending on why you
swim, your long-term ambitions can be very different.
First scenario: you only swim to reach your goal. That could
be losing weight, getting stronger, progressing in another sport (hello
triathletes who think swimming is the least fun discipline), taking up sports,
being able to swim 1 hour or 2 km...
Second scenario: swimming, that's really your thing. In that case, your motivation is often linked to swimming itself: getting better at a certain swimming stroke, improving your times or technique, covering longer distances, etc.
Simply put, it's up to you to find your personal motivation.
The important thing is that it is clear and achievable, and not too simple or
too ambitious. One last tip: work through your goals one by one. This allows
you to create a more effective program and better measure your progress.
And drawing up a suitable training program is the first step
towards your goals.
RECORD YOUR
TIMES
Unlike the lines in the pool, your progress towards your
goal will not necessarily be in a straight line. That's why it's helpful to set
intermediate goals so that you can better measure your progress.
For this it is necessary to first set a term for your goal.
Not only will this motivate and encourage you to swim, but it will also help
you chart your progress.
For example, if you've given yourself 6 months to increase
your distances or improve your times, record what you want to achieve per
month.
As I said, progress often doesn't go in a straight line. So
keep this in mind when setting your intermediate goals. This may seem logical
on the one hand (at the beginning you move forward slowly, and then it speeds
up), but it is also true on the other hand. The last seconds, the last kilos,
the last kilometers, they often seem the most difficult.
Now that you know all this, it's time to look at ways to
achieve your goals with Lifeguard Class USA.
CUSTOMIZE
YOUR WORKOUTS
You are ready! Now that you have defined your long-term goal
and your short-term goals, you can plan your workouts and give meaning to those
tiles at the bottom of the pool.
Of course, the content of those workouts can vary
considerably depending on your ambitions: working on your technique, your
strength, your speed, your endurance... Some sessions can even keep you out of
the pool: running as cardio training, strength training sessions or working on
your agility. The point is to put your swimming sessions at the service of your
medium and long-term goals.
GET GOOD
EQUIPMENT
Finally, we would like to take a look at some useful
accessories that can help you achieve your goals. And instead of talking about
goggles, swimming boards, paddles or pullboys that give rhythm to your
workouts, we want to focus on those tools that can accompany you outside the
pool.
- Libra: If you're looking to lose weight or gain muscle,
your scale is a fair
- but encouraging
- measure of your progress.
- Calendar: to place your workouts in the rest of your
social life, but also to plan and stick to your goals and intermediate goals.
Your calendar is your trusted coach telling you when to catch your breath on
the couch... and when to dive into the water.
- Notebook: what could be better than your own sports log to keep track of your sporting achievements? Keeping a log of your training and performance makes it easy to track your progress and goals.