Dear fellow swimmers
How to get faster
At Outdoor Swimmer, we get involved in swimming in many ways.
Recently, our editor, Ella, qualified as a beach lifeguard.
A key requirement for this qualification is to swim 400m in under 8 minutes. But back in January, it took Ella 10:45. She had convinced herself that was her speed, she'd been stuck with it for years, and didn't think she
could improve.
Yet 10 weeks later, she achieved the beach lifeguard qualifying time. How did she do it?
The full story is Ella's to share, but here are the key steps if you want to try this
yourself.
- Get motivated. Ella had a compelling reason to swim faster. Qualifying as a beach lifeguard was necessary for some swim guiding she's doing in the summer.
- Have your technique assessed. Ella asked swim coach Paul Fowler to review her
swimming and identify changes to make her more efficient.
- Follow a training plan. Paul also wrote Ella a training plan designed to increase her speed. It was hard work. She needed a strong motivator to stick with it.
- Include cross-training. Ella knew that swimming alone wouldn't be
enough to lift her fitness to the required level. She started running and lifting weights.
- Keep testing. Every few weeks, Ella swam a timed 400m to track her progress. Not only did she get faster, her average heart rate decreased.
- Hold the faith. Ella had days when she wasn't
progressing. Sometimes she went backwards. Believe in the programme and stick with it.
Ella will be sharing more details in a future issue of Outdoor Swimmer magazine. However, if you're stuck on a swimming plateau, the above template will help.
If you have a story of making a breakthrough in your own swimming, we'd love to hear it.
