Don’t panic, it’s just water

This is for all my athletes who are starting to panic because they can’t “breathe in the water”.  I’ve got one word of advice, OK, three words….

1.  RELAX

2.  SLOW DOWN

When we first start to swim, or get back in to swimming after a break of many years (many many years for some who haven’t been swimming since childhood) we think we need to move our arms really fast.  This causes the body to come out of alignment, thus requiring more energy to go through the water, thus causing us to breathe heavier, thus causing us to PANIC that we can’t breathe.  Phew…my heart rate was elevated just writing this…

So, what is the answer?  Slow down.  Don’t worry about speed.  Work on your form, and practice  breathing in a rhythm that is comfortable to you.

For those of you on the Westboro Swim and Tennis Tri Team, you can use one of your 3- 1×1 coaching lessons with me, Matt or Brian to work just on these things.  Ask Jim, it works when you slow down your arm rotation, think calming thoughts, and breathe 1..2..3  breathe, 1..2..3.. breathe

Whatever your rhythm, get in to it and stick to it.  We can work on speed later.  It’s all about rhythm, balance and getting “the feel” of the water.

Let me know if you have any questions, or want some drills to try.