Trusting in your Hard Work

小臭贝

This week’s Speedo Tip of the Week comes from Dr. Lenny Wiersma, assistant professer at the Division of Kinesiology and Health Promotion at California State University, Fullerton. Dr. Wiersma offers some advice on not getting discouraged when you’re not swimming as fast as you’d like.

Wiersma’s Tip:
It's easy and natural to compare ourselves to others, even though we know what they do has little to do with our own development.

Perhaps you get a little more nervous before competition and have a hard time swimming as fast as you are capable. There are many ways to deal with that, including learning a pre-race breathing technique or focusing on your race plan instead of the time or place you want to achieve.

Every person responds differently to training, and each person has a very different timeframe for improving and reaching his or her peak. You've heard of "early" or "late bloomers,” or those who develop much faster or much slower than others.

The key is to have patience, and I mean patience over the next several years. I encourage you to continue swimming with heart and let your development occur, as it certainly will over time, with patience and hard work.

If you allow yourself to get discouraged, it is hard to stick around long enough to see your talent grow. The best mental approach for any swimmer to take is to TRUST in your hard work, your coach's instruction and your own work ethic. Given time, you will see that improvement pay off.