goals header
Swim After Swim Motivation Your Goals
Goals Intro Pic

Get motivated. Be inspired. Get Speedo Fit.

Here, you can learn from the experts how to achieve your swimming goals, stay motivated and feel great in the pool. We’ve listened to your questions on training, technique, mind, body and fitness and have quizzed our team of professional advisors (who specialise in everything from fashion and fitness to psychology and physiotherapy) to bring you all the inspirational advice and tips you need to keep going, swim after swim.

ENERGY / MIND

I'd like to boost energy and enthusiasm when my body feels tired

  • Believe it or not exercise actually gives us energy!
  • Set yourself a small, realistic goal of going to the pool for a 15/20 minute swim or to do 20/30/40 lengths – whatever is a small challenge for you - and you will find you feel more invigorated after the swim than you did beforehand.
  • Choose a pool on your route home from work or close to home so you don’t have to worry about making yourself pretty afterwards – throw on your tracksuit bottoms and a hoodie, jump in the car and head home!

I want to release stress at the end of a long day

  • Going for a swim at the end of a long day is the ideal way to release stress.
  • Choose a workout that works for how you feel at that time.
  • If you’re really tired you may feel that a long, steady swim would be more beneficial.
  • If you’re feeling anxious and stressed and feel the need to work hard and fast to release extra energy, a short sprint workout might be more appropriate
  • If you find it difficult to switch off from the day’s business, a Speedo Aquabeat could be a great option to drown out those thoughts.

I want to know how to stick to a programme

  • Sticking to a programme requires the three P’s:
  • Planning – plan your week in advance and choose when and where you’re going to go for a swim.
  • Prioritisation – book the time you’ve allocated to your swim into your calendar as you would an important meeting and don’t let yourself move it – if you never make time for the session you will never find the time.
  • Progress – keep a note of the distance you have swum, any times or rest periods you take and set small goals to push yourself on one or more of these each week – a Speedo Aquacoach can help you with this.

I need some inspiration to get me to the pool

  • Write a list of all the things you like about swimming, from the sublime to the ridiculous such as:
  • The lovely feeling you get when you’re immersed in the water.
  • The feeling of fitness and energy you get after a swim.
  • Being able get a workout done at the same time as getting your hair washed – giving you a few extra minutes in bed the next morning.
  • Once you remind yourself of what you enjoy about swimming, focus on this the next time you feel like you’re going to skip a session.
WEIGHT / BODY

I'm looking for an all over body workout

  • Swimming is a great all over body workout but mix your session up by trying out different strokes and using different equipment.
  • This will challenge you physically as well as break up the monotony of swimming length after length at a steady pace.
  • Use all four strokes if you can and integrate training equipment such as kickboards, pullbouys, training fins and paddles to help build up strength.
  • Vary the number of lengths you swim in one go and the amount of rest you take between reps.
  • All of this will challenge you as well as ensure that you’re working every muscle in the body.

I want to tone up and feel more confident

  • Set small weekly goals related to your swim fitness ability.
  • Focus on areas that you have more control over such as your attitude, the amount of sessions you do in a week, the length of time you swim for each session, the number of lengths you manage to do during your workout or your swim technique.
  • For each of these small goals that you achieve, you’ll feel better AND build your confidence. The combination of the two makes it more likely for confidence levels to stay high.

I want to know the best weight loss workouts

  • Fast, sprint sessions with short rest where you get your heart rate up will burn more calories than sessions where you ‘float’ up and down the pool as if on holiday.
  • It’s important to challenge yourself each session so mixing up strokes and equipment will also help.
  • The best thing for weight loss is regular exercise so plan a minimum of one swim session a week, ideally towards the start of the week before you get too tired from the everyday pressures of work and family.
TECHNIQUE / TRAINING

I want to know how to set myself training goals

  • Decide first how many lengths you can do as a starting point & then break this up into a short warm up, a main set (sets of repetitions) & a short warm down
  • Aim to increase either the length of the main set, the speed of each repetition or lower the rest interval between
  • Use the pace clock to time repetitions so that you can see improvement
  • Aim to mix up strokes or do arms and/or legs only as part of the main set to get a better work out
  • Try to mix up pace on the main set or even better to add in a extra sprint set after it

I want to work on my form in the water

  • Technique work can be done slowly so that the emphasis is on swimming perfectly
  • Use a pull buoy so that you can concentrate on each arm pull without having to worry about staying afloat
  • Use a centre snorkel so that you can watch your arm pulls under water without having to turn to breathe
  • On backstroke or front crawl use paddles with only the finger strap on. You need to have a perfect pull through the water to keep the paddle from moving around
  • Concentrate on different parts of the stroke separately (such as long reach on each arm pull, high elbows, head position) rather than all at once

I'd like some advice on how to add variety to my workouts

  • The more different strokes you can do the better all round work out you get and it makes a session more interesting
  • Using equipment (such as pull buoy & paddles) adds variety & means you can concentrate on working different parts of your body harder
  • Adding fast lengths into a work-out raises your heart rate and makes the session more beneficial and less boring (can be done on pull/kick sets as well as full stroke)
  • Holding breath off the walls for a couple of strokes or kicking underwater is great to help improve lung capacity. Breath control sets also add a challenge to the session
  • Being able to check rest intervals and take times for repetitions to compare makes swimming more enjoyable and helps with goal setting & motivation

I’d like tips on how to improve my technique

  • Technique work can be done slowly so that the emphasis is on swimming perfectly
  • Use a pull buoy so that you can concentrate on each arm pull without having to worry about staying afloat
  • Break down the stroke into separate parts (such as hand entry, breathing, arm pull, arm recovery over water, etc) and concentrate on each part separately
  • On backstroke or front crawl use paddles with only the finger strap on. You need to have a perfect pull through the water to keep the paddle from moving around
  • Try various drills which exaggerate different parts of the stroke such as ‘chicken wing’ for high elbows & ‘4 second reach’ to stretch forward on each arm pull
  • Consider having a swim lesson as what you feel you are doing in the water and what you are actually doing can be very different
STRENGTH / POWER

I'd like to use resistance training to improve my strength

  • Using paddles on any stroke (full stroke) and concentrating on pulling hard will make a swim set tougher and work the arms & shoulders more intensely
  • Combining paddles with a pull buoy will make it a much more demanding upper-body workout
  • Sprinting with paddles on creates even more resistance and works the upper body even harder
  • It’s important to concentrate on technique when using paddles so that you feel the resistance throughout the arm pull

I want to improve leg strength

  • The bigger the kickboard the more it holds you up in the water so stronger swimmers should use smaller floats (or hold them just by the nearest end) to make the most out of a kick set
  • Changes of pace from steady to maximum effort are ideal
  • 'Power Kick' (hold small float up-right instead of flat and push through water) makes a kick set tougher and is great over shorter distances
  • Mix up strokes on a kick set to use a wider range of muscles
  • Using fins allows you to move faster which feels good but can also work the legs harder because of the added resistance (not to be used on breaststroke)

I'd like to increase my arm/upper body strength

  • Using a pull buoy to swim using arms only strengthens and tones shoulders & arms and helps get rid of "bingo wings"
  • Weaker swimmers can kick their legs slightly whilst using a pull buoy but stronger swimmers should cross their feet to maximise the upper body work out
  • Distance or speed sets of arms only are good so varying at different sessions works the muscles in different ways for a better over all result
  • Using paddles will add resistance and work the arms harder
  • Make sure your technique is good on each arm pull so that you feel the benefit from each pull through the water

I want to feel more powerful in the water

  • Using paddles can help you work each arm pull & make you feel more powerful through the water
  • Using fins allows you to move faster which is great psychologically but if you kick hard they also work the legs harder because of the added resistance (not to be used on breaststroke)
  • Technique is important, remember it is the pull through the water that drives you forward so make the most of each one
  • Add distance to each arm pull by rolling onto your side on front crawl as you stretch your arm forward & on backstroke on arm entry
SPEED / ENDURANCE

I want to know how to swim faster and further

  • Improving technique is the easiest way to swim faster & further so consider having a lesson
  • Improving fitness will also help so set goals to give you something to aim for and so you can see improvement
  • Decide first how many lengths you can do as a starting point & then break this up into a short warm up, a main set (sets of repetitions) & a short warm down
  • Aim to increase either the length of the main set, the distance of each repetition, the speed of each repetition or lower the rest interval between
  • Add in arms and/or legs only as part of the main set to concentrate on them & strengthen them separately
  • Try to mix up pace on the main set or even better to add in a extra sprint set after it

I want to learn how to increase my endurance/stamina

  • Improving technique will improve efficiency in the water so consider having a swim lesson
  • Find a sensible breathing pattern (ideally to alternate sides) rather than holding your breath for too long as this will help get you into a smooth rhythm and you will be able to keep going for longer
  • Set goals to give you something to aim for
  • Decide first how many lengths you can do as a starting point & then break this up into a short warm up, a main set (sets of repetitions) & a short warm down
  • Aim to increase either the length of the main set, the distance of each repetition or lower the rest interval between
  • It can be easier to swim for longer/further using a pull buoy as it adds buoyancy & therefore keeps your body in a better position even as you get tired


Visit the Speedo Store
Follow Speedo on Twitter
Like Speedo on Facebook