Breathlessness

BREATHLESSNESS  is good?  YES!

Do you remember that feeling right after your race?  At the wall your heart is pounding like crazy, your arms and legs feel like noodles, you can't talk, and it actually seems hard to breathe?  GREAT JOB!  You just achieved breathlessness, which means you likely did your best.

That feeling is easy to achieve when racing.  It is harder to do at practice.  You must practice with speed and intensity to race with speed and intensity.  It takes determination, strong work ethic, and teammate support to get breathless at practice.  

Try these tips below to push yourself and your teammates.  

• KICK.  Larger muscles are used when you kick, which requires more oxygen.  Improve the intensity of your kick.
• FAST WALLS.  Swim fast from the flags into the wall and back out to the flags.  Intense "wall work"  should get you breathing hard.  
• DPS.  Work on distance per stroke.  Pull deeper, lengthen, and count your strokes.  
• CHALLENGE TEAMMATES.  Ask your teammate to race you, or try to pass you.  That is sure to get you moving!

Below is a video of a swimmer shortly after a race.  If you watch closely, you will notice that she is unable to talk and it is difficult for her to catch her breath.  She achieves that same feeling in practice often.  Her swimming success is an indicator of that hard work.  WELL DONE!



Breathlessness from Marli McIntire on Vimeo.