It’s no secret that swimmers work the hardest, commit most of their time to training, and "live, breath, and sleep" swimming* (of course i’m biased). So it’s totally normal to be feeling a little lost during this lockdown period. The first few weeks I really struggled with finding my feet and finding a purpose.
If this has been you at any point as well give one of these tips a go:
1. Set an alarm
It’s really easy to get into the habit of staying in bed till 12pm when you’re probably used to waking up at 5am. By 12pm you have usually you’ve had swim training, ate breakfast and most likely had 3 lessons at school. Setting an alarm is the first step to keeping some form of routine and normality during lockdown. Let’s face it – when things do start to get back to normal you’ll be the one to struggle to most if you’re used to staying in bed all day.
2. Plan your day
It’s 8.30am and your alarm has gone off! The same time every day. Get up, make the bed, have breakfast and start your day. Every Sunday try and plan at least one or two activities per day for your week ahead. They could be anything from a home workout, a walk, a spot of gardening, some time for baking, a movie night, quiz night, or even learning something new. Last week I even spent an hour trying to learn to juggle.
(Click below to download your own Weekly Planner)
3. Eat healthy (with the odd slice of banana bread)
It’s easy to fall into a bad routine with your diet and feel like you’re enjoying treat day, every day. Just because you’re stuck at home, and not currently in the pool, doesn’t mean you treat it like a holiday. It’s going to be tough enough returning to training having 8+ weeks out of the pool; and if you’re unhealthy, and out of shape it will be even harder.
4. Exercise
As a swimmer your daily routine would usually involve between 2-4 hours swimming per day, and on top of that the odd land training session - Due to lockdown we are down to 0! Not only do you need to exercise to maintain strength and fitness for the pool, but also your wellbeing. It’s true – exercise does really make you feel good, even if it doesn’t feel like it at the time. Between 30-60 minutes a day should do the trick, so get of the sofa enjoy a walk, a cycle and maybe even a HIT session in your front room. You can also join Willmott Swim Skills on Instagram every Wednesday at 10am for a LIVE strength session.
5. Set yourself a task
With all these extra hours at home it’s really easy to sit in front of the TV binge watching Netflix; but there are more productive ways to fill your time. Why not try and learn something? I’m not saying you should all go out and learn to juggle, but you could set yourself a task to give you something to focus on. It could simply be to analyse a race, improve your nutrition, or set some goals, so when you’re back at training you’re one step ahead of your competitors.
Let us know in the comments below if you have any other tips.
Aimee