How I Train: Swim Workout Tips Of A Full-Time Mother

I want to say that my workout schedule is perfect, I never miss days and I always feel great about them. But I don’t like to lie. My "me time" is flawed, very flawed, but by being flexible I can feel productive and successful. The ability to be flexible and able to modify my day when plans change is key. Early hours are the best for me. I’ve been getting up before 5 AM for more than half of my life. Thank you club/college practice schedules for that. If your goal is to get your workout in first thing in the morning kudos to you! You have placed yourself in the category of most likely to succeed. Why? The longer you put off doing something, the less likely it is to happen at all. This spans across all walks and is not exclusive to working out. If you are not a morning person but your health club or pool has a childcare center it can be a win for both your kids and you. Get everyone out of the house and some energy spent. My kids enjoy time spent with other kids doing crafts and playing, while I get my workout in - double bonus! What makes my swims great or not so great is always up to me. Being an adult swimmer training with a group of high school kids has its perks. I can modify sets and intervals as I see fit. If you are training with a group and need more of a challenge make one. I often change intervals or distance to suit my tastes. If an interval is too soft I can either swim an extra lap or two to increase my workload or lower the interval to amp up my heart rate. I relate a good workout to several things: how far I swam, how high my heart rate was, as well as how long I maintained said heart rate. My bare minimum is 3000 yards/meters. I prefer to be over 4000. So set your number before you hit the water, goals help you through rough or boring patches. Training my whole body is equally important to me, so I make sure to use all four strokes at least once during a workout. I’d like to tell you I apply this goal to pulling and kicking, but again that would be a lie. I love to pull and have been known to pull 50% or more of most practices, but I loathe kicking. True sign of an older distance swimmer right there. Swimming with a group is a luxury to some. I am not terribly diligent when I am solo. I prefer someone barking sets at me, gets me nostalgic. If you don’t have a group, try to find a buddy. A partner to help with accountability will positively affect both of your success rates. If that isn’t possible always have a workout ready. Print it out and bring it with you. Arriving at the gym or pool with no plan is never a good thing. It's off to the pool for me!