The Competitive Environment in Swimming
What does a training day look like?
Being an athlete and competing at an international level is one of the most prestigious aspects that anyone can desire in this world. You are an inspiration and example for your country, family and loved ones and the best thing about it is that you can make them and yourself proud. For me there is no better reward than that.
As a former high-performance swimmer I can tell you that this comes with a price. In life, nothing is free and people should not take things for granted. All the sacrifice that professional swimmers have to go through is incredible and the worst thing is that not that many people can see it or understand it.
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Here is an example of how a day in my life looked like when I was training:
4:30 am – Wake up and breakfast before morning practice.
5:30 am – Swimming practice. In the morning it used to be aerobic and was between 3 and 4 km.
5:00 pm – Weights session, with a focus on explosiveness and developing power in the pool.
6:00 pm – Second swimming session. It was between 4 and 5 km
HARDEST SWIMMING SESSIONS:
40×25 butterfly every 30 seconds.
I remember I was averaging 15-mid.
This is a set that really pushed my and helped to develop a strong 100 meter butterfly.
Another brutal set was 5×100 every 5 minutes suited up on Saturdays. The pain you feel in between every 100 was extremely hard to tolerate.
With a body weight of 80 kg, I was burning more than 2,000 calories in a single day. I did this every day for many years and all of this sacrifice was with the objective of making my family and team proud. My mindset allowed me to survive every practice and go through obstacles, the mentality of a champion.
Last update: June, 2022