Reflect, recover and refocus

Swim Smooth coach Paul Newsome looks at how swimmers can maintain health and fitness in the off-season

As the swimming season winds down and cooler months begin to settle in, it’s the perfect time to reflect on your swimming journey and plan. Whether you’re a seasoned swimmer or someone who swims for fitness and health, this transitional period offers an opportunity to take stock of your progress, review your techniques and goals, and create a clear plan for the next phase of your swimming.

This month we will focus on the importance of reviewing your season, setting realistic goals and using recovery sessions to transition smoothly into your next phase of training. There are also two simple yet effective recovery sessions that can help you get back on track while aligning with this reflection and planning theme.

Taking stock: reviewing your season

Before planning your future training, it’s essential to reflect on what you’ve achieved this past season. Ask yourself these key questions:

• What were my major accomplishments? Did you hit any personal bests, complete a challenging open water swim, or simply maintain a consistent swimming schedule?
• Where did I struggle? Were there certain areas, like pacing or breathing, where you found yourself falling short?
• What was my overall health and fitness throughout the season? Consider any injuries or periods of fatigue and reflect on how they impacted your performance and enjoyment.

By evaluating both the highs and lows, you’ll gain clarity on where your strengths lie and what areas may need more attention in the upcoming months.

Planning ahead: setting goals and prioritising recovery

After reflecting on your season, it’s time to set your goals for the next phase. As the weather cools and the racing calendar thins out, now is an ideal time to focus on health, fitness and technique. A significant aspect of planning ahead involves recovery – both physical and mental. While it’s tempting to dive right into hard training sessions, it’s important to allow your body to recover and rebuild. Recovery doesn’t just mean taking time off; it can also involve incorporating lower-intensity sessions that help maintain fitness while reducing stress on your body.

Two easy recovery sessions

To aid in your transition from intense training to a more reflective and recovery-oriented phase, here are two easy recovery sessions. These align perfectly with taking stock of your performance and planning for improvements.

Breathing Session: Becoming Better at Bilateral Breathing

One of the simplest yet most effective skills to work on during this time is your breathing technique. Many swimmers struggle with breathing to their non-dominant side, which can lead to imbalances in their stroke and inefficiency in the water. This session is designed to help you get comfortable breathing to your least favorite side. It’s a low-intensity, technique-focused session that will improve your overall balance and stroke efficiency.

The session:

• Warm-up: 200m easy swim
• Main set: 5 x 200m focusing on breathing technique
• #1: Bilateral breathing (every 3 strokes)
• #2: Unilateral breathing (breath every 2 strokes to your non-dominant side)
• #3: Bilateral breathing
• #4: Unilateral breathing (dominant side)
• #5: Unilateral breathing (non-dominant side)

During this session, note how your speed compares when breathing bilaterally versus unilaterally. Are you more efficient breathing to one side? Use this time to build comfort and consistency, aiming for smoother, more balanced breathing to your weaker side. I often see swimmers breathing too late to their non-dominant side, so make sure you’re turning your head away from the advancing hand (ie, the right) as you’re about to breathe (ie, to the left). Getting to full extension with the right hand and then turning to breathe is too late and can really upset your comfort and rhythm – perhaps this is the single reason why you don’t like breathing to that side?

Pyramid Session: Simple Yet Effective

Sometimes, the best sessions are the simplest. This classic pyramid session is a perfect recovery workout that you can adjust to fit your fitness level, time and technique goals. It’s also highly versatile, making it ideal for swimmers looking to maintain fitness while easing back on intensity.

The session:

• Warm-up: 200m easy swim
• Main set: • 100m swim, focusing on form
• 200m swim, adding in a technical focus (eg, catch technique)
• 300m swim, building endurance
• 400m swim, maintaining consistent pacing
• 500m swim, adding in a drill focus (eg, kicking or sculling)
• Then, reverse the pyramid: 500m, 400m, 300m, 200m, 100m, adjusting focus as needed This session can be as easy or challenging as you like. If you have a swim partner, you can use the pyramid to practise structured drafting, which can make this session more interactive and fun.