Are you struggling to get back into a routine at the pool what with Easter, COVID, visiting long lost relatives and friends? Do you remember the last time you even swam? Struggling ourselves, especially now its colder, we’ve come up with seven ideas to help you find your love of swimming once more.
A mum of two Swim Girls shared how she told some new ladies to town about Swimming Women. She let them know she completed our FUNdamentals course a couple of years ago and was planning to get back to it. She then found an old diary and noticed entries for Swimming Women. The diary she found was from 2016. She had been going to come back for 6 years! Can you relate?
Her conversation made me reflect even I have only had 2 decent pool swims all year. I can come up with so many reasons why I haven’t and validate them all! The truth is I will only get a swim in if I plan it, schedule the time, tell the family and make it a priority. Everything else will still need doing if you have a swim however you will feel in a much better mood for doing it. I powered through my work after my swim this week feeling massively more productive and have put swimming back in my diary once more.
Some of you are super organised, book your sessions well in advance, and turn up regularly. As coaches we see the improvements you are making. However, if you are finding it hard to get to the pool, here are some tips that may help you get back to it. Sometimes it doesn’t matter how much you know you will love the post swim feeling, more of a shove is required.
Our fave ideas to help you find your love once more.
1 Autonomy to choose your own direction is a key element to being able to flourish. Book out your time before someone else takes a piece of it. Work will still be there anyway!
2 Communicate to the people you live with and work with that you have made a commitment to yourself. Telling others helps you stick to your plans and also helps inspire them to prioritise themselves.
3 Simplify your routine around going swimming. If I swim early I leave my bathers by the loo the night before. When I wake up I head straight there and put them on without thinking. In fact I put my bathers on even if I am working before I swim. If they are on they have to get wet!
4 Double up your trip to the pool by arranging a click and collect shop. This way you can spend time swimming instead of shopping and still have the same boot full of goodies to head home with post swim.
5 Enjoy the process of going swimming and have special toiletries only used after a swim, or meet a friend for a post swim cuppa. Enjoying the process has been shown to increase ability to stick to something. Perhaps a sexy new coffee cup will help?
6 Set a Goal and enter an event. There are so many swim events and sometimes having a goal that scares us it the one thing guaranteed to make us show up. Busselton Jetty Swim is our fave.
7 Commit to a multi pass of swims and book them all in straight away. By scheduling the time in advance you will be better able to make the swims. You can cancel upto 8 hours before and not be charged for it. Sometimes life does get in the way but at least you tried!
Do you think any of the above ideas are helpful? Let us know and tell us about any ideas you have to help you when you fall out of the groover.