SWIMMING GOLD

I hear swimming coaches all over the world complain about all the things that are wrong with the sport.

These include:

* Declining numbers of kids in competitive swimming / club level swimming.

* Administrators who don’t understand the sport.

* Not enough pool space.

* No real investment in rural and regional swimming.

* Meets that are poorly attended.

* Teenage drop out rates continuing to worsen.

* Overly invested swimming parents causing stress and frustration.

And the coaches are right. All of these problems exist to a greater or lessor degree in swimming in all countries.

However, in reality, the only thing any coach can do to change and improve any of these big swimming problems is - to coach better.

Ask yourself this question - and try to answer honestly.

Is it really coaching to stand at the end of a pool yelling numbers at a group of kids for 2 hours twice a day?

Think about the kids we coach.

What do they want from the experience of sport?

* To feel like they belong

* To enjoy the experience

* To feel safe

* To feel connected to the coach

* To feel like they’re learning and improving

* To have friends

* To feel part of something that’s relevant and meaningful to their lives.

So how is standing at the end of the pool yelling “1:20, 1:24, 1:27” and “Take your marks - GO” for hours and hours each week delivering any of the experiences that kids are craving?

The great Laurie Lawrence said once, “If the kids are swimming 6 kilometres, you walk 10 kilometres. Give them more than you ask from them.”

Swimming coaching is not easy. Swimming coaches are some of the most wonderful, caring, hard working, professional people I know.

But complaining about what the National Body doesn’t do or how terrible it is that there’s no 16 year olds at Meets isn’t going to fix anything.

As deliverers of the experience of this sport, the ONLY people who can make this sport better - are coaches.

Are you up to the challenge? I believe - without doubt - you are!

Wayne Goldsmith

SWIMMING GOLD is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

By Wayne Goldsmith

SWIMMING GOLD is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

By Wayne Goldsmith

Three Key Concepts

* Traditional 1-1-1-1 periodization (1 week, 1 month, 1 quarter, 1 year) is calendar convenience, not biological reality

* Expecting all swimmers to adapt to training loads by Sunday night for Monday morning progression is coaching insanity

* Bold coaches create periodization around adaptation timelines, not calendar constraints

We've brainwashed an entire generation of swimming coaches into believing that periodization must follow the calendar. One week microcycles. One month macrocycles. One quarter phases. One year seasons. The sacred 1-1-1-1 model that every coaching course teaches as gospel.

Here's the problem: human adaptation doesn't follow a calendar.

Your swimmers don't magically recover and adapt to training loads because it's Sunday night and you need them ready for a new training phase on Monday morning. Biology doesn't care about your neat weekly schedule or monthly planning charts.

Think about what we're actually expecting here. You've got swimmers with different birth dates, ages, genetics, recovery rates, nutrition habits, sleep patterns, stress levels, and training backgrounds. Yet we teach coaches that ALL of these athletes will adapt to the same training stimulus in exactly seven days, allowing for seamless progression to the next phase.

This is dumb in the extreme.

Some swimmers need ten days to adapt to a training block. Others might need fourteen. Some might be ready in five. Your 13-year-old developmental swimmer and your 17-year-old senior don't operate on the same biological timeline just because they're both in Tuesday's practice.

Here's what bold coaches do: they throw out the calendar and follow the adaptation.

Why not ten-day microcycles? Why not thirteen-session cycles that take as long as they take to create the changes you're seeking? Why not base your periodization on how your swimmers are actually responding rather than what date appears on your planning calendar?

I've worked with coaches who run nine-day cycles, others who use fifteen-session blocks regardless of how many calendar days that requires. They watch their swimmers, assess their adaptation and progress when biology says they're ready—not when the calendar demands it.

Stop forcing your swimmers to fit into arbitrary time constraints. Start designing periodization around the reality of human adaptation.

Summary: True periodization follows biological adaptation timelines, not calendar convenience. Bold coaches create training cycles based on how swimmers actually respond to training loads.

Three Practical Exercises:

* Adaptation Assessment: Instead of automatic weekly progressions, evaluate swimmer readiness through stroke mechanics, energy levels, and training response before advancing phases.

* Flexible Cycles: Experiment with 9, 10, or 13-day microcycles based on training response rather than calendar weeks—track adaptation quality over time adherence.

* Session-Based Planning: Design training blocks around specific session counts (e.g., 15 sessions) that progress when adaptation occurs, regardless of calendar timeframe.

SWIMMING GOLD is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

VIDEOS RECORDED AT BEAUTIFUL EVANS HEAD AQUATIC CENTRE, NSW, AUSTRALIA with the kind courtesy of RICHMOND VALLEY AQUATICS.

https://richmondvalleyaquatics.com.au/

Copyright Wayne Goldsmith. All Rights Reserved.

By Wayne Goldsmith

SWIMMING GOLD is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Three Key Concepts:

* How swimmers approach a workout matters infinitely more than what's written on the whiteboard

* Successful athletes transform THE workout into THEIR workout through conscious choice

* Coaches obsess over physiology while missing the psychology that drives performance

Here's the dirty little secret about swimming coaching that nobody wants to admit: you're probably overthinking your workout design.

I've watched coaches spend hours crafting the "perfect" training session—calculating exact rest intervals, debating lactate thresholds, obsessing over stroke counts and split times. They'll analyze heart rate data, study periodization charts, and lose sleep over whether swimmers should hold 1:15 or 1:18 on a main set.

Meanwhile, their swimmers show up and completely miss the point.

Two athletes can do the exact same workout and get completely different results. Same pool, same coach, same workout written on the board. One swimmer transforms into a champion. The other treads water in mediocrity. The difference isn't in the physiology—it's in the psychology. It’s attitude. It’s in the choices the swimmer makes on how to do the workout that matters.

The swimmers who excel understand something their coaches often miss: THE workout becomes THEIR workout the moment they decide how they're going to approach it. Every push-off is a choice. Every breath is a decision. Every wall attack is an opportunity to own their development or coast through another meaningless lap.

I've seen swimmers turn basic 10x100 freestyle sets into breakthrough sessions because they chose to focus on perfection in every detail. I've also seen swimmers waste brilliant, scientifically-designed workouts because they approached them with minimum effort and maximum excuses.

Stop obsessing over the training variables you can control on paper and start focusing on the human variables that actually determine success. The magic isn't in your workout design—it's in how your swimmers choose to execute what you've designed.

Summary: Successful swimming comes from athletes who transform THE workout into THEIR workout through conscious choices about effort, focus, and execution.

Three Practical Exercises:

* Choice Awareness Sessions: Before each main set, ask swimmers to identify three specific choices they'll make—streamline tightness, breathing pattern, wall finish—and rate their execution afterward.

* Ownership Conversations: After practice, ask "How did you make today's workout yours?" instead of "How did the workout feel?" Focus on their choices, not your design.

* Execution Excellence: Spend less time explaining workout physiology and more time teaching athletes how to approach every repeat with championship mindset and maximum standards.

SWIMMING GOLD is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

VIDEOS RECORDED AT BEAUTIFUL EVANS HEAD AQUATIC CENTRE, NSW, AUSTRALIA with the kind courtesy of RICHMOND VALLEY AQUATICS.

https://richmondvalleyaquatics.com.au/

Copyright Wayne Goldsmith. All Rights Reserved.

By Wayne Goldsmith

SWIMMING GOLD is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Three Key Concepts

* Complex training zone systems are theoretical perfection but practical insanity

* Individual variables make precise zone targeting impossible with groups of swimmers

* Simplicity and clarity beat complexity and confusion every single time

Here's what drives me absolutely crazy about modern swimming coaching education: we're teaching young coaches that they need to master 5, 6, or 7 different training zones to be successful.

Lactate threshold. VO2 max. Anaerobic power. Neuromuscular power. Critical speed. Maximum lactate steady state. Aerobic capacity. We throw around these terms like they're coaching gospel, creating elaborate zone charts with precise heart rate ranges and blood lactate values.

Then we send these coaches out to the pool deck with 30 age group swimmers and expect them to accurately determine which specific training zone each swimmer is working in during a main set.

This is insanity.

You've got a 12-year-old who stayed up until midnight playing video games training next to a 16-year-old who's been tapering for two weeks. One swimmer had three energy drinks for breakfast, another is fighting off a cold. Different genetics, different training backgrounds, different stress levels, different everything.

And we expect coaches to know that swimmer A is training in Zone 3 while swimmer B is hitting Zone 5? Even with all the wearable technology in the world, this level of precision is a fantasy that exists only in coaching textbooks and laboratory conditions.

Here's what actually works: SIMPLIFY. CLARIFY. Start young coaches with four training zones maximum, with big, obvious gaps between them:

* Low Intensity Aerobic: Easy, relaxed pace swimming that builds base fitness

* High Intensity Aerobic: Challenging but sustainable pace that develops aerobic power

* Race Pace Specific: Training at the speeds swimmers will race at competition while maintaining race quality skills and technique

* Speed Development: Maximum velocity work for neuromuscular adaptation

Master these four. Understand what each zone accomplishes. Learn to recognize them in your swimmers. Then, after years of experience, maybe—maybe—add another zone if it genuinely helps your athletes reach their potential.

The best coaches I know keep training simple enough that their swimmers can execute it brilliantly, rather than making it so complex that nobody understands what they're supposed to be doing.

Summary: Training zone complexity creates confusion and imprecision—smart coaches should start with four simple zones and master the art of practical application before adding unnecessary complexity.

Three Practical Exercises:

* Zone Recognition Drill: Practice identifying the four basic zones by observing swimmer behavior, breathing patterns and stroke mechanics rather than relying on technology.

* Simplicity Challenge: For one month, design all workouts using only the four basic zones—master simple before attempting complex.

* Individual Awareness: Learn to recognize how different swimmers respond to the same training stimulus rather than assuming everyone hits identical zones.

SWIMMING GOLD is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

VIDEOS RECORDED AT BEAUTIFUL EVANS HEAD AQUATIC CENTRE, NSW, AUSTRALIA with the kind courtesy of RICHMOND VALLEY AQUATICS.

https://richmondvalleyaquatics.com.au/

Copyright Wayne Goldsmith. All Rights Reserved.

By Wayne Goldsmith

SWIMMING GOLD is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Three Key Concepts:

* Most coaches obsess over volume, intensity, and frequency while completely ignoring the brain

* Mental skills training must be integrated into every workout, not treated as an optional add-on

* The fourth variable—training the brain—often determines who reaches their potential and who doesn't

Every coaching textbook teaches the same three variables: Volume (how much), Intensity (how hard), Frequency (how often). Walk into any pool and you'll hear coaches discussing meters per week, lactate threshold sets and training sessions per day.

But here's what's missing from 95% of workout plans worldwide: training the brain.

I've spent three decades watching coaches meticulously plan every physiological detail of their sessions—calculating precise rest intervals, monitoring heart rates, periodizing training loads—while completely ignoring the most powerful performance variable of all: the space between their swimmers' ears.

Think about your last workout. Did you plan how to challenge your swimmers' mental resilience? Did you include exercises to improve their focus under pressure? Did you design opportunities to practice emotional control when fatigue sets in? Or did you just write "8 x 100 on 1:20" and call it coaching?

The swimmers who reach the podium at major championships aren't just physiologically superior—they're mentally trained. They've practiced staying calm when their race plan falls apart. They've rehearsed positive self-talk when lactate floods their system. They've trained their brains to make smart tactical decisions when oxygen debt clouds their thinking.

Yet most coaches treat mental skills like an afterthought. "We'll do some visualization next week." "I should probably talk to them about goal setting sometime." Meanwhile, they spend hours calculating training zones and periodization charts.

Here's the reality: Volume, Intensity, and Frequency without Brain training creates fast practice swimmers who crumble under competition pressure. But when you integrate mental skills into every session—when you make brain training as systematic as your lactate sets—you develop complete swimmers who perform when it matters most.

Summary: Coaches must move beyond the traditional three training variables (volume, intensity, frequency) to include systematic brain training as the fourth essential element of complete swimmer development.

Three Practical Exercises

* Mental Skills Integration: In every workout, include one specific mental challenge—racing simulation with distraction, pressure breathing exercises, or focus tasks during fatigue.

* Brain Training Planning: When writing workouts, ask "How am I training volume today? Intensity? Frequency? And what mental skill am I developing?" Plan all four variables deliberately.

* Competition Mindset Practice: Create training scenarios that replicate competition stress—noisy environments, unexpected changes, equipment problems—and teach swimmers to maintain performance standards.

SWIMMING GOLD is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

VIDEOS RECORDED AT BEAUTIFUL EVANS HEAD AQUATIC CENTRE, NSW, AUSTRALIA with the kind courtesy of RICHMOND VALLEY AQUATICS.

https://richmondvalleyaquatics.com.au/

Copyright Wayne Goldsmith. All Rights Reserved.

By Wayne Goldsmith

SWIMMING GOLD is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

Three Key Concepts

* The traditional workout formula is limiting your swimmers' potential

* Creative, adaptive coaching beats cookie-cutter programs every time

* Modern swimming demands purposeful, individualized training approaches

Stop me if this sounds familiar: Warm-up, kick set, pull set, drills and skills, main set, simulators, swim down. Repeat tomorrow. Repeat next week. Repeat for the entire season.

Here's the uncomfortable truth: if your workouts follow the same predictable pattern session after session, you're not coaching—you're photocopying.

I've visited hundreds of pools across six continents, and the sight is depressingly similar. Coaches standing at the end of lanes, clipboard in hand, running swimmers through the exact same workout structure they learned in their Level 1 coaching course twenty years ago. It's swimming by formula, coaching by default, and it's killing creativity and limiting potential.

The greatest coaches I've worked with—the ones who develop Olympic champions and world record holders—don't follow templates. They craft experiences. They look at their swimmers on any given day and ask:

"What do these athletes need right now? What will challenge them? What will inspire them? What will make them better?"

Maybe today your sprint group needs 45 minutes of pure speed work with no warm-up because they're sharp and ready to fly. Maybe your distance swimmers need a technical session that's 80% drills because their stroke fell apart yesterday. Maybe your entire team needs a game-based practice because they're mentally flat and need to rediscover why they love this sport.

The old model assumes every swimmer needs the same thing at the same time in the same order. The new model recognizes that swimming is becoming more accurate, more purposeful, more deliberate—and our coaching must evolve accordingly.

Summary: Modern swimming coaching requires breaking free from traditional workout formulas to create purposeful, adaptive sessions that meet the specific needs of individual swimmers and groups.

Three Practical Exercises

* Needs Assessment Check: Before writing any workout, ask three questions: "What do my swimmers need physically today? What do they need mentally? What do they need technically?"

* Formula-Free Friday: Once per week, design a completely non-traditional practice structure—start with main set, end with warm-up, or create an entirely game-based session.

* Swimmer Input Sessions: Monthly, ask your swimmers what type of practice would challenge and motivate them most, then design creative sessions around their feedback.

SWIMMING GOLD is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

VIDEOS RECORDED AT BEAUTIFUL EVANS HEAD AQUATIC CENTRE, NSW, AUSTRALIA with the kind courtesy of RICHMOND VALLEY AQUATICS.

https://richmondvalleyaquatics.com.au/

Copyright Wayne Goldsmith. All Rights Reserved.

SWIMMING GOLD is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

THREE KEY CONCEPTS:

* Perfect technique doesn’t exist — there’s only what works for you.

* Fundamentals matter — but so does flexibility, feel, and flow.

* Individuality is the secret weapon — not something to be corrected.

Let’s get something straight:

There is no such thing as perfect swimming technique.

There. I said it.

The swimming world is obsessed with this mythical idea of perfection — the flawless stroke, the textbook kick and the robotic symmetry that would make a biomechanist cry tears of joy.

But here’s the truth: perfect technique is a myth.

What matters is effective technique — for you.

Just like every kindergartener learns to write the letter “a” a little differently — a little taller, a little rounder, a little wonkier — every swimmer learns to move through water in their own way.

And that’s not a flaw. That’s the beauty of it.

Great coaches don’t build clones.

They build swimmers who understand how their body moves best through water — and how to refine that movement without losing their natural rhythm, feel, and personal style.

Sure, there are technical fundamentals we all need to consider including:

* Soft hands

* Loose feet

* Head-hips alignment

* Control under pressure

* Rhythm, relaxation, and timing

But trying to cram every swimmer into the same narrow technical box is like trying to make every child write their letters the exact same way: it might look neat… but it kills creativity and confidence.

Elite swimmers? They own their style.

Popov wasn’t Phelps. Phelps wasn’t Ledecky. Ledecky isn’t Titmus.

You need to find the technique that works for your physiology, your mindset, your experience — and develop that with purpose.

So no, we’re not chasing “perfect.”

We’re chasing personal bests, efficiency, feel, and freedom.

THREE PRACTICAL EXERCISES FOR COACHES, SWIMMERS & TRIATHLETES:

1. Video Mirror Drill. Film swimmers from front and side. Watch it back. Ask:

“What do I notice about my rhythm, timing, and movement?”

Not “what’s wrong?” but “what feels right and what could flow better?”

2. Alphabet Stroke Series. Assign letters of the alphabet to body parts (e.g. A = Arms, B = Breathing, C = Core). Pick three each session and ask swimmers to tune into their feel and awareness in those areas — their own alphabet of improvement.

3. Write Your Own 'a' Sets. Let swimmers design a short set (3x50 or 4x25) where the only instruction is: “Swim how it feels best.” Then discuss it. Self-awareness is the foundation of individual technique development.

💡 Final Thought:

Don’t aim for someone else’s version of perfection.

Discover your own version of excellence — and swim into it with confidence.

SWIMMING GOLD is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

VIDEOS RECORDED AT BEAUTIFUL EVANS HEAD AQUATIC CENTRE, NSW, AUSTRALIA with the kind courtesy of RICHMOND VALLEY AQUATICS.

https://richmondvalleyaquatics.com.au/

Copyright Wayne Goldsmith. All Rights Reserved.

By Wayne Goldsmith

THREE KEY CONCEPTS:

* There's a direct relationship between swimming fast and staying relaxed

* Speed comes from moving better, not trying harder

* Practice relaxation and speed together—they're inseparable skills

With so much talk about 50s - I thought I’d record a video about our need for speed!

Want to swim faster? Stop trying so hard.

This sounds counterintuitive, but it's the secret every elite swimmer discovers: the faster you want to go, the more relaxed you need to be.

Watch any world record swim. Notice what you don't see—tension, strain, or swimmers fighting the water. Instead, you see fluid power, effortless speed, and athletes who look like they're barely working.

Here's the physics: tension kills speed.

When swimmers try harder, muscles tighten. Tight muscles move slower. Tight shoulders create drag. Tight breathing creates panic. Tight thinking creates poor decisions.

The swimmers who breakthrough to their next level understand this paradox: speed comes from smoothness, not strength.

During your next speed set, resist the urge to attack the water. Instead, focus on moving through it like you're swimming through silk. Think "smooth and easy" instead of "hard and fast."

Coaches, stop yelling "Go faster!" Start coaching "Stay smooth!" The speed will follow naturally when swimmers learn to maintain relaxation under intensity.

This takes practice. Most swimmers have been conditioned to equate effort with tension. Breaking this pattern requires deliberate training of relaxation and speed together.

Try this: during sprint sets, give swimmers two focuses—hit the target time AND stay visibly relaxed. Teach them that these aren't competing goals—they're complementary skills.

Elite swimmers don't swim fast despite being relaxed. They swim fast because they're relaxed.

Water rewards efficiency, not effort. The swimmers who learn to stay loose while moving fast unlock a level of performance that pure strength can never achieve.

SUMMARY: Speed and relaxation aren't opposites—they're partners. Train them together. Teach swimmers to move faster by staying smoother, not by trying harder. Effortless speed beats effortful struggle every time.

THREE PRACTICAL EXERCISES:

* Smooth Speed Sets: During sprint training, coach swimmers to maintain visible relaxation—loose shoulders, controlled breathing, fluid movements

* Effort vs. Efficiency: Have swimmers swim the same distance at race pace twice—once "trying hard," once "staying smooth"—compare times and feelings

* Relaxation Cues: Develop simple phrases like "silk and speed" or "smooth and strong" that swimmers can use during fast swimming to maintain the right mindset

SWIMMING GOLD is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

VIDEOS RECORDED AT BEAUTIFUL EVANS HEAD AQUATIC CENTRE, NSW, AUSTRALIA with the kind courtesy of RICHMOND VALLEY AQUATICS.

https://richmondvalleyaquatics.com.au/

Copyright Wayne Goldsmith - All rights reserved.

By Wayne Goldsmith

SWIMMING GOLD is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

THREE KEY CONCEPTS:

* Writing the workout is only step one—coaching the choice is everything

* Swimmers must take ownership of their training standards, not just complete distances

* Excellence is chosen moment by moment, stroke by stroke

Here's the brutal truth: your training program doesn't make swimmers fast. How swimmers choose to execute your training program makes them fast.

You can write the most brilliant workout in the world—perfect intervals, ideal progressions, scientifically designed sets. But if swimmers approach it with a "just get through it" mentality, you're wasting everyone's time.

The magic happens when swimmers shift from completing workouts to owning workouts.

Every stroke presents a choice. Execute with precision or settle for sloppy. Maintain technique under fatigue or let it fall apart. Stay mentally engaged or drift into autopilot.

Champions understand this. They don't just swim 20 x 100 freestyle—they choose to swim 20 x 100 with perfect streamlines, controlled breathing, and unwavering focus on their catch.

As coaches, our job isn't finished when we write the session on the whiteboard. That's when our real work begins—teaching swimmers to think critically about how they approach each set.

Ask better questions: "How are you going to attack this set?" "What's your technical focus?" "What does success look like beyond just making the time?"

Triathletes, this applies to you too. Your pool sessions aren't just about fitness—they're about developing the mental discipline to maintain form when your body wants to quit.

Stop measuring success by meters completed. Start measuring success by standards maintained.

When swimmers take ownership of their training quality, everything changes. They become partners in their development, not passive recipients of your program.

SUMMARY:

Transform swimmers from lap counters into standard setters. Coach the choice, not just the workout. When athletes own their training quality, they unlock their true potential.

THREE PRACTICAL EXERCISES:

Choice Check-In: Before each set, ask swimmers to verbally commit to one specific standard they'll maintain (technique, effort, focus)

Quality Scale: After tough sets, have swimmers rate their execution quality 1-10—build awareness of their performance standards

Ownership Questions: Replace "Did you make the time?" with "How did you choose to execute that set?" Shift focus from completion to execution

SWIMMING GOLD is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

VIDEOS RECORDED AT BEAUTIFUL EVANS HEAD AQUATIC CENTRE, NSW, AUSTRALIA with the kind courtesy of RICHMOND VALLEY AQUATICS.

https://richmondvalleyaquatics.com.au/

Copyright Wayne Goldsmith - All rights reserved.

SWIMMING GOLD is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

By Wayne Goldsmith

THREE KEY CONCEPTS:

* Warm-up sets the mental and emotional tone for the entire workout

* Mindful swimming from the first stroke creates better technique patterns

* Physical preparation and mental engagement must happen simultaneously

Most coaches think warm-up is about raising body temperature and minimizing injury risk. They're missing the point entirely.

Your warm-up is your golden opportunity to connect mind and body before the real work begins. It's when swimmers transition from the chaos of daily life into the focused world of purposeful training.

Start the way you want to finish.

If you want swimmers to be mindful of technique during main sets, make them mindful during warm-up. If you want smooth, efficient strokes under pressure, practice smooth, efficient strokes from stroke one.

Too many warm-ups look like this: swimmers dive in, chat with friends, and mindlessly churn through easy laps while their coach sets up equipment. Meanwhile, their minds are still at school, work, or scrolling through social media.

Try this instead: make your warm-up an active engagement process. Ask swimmers to focus on one specific element—perhaps their breathing rhythm or their hand entry. Give them something to think about, not just something to do.

The swimmers who learn to engage their minds during warm-up become the swimmers who can access that focus when it matters most—during race preparation and competition.

Your warm-up should warm up three things: body, mind, and intention.

Physical preparation without mental preparation is just swimming laps.

Mental preparation without physical preparation leaves swimmers flat.

But when you combine both from the very first stroke, something magical happens—swimmers become present, purposeful, and ready to learn.

SUMMARY:

Transform warm-up from mindless lapping into mindful preparation. Engage body and mind simultaneously. Set the tone for excellence from stroke one, and watch that intention carry through your entire session.

THREE PRACTICAL EXERCISES:

Focus Cue Warm-Up: Give swimmers one specific technique focus for each 100m of warm-up (breathing, catch, rotation)

Mindful Transition: Start each warm-up with 30 seconds of stillness—swimmers stand quietly and set their intention for the session

Quality Check: After warm-up, ask swimmers to rate their focus level 1-10—build awareness of their mental engagement

SWIMMING GOLD is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support my work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.

VIDEOS RECORDED AT BEAUTIFUL EVANS HEAD AQUATIC CENTRE, NSW, AUSTRALIA with the kind courtesy of RICHMOND VALLEY AQUATICS.

https://richmondvalleyaquatics.com.au/

Copyright Wayne Goldsmith - All rights reserved.