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SWIMMERS LOG BOOK

NAME: SQUAD: COACH:

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CONTENTS PAGE

Swimmers Details

Using this Log Book

Weekly Training Schedule How to set goals Short, Medium and Long term goals Club Goals Personal Goal Setting Personal best times at start of the season (Short Course) Personal best times at start of the season (Long Course) Competition recording log Something to think about Why we warm up and cool down Warm ups before a race Training Log Nutritional Advice Nutritional Advice continued Nutritional Advice continued Warm up STATIC STRETCHES Warm up STATIC STRETCHES (Continued) Warm up STATIC STRETCHES (Continued) Land Training exercises that can be completed at home Land Training exercises that can be completed at home (Continued) Land Training exercises that can be completed at home (Continued) NOTES

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SWIMMERS DETAILS

Name: Date of Birth: Address:

Telephone : Main Event(s):

Best Swimming Experience(s):

Favourite Training Set(s):

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USING THIS LOG BOOK

A log book is what you want it to be. Different swimmers require different things from it. It must therefore be relevant to you. A generic log book is no good. It must fit the individual's aspirations, targets and goals. Therefore it needs to be: ∗ A guide ∗ A reference material for all your achievements in swimming

during the season. ∗ A record - of all your PBs, how well you performed in

competitions and training. ∗ A signpost for the future.

The log book is useful to look back to when, where and how you swam well and establish why. To assess your training schedule and check that you are on track on achieving your swimming goals. The log book also allows you to chart your improvements during the season and see if you have improved your PBs.

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MY WEEKLY TRAINING SCHEDULE

Days of the week

Time Venue/Place

Monday

Tuesday

Wednesday

Thursday

Friday

Saturday

Sunday

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HOW TO SET GOALS GUIDELINES FOR EFFECTIVE GOAL SETTING

SMARTER Model

Specific - to the event or skill. Instead of saying "I want to improve my 50m butterfly" you could say what you want to improve about it. For example "I want to improve my 50m butterfly turn". This will give you a specific focus to work on in training

Measurable - ensure that progress can be compared with a

standard

Accepted - by the coach and the performer

Realistic - setting a goal that is suitable for your ability

Challenging but within reach

Time orientated - The goals need to be set with a completion

time frame in mind

Exciting - goals will inspire and reward the performer

Recordable- provides feedback and motivation. Also helps monitor your progress

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Short, Medium and Long term goals

SHORT TERM GOALS Short term goals are ones that you will achieve in the near future (e.g. in a day, a week, a couple of months) Can be awarded and reviewed on a daily or weekly basis. Provides important feedback concerning the progress towards the final destination. E.g. Making 5 metres on every turn on front crawl in training MEDIUM TERM GOALS Gives the opportunity for achievement on a monthly/couple of months or annual basis. E.g. making Surreys/Regionals on 100m Front Crawl LONG TERM GOALS Tend to be focused on future events/competitions that are a significant period of time away. One problem, however with setting these goals is making sure the swimmer stays focused and maintains a positive attitude toward reaching theses goals. This is why short term and medium term goals are set to …… E.g. - Reaching the qualifying National Time for 100m Front crawl E.g. - Competing for my County for Front crawl

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CLUB GOALS

Goals Reason for Goals How will I achieve my

goals? Short Term Achieve 75% attendance

across all groups in the club. Working on certain areas for improvement on each swimmers four strokes, turns and starts. Therefore trying to achieve as near to the most efficient way of swimming/completing the strokes/skills as possible.

Training will improve therefore performances will improve. To swim the fastest you can in the pool, particularly for the older swimmers, you need to have a technically efficient stroke.

Make sure that everyone is in the right squad. Making sure the sessions are varied, challenging and have a clear objective. Ensuring a proper balance of skills and drills work during the session. Coaches on poolside addressing technical faults or improvements the swimmer can work on.

Medium Term

All club members will have achieved either: A personal Best time within the year. County Qualifying Time Regional Qualifying Time National Qualifying Time

Gives a clear objective for the swimmers. To provide a focus for all swimmers.

Ensuring good attendance aligned with progressive sessions.

Long Term Have swimmers reaching National Qualifying Times. All swimmers competing in at least three competitions during the year.

Ensuring that swimmers are reaching their full potential within the sport (Long Term Athlete Development**). Will give swimmers a challenging but reachable target that will help their motivation and drive within the sport. Provides a competitive focus for the club. Provides a target for all swimmers in the club and gives an indication of progress against targets. (It also gives swimmers a stimulus/motivation/target for their training.)

Encourage maximum attendance. Ensure swimmers are consistently challenged during training. Training to be focused at key events during the year. Target specific events and advertise to the correct squads.

Signed Head Coach Joshua K Bond

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**Long Term Athlete Development For more information on this please have a look at: http://www.swimming.org/go/library/document/asa-a-shorter-guide-to-ltad

PERSONAL GOAL SETTINGS

Goals Reason for Goals How will I achieve my goals?

Short Term

Medium Term

Long Term

Signed (Swimmer) …………………………… Signed (Coach) …………………………… Date ……………………………

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PERSONAL BEST TIMES AT THE START OF THE SEASON

Please insert all your PB's and the date/venue they were attained in a 25m pool.

Short Course 25m 50m 100m 200m 400m 800m/1500m Butterfly

Backstroke

Breastroke

Freestyle

I.M

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PERSONAL BEST TIMES AT THE START OF THE SEASON

Please insert all your PBs and the date/venue they were attained in a 50m pool.

Long Course 50m 100m 200m 400m 800m/1500m Butterfly

Backstroke

Breastroke

Freestyle

I.M

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COMPETITION RECORDING LOG

Date: ……………………………… Meet: ……………………………… Venue: ……………………………..

Event Time Comments

Comments from Coach: ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. ………………………………………………………………………………………………………………………. ……………………………………………………………………………………………………………………….

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SOMETHING TO THINK ABOUT

Below are some points/areas that you can think about while you train. You could pick one before each training session and practice them.

1. Streamlining off every push off and turn

2. Taking at least 2 strokes out of every push and turn off the wall before breathing.

3. Try and reach 5 metres off every turn.

4. Make sure you're equipment fits securely before the start of the

session - I.e. No unnecessary goggle fiddling!!

5. Make sure you finish correctly on all strokes (I.e. finish on your back on Backstroke sets and touch with two hands on Breastroke and butterfly)

6. Go to the toilet only between sets

7. Have I drunk enough this session?

8. Kicking endurance throughout the club needs to be focused on in

detail, many of us may not like kick sets but this does not mean you do not work them hard!!

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WHYWEWARMUPANDSWIMDOWN In training there are no set warm ups that we do. It depends on the aim of the session and its position in the training cycle. Most warm ups last between 500m and 2000m and can consist of full stroke, drills, kick and pull. The idea of a warm up is to raise the heart rate and ready the body physically and mentally for exercise. VALUE OF WARMING UP

∗ Warming up has both physiological and mental benefits. ∗ Physiologically, a good warm up prepares the circulatory system to deliver more oxygen to

the muscles and prepares the muscles to use that oxygen more rapidly. ∗ A warm up stretches the joints and muscles, increasing the range of motion so swimmers

can perform the skills in swimming more efficiently and skilfully. ∗ Warming up increases the speed of muscle contraction, so that the swimmer can perform

powerful movements immediately when the race begins, it also reduces the possibility of muscle and joint injuries.

WARMING UP FOR COMPETITION A warm up can serve as a physical and mental rehearsal period for the upcoming competition and it can help swimmers adjust to the environment of different competition sites. Swimmers can use the warm up to rehearse physically by working on stroke techniques, refining starts and turns for the upcoming competition, and practicing paces and stroke rates for various events to prepare themselves to perform these procedures accurately and efficiently during the competition. Swimmers can also mentally rehearse their races during the warm up. As they swim easily down the pool or swim sprint and paced swims, they can plan their races and focus on aspects of their performance that will lead to success. Swimmers can become accustomed to their surroundings during the warm. Each pool has a different feel and presents distinctive problems with identifying landmarks such as backstroke flags, starting blocks, and other items that swimmers use during races. COOL DOWNS

∗ Again in swimming there is no set cool down that you have to do. ∗ Cooling down is a very important procedure in a training session that is often disregarded

by swimmers. Swimmers will recover faster by taking part on cool downs. ∗ Recovery is more rapid with mild exercise. Mild exercise allows faster recovery by

removing carbon dioxide from the muscles and delivering oxygen to them at a faster rate. The high rate of flow maintained through mild exercise will case more blood to reach the lungs each minute, where it will give up its carbon dioxide and take on oxygen. The oxygen can then be transported to the muscles, where it will increase the rate of lactic acid removal.

The speed during the cool down should be sufficient to maintain a high rate of blood flow without causing additional muscle glycogen use and lactic acid production.

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Pre-Race Warm Up GENERAL WARM UP DESIGN Roughly spend 30 minutes for a warm up. Warm up (10 minutes) Mixture of front crawl and backstroke Cover a couple of lengths on the stroke you are doing that session, maybe a couple of drills if the lane is particularly busy. This should be done steady, to loosen the muscles and raise the heart rate. Turns practice (8 minutes) Need to be done at the end or ends you are doing the race (E.g. I.M turns should be practiced at the end you will do them in the race to have a "feel" of the wall etc) do easy front crawl in the middle of the pool but race pace turns at each end. Do the turns you are doing during that session. Starts (5 minutes) Diving at the end you are starting that race at. Do the start/s you are doing that session. Fast to 15 metres then easy to the end. Cool Down (7minutes) Gentle swim, bring the heart rate back down. REMEMBER

• This is a very general warm up design. • Each swimmer should have their own individual warm up that helps them

before a race. You can adapt the session above to suit you. If you know you need to work on your turns, spend more time and focus on that area. If you know that it takes you longer than 10 minutes/ or the lane is too busy you don't feel you've warmed up enough spend longer on the warm up.

• Remember swimmers can ask their lane coach or coach present at galas what they should cover in the warm up for their race if they are unsure. Your coach is there to help you

• Also during the warm up it is very important that you do not stop in the middle of the lane or at the end of the lane for too long, as you will be getting in the way of other swimmers, who may not see you and hit into you. If you are going to stop at the end of the length make sure you move to the side of the lane letting other swimmers continue their warm up. (Of course you can stop for a rest but not for 5 minutes J )

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TRAINING LOG WEEKLY VOLUME RECORDING SHEET

Week Week Commencing

Weekly Volume

Running Volume Totals

How I felt this week Comments

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 26 27 28 29 30 31 32 33 34 35 36 37 38 39 40 41 42 43 44 45 46 47 48 49

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NUTRITIONAL ADVICE

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(From swimming.org)

It is very important to stay hydrated during your training sessions - Try to drink as much water before and during your training session as you can.

Exercise Meals Here are some good examples: ∗ Baked potatoes – fill them with beans, sweet corn or chilli, not too much

cheese, and remember to eat the skin, it’s the healthiest bit! ∗ Pasta meals or bakes – again go light on the cheese, throw in plenty of

vegetables. Tuna is also a great energy source. ∗ Beans on toast – they may be the signature of a student’s staple diet but

low-sugar baked beans are actually really good for you. And if beans aren’t your thing, eggs will do a similar job.

∗ Chilli con carne – beans, lean mince, and brown rice all should set you up

perfectly for exercise in a few hours. Fatty, greasy mince, white rice and salty tortilla chips will not.

Pre-training Snacks Unless you’re trying to lose body fat don’t train on an empty stomach, you’ll be running on empty and your performance will be impaired. Eat a small meal or snack between one and two hours before you start your training. Great snacking foods are fruits (fresh is best but dried are still okay), energy foods (cereal bars, energy drinks, protein shakes), yogurt (low fat if possible) or whole grain foods (whole wheat cereal or wholemeal toast). Snacking During the Day Elite athletes keep their blood sugar level as constant as possible by snacking regularly (and healthily) during the day. Only do this if you’re training enough not to add body weight from the increased food/calorie intake.

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Target the same snacks you would as a pre-training boost – complex carbohydrates, fruits or protein shakes. Refuelling If you’re putting in the metres in the pool, your body will need a boost when you finish your training. Always try to refuel within 30 minutes of finishing and preferably within 15 minutes – your body immediately needs nutrients to repair muscles and replace energy. Make sure you’re refuelling with the ‘right’ foods though – something low in fat but high in carbohydrates and protein.

Swimming competition meal preparation The Day Before When competition time comes round, you’ll have plenty on your mind already. So the day before the event, keep exercise to a minimum – if anything at all – and eat meals and snacks high in complex carbohydrates. You need to keep those glycogen stores topped up. Drink fluids little and often to stay properly hydrated. Eat little and often – every two to four hours to keep your blood sugar levels steady and fuel your muscles in preparation for your event. Avoid big meals or over-eating in the evening – this will almost certainly make you feel uncomfortable and lethargic the next day. Try to stick to familiar foods. Curries, spicy foods, baked beans and pulses (unless you are used to eating them) can cause gas and bloating, so avoid eating anything that may cause stomach discomfort the next day. It’s best to stick to foods that you are familiar and compatible with! The Morning of the Event Don’t swim on empty. Even if you feel nervous, make breakfast happen. Stick to easily digested foods – cereal with milk, porridge, banana with yoghurt, some fruit or toast with jam. If you’re really struggling, try liquid meals such as milkshakes, yoghurt drinks or a smoothie.

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It’s a good idea to rehearse your competition meal routine in training so you know exactly what agrees with you. Snacks Between Heats Try to eat as soon as possible after your swim to give yourself as long as possible to recover if you have to swim again. High fat and simple sugar foods will do you no favours in competition – instead search out the complex carbohydrates again. If you can’t stomach anything solid try sports drinks, flavoured milk or diluted juice that will help replenish your energy supplies and assist the recovery of aching muscles. The list below offers great food options to be snacking on in and around training for a competition. Remember to keep eating healthy foods from your regular diet though, such as fresh vegetables, nuts and fruits. Here are some more you can try ∗ Water, diluted fruit juice with a pinch of salt or a sports drink ∗ Pasta salad ∗ Plain sandwiches e.g. chicken, tuna, cheese with salad, banana, peanut

butter ∗ Bananas, grapes, apples, plums, pears ∗ Dried fruit e.g. raisins, apricots, mango ∗ Smoothies ∗ Crackers and rice cakes with bananas and/or honey ∗ Mini-pancakes, fruit buns ∗ Cereal bars, fruit bars, sesame snaps ∗ Yoghurt and yoghurt drinks ∗ Small bags of unsalted nuts e.g. peanuts, cashews, almonds ∗ Prepared vegetable crudités e.g. carrots, peppers, cucumber and celery

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Warm Up Stretches For All Swimmers:

STATIC STRETCHES

IMPORTANT: Your body must be warm before doing any type of stretching otherwise injuries can occur

Roughly hold each position for 15-20 seconds Repeat x2 (HEAD TO TOE)

Half semi circle rotations of the neck - do not fully rotate your head as can hurt your

neck muscles Rolling shoulders forwards and backwards - Keep head still

Arms swings forward and back - Can hold your shoulder on the rotation - Chin up - Long relaxed arms and shoulders Arm swim side to side - Check your surroundings!

Tricep/Shoulder Joint Stretch - Elbow up to the ceiling - Place one hand at the back of the spine

- Other hand grips the elbow and pulls it behind the head to the opposite side Shoulder Joint Stretch - One arm over the shoulder and hand on the back - The other

elbow pointing down towards the hips and hand on the back - try to grip hands

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Arm pulled across the body (shoulder stretch) - Other arm holding at the elbow joint Cat Stretch - Start by balancing on your knees/all fours looking forwards -

Head bows down looking at your legs behind arching your back

- Can start the stretch lying on your front - Push up on your hands, tilt your head back arching your back Hips Rotations - Circle one way and then the other - Spell your name with your hips Side bends arching arm over the body - Legs slightly wide apart - Hand on hip - Reach the arm over your head and

stretch over Quadricep Stretch - (Standing like a pelican) - Heel up to your bottom, push your hips forward Groin Stretch - Lean on one leg bending at the knee - Or you can sit on the floor, feet placed together, knees pushed down to the floor with your elbows Calf Stretch

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- One leg placed in front of the other - Leg in front bends at the knee - Push your hips forward - Useful to have solid surface in front of you to push against Hamstring Stretch - One foot in front of the other - Foot in front toes stretching up to the shin - Place

hand on the leg behind that has the knee bent for support

Ankle Rotations - Can be done standing like a pelican, rotating the ankle around - Or can be done sitting on the floor grasping the ankle and rotating LAND TRAINING EXERCISES THAT CAN BE COMPLETED

AT HOME These sessions should not be an alternative for swimming but as an extra.

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Each swimmer should try and participate in the following activities at least 2 times a week to start and then increases to 3 or 4 times a week with sufficient rest periods in between (roughly a day of rest interval between each). Before an important swim competition/meet the swimmer will generally reduce the volume being swam but will focus more on race pace work. In relation to land training exercises the swimmer should decrease the amount of sessions they participate in and also reduce the intensity of the sets. WARM UP 5-10 MINS First to warm up you need to raise your pulse and warm up your muscles. This can be done by doing:

• Skipping • Bouncing on the balls of your feet • Some jogging on the spot • Jogging on the spot with high knees • Jogging on the spot with high bum kicks • Short bursts of sprint jogging on the spot mixed with gentle jogging on the spot

Finish up with some STATIC STRETCHES (Previous pages) SESSION The following exercises can be taken part in the following ways: Maximum in a set period of time - which is where you participate in each activity for 30 seconds/ 1 minute and see how many you can do OR sets of 15/20 on each exercise and repeating this 3 times (15 press ups, 3 x) Between each activity have 30 seconds rest and then repeat or move on to the next activity. EXERCISES Press ups

• (These can be done on the balls of your feet or on your knees depending on your ability). • Start by placing both hands on the floor, shoulder width apart, directly beneath the shoulders and

with the hands pointing forwards. • The elbows should always be slightly bent. • The knees should either be on the floor or hip width apart above the floor. • The neck and head should be held in a straight line. • The back should remain straight and flat. • Bend the elbows bringing the body closer to the floor and then push up.

Remember to keep the elbows bent when you push up and not to lock these out, must remain bent throughout the repetitions otherwise you will loose the tension in your arms.

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Sit ups

• Lie flat on the floor with knees bent, feet flat on the floor, find neutral spine position by arching then flattening the lower back before relaxing into a comfortable intermediate position.

• Place hands either on thighs (easiest), across chest on opposite shoulders (moderate) or by the temples with elbows out (hard).

• Slowly lift the shoulders off the floor with a controlled movement, raising about 3-4 inches off the floor.

Lunges

• Start with feet hip width apart facing forward. • Keeping knees sort and spine in neutral alignment take a large step

forward. • On placing the front foot flat on the floor the back foot may lift onto toes. • Lower the body under control using the front leg until the front knee is

directly over the ankle. • Front thigh should be relatively parallel to the floor and the back knee

should be about 2 inches off the floor. • Keeping the upper body in neutral alignment throughout push through

the font leg to powerfully extend the hip and knee joints to a standing position.

• Do the same thing on the other leg to alternate the lunge. Sprinter sit ups

• Lie flat on the floor. Lift feet above the floor. • Instead of lifting the shoulders up and down (like a

normal sit up), place hands on the temple and twist to one side with an elbow touching the opposite knee (right elbow touching the left knee). The knee should come up and bend to meet the elbow.

• Switch over. Burpies

• Start off standing with legs shoulder width apart. • Drop to the floor, place hands shoulder width apart. • Kick the legs as far back together as you can (full extension), push your hips back and then back

underneath the body. • Jump up into a streamlined position, one hand over the other. • Repeat.

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Plank position

• Start by lying flat on the floor, support your upper body on your elbows with hand out in front.

• Elbows should be directly beneath your shoulder joints. • Raise yourself up to your toes so that your body makes a

straight line from shoulder to hips to ankles. • Keep your head in the neutral position looking down at the

ground in front just in front of you. • Hold the position.

Squat thrusts

• (Basically the leg extension part of the burpie without the jump at the end) • Start of standing with your feet shoulder width apart.

• Drop to the floor, place hands shoulder width apart. • Kick your legs backwards and forwards for as many as the set requires or for as long as the set is

for.

Superman Position

• Start off on all fours on the floor. • Stretch out one arm in front of the body. • Stretch out the opposite leg and hold for the set period of

time for the session. • (Example on diagram, right arm stretched out in front with

left leg extended behind)

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INCREASING THE INTENSITY OF THE PROGRAMME: To increase the intensity and difficulty of each session you could alter the following:

• Repeat the exercises more than 3 times (increase the repetitions) • Have less rest in between each activity/set • Alternate the choice and order of exercises you cover during the session.

NOTES ....

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