Becoming a good swimmer, or even a better swimmer, is hard – really hard. Unless you started shortly after birth, your biggest obstacle is going to be mastering your technique versus just getting fit. Getting fit is “easy” compared to getting “good.”
Everyone is familiar with the saying “Practice makes perfect,” which Vince Lombardi appropriately evolved into “Perfect practice makes perfect.” But what is perfect practice and how do we know if we’re doing it?
Over the decades, I’ve come to realize that, for the most part, there are three types of practice. I’ve always labeled them thusly:
- Dumb practice
- Intelligent practice
- Wise practice
Dumb practice is practice for the sake of practice. It lacks structure, purpose, goals, feedback, or observation. It’s jumping into the pool with all your excuses lined up and knocking out 2km – then toweling off and getting back to the office where you loudly proclaim to your coworkers that you would love to join them for a drink after work but you’ve got to get your run in, as you’ve got an Ironman coming up next spring. Trust me when I tell you, your coworkers are relieved you’re not joining.
It is repetition for the sake of repetition. If you don’t learn from your mistakes, that’s where the “dumb” comes in.
Intelligent practice has structure, purpose, and goals, but the feedback is internal. You’re using the clock and physiological queues to determine if you’re improving. The clock won’t lie but sometimes those queues will tells fibs.
An intelligent person learns from their mistakes.
Wise practice has structure, purpose, goals, AND expert input from a master in the field.
A wise person learns from the mistakes of others.
I recently had a conversation with a fellow coach where I explained my “three types of practice” theory. He looked at me like I was dumb.
“What you’re talking about is naive practice versus purposeful practice versus deliberate practice.”
A rose by any other name.
Whether we call it wise practice or deliberate practice, what we’re looking for is practice guided by an expert and possessing certain characteristics.
While these types of practices can be applied to anything from learning a new language to rock climbing, what might it look like when applied to swimming?
I’ve identified 5 characteristics of wise/deliberate practice (I’m sure there are more):
- It involves clearly defined specific goals. “Get faster” is almost everyone’s goal but there’s little about it that’s specific. Clearly defined goals can be broken down into manageable chunks and are specific in their definition. They’re attainable but there should also be a risk of failure. If you have a 400m PB of 6:52 and aren’t burdened with too many other mitigating factors (age, years in the sport), then setting a goal of swimming a sub 6 minute 400m is probably realistic, but a wise coach would likely start out by targeting a 6:30 effort and putting a calendar target on that – e.g.,12 weeks. Once that’s achieved then it might be prudent to look at hitting 6:15 in another 12 weeks. These are arbitrary scenarios but you and your expert can establish realistic and meaningful goals.
- It is executed with intention. That doesn’t mean every stroke or even every session is “hard.” It means you’re maintaining your focus and intention on what your goals are for that particular day – not day dreaming about what you’ll be having for dinner.
- It’s often uncomfortable. If you’re dropping your elbow on entry and failing to achieve an early vertical catch, adjusting this movement is not as easy as simply not doing it. Your coach might get you to swim a pretty big chunk of time as single arm with fins and a snorkel. Your metres come down and your shoulders complain about the new movement. You will need to get comfortable with getting slower before you can get faster. There’s many an athlete who simply will not suffer this indignation. Don’t be one of them.
- It involves receiving and accepting feedback. This relates to item #3 on this list. Getting feedback is about the most valuable element of having an expert guiding you – but it’s often uncomfortable. You’ve been told 15 times to widen the entry of your left arm because you’re crossing over. You’ve widened it so much you feel like you’re trying to thumb a ride out there but your coach is telling you it’s not enough. Frustrating! Then you look at the video footage that good experts often utilize and you realize you’ve barely shifted the offensive entry more than an inch! This is where internal queues often fail us. What we think we’re doing often is not reflected in reality.
- It has a clear understanding of what success looks like. This ranges from a specific session to an overall arc. For example: “I will consider this session a success if I get 4,000 metres in, can complete the main set of 20 x 100 on a 1:45 leave time, and the coach declares that I’m not lifting my head as much as I have been guilty of in the past.” What does a successful block look like? What does a successful season look like? The answers to those questions might evolve but have an answer going in!
If you sincerely desire to swim faster or more efficiently then stop practicing like a dummy and wise up! It’s not easy but if it was then there’d be no point bragging about our achievements around the water cooler!
Clint Lien is the Head Coach of Victoria’s Mercury Rising Triathlon: www.mercuryrisingtriathlon.com.
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