Stay Healthy, Train Smart

At this time of year, there are lots of athletes (swimmers, triathletes and runners) looking for ways to improve their times over last year’s records. Much effort is spent on training, diet, and a rigorous schedule to stay on top of it. Through it all, you may have missed something.

Ever wonder why many accomplished athletes are in their 30’s? It’s because they’ve learned how to train more efficiently. They can’t, and don’t “pound their body” like they did in their 20’s. It’s too hard on their bodies, the recovery time takes longer, the chance of injuries becomes greater, and they don’t improve their times as effectively. It’s not just “what” you do, but “how” you do it.

Your body can’t, or shouldn’t be expected to handle a punishing training session just because you feel you’re losing ground. Effective training takes into consideration, the current abilities of the athlete, their previous performance abilities and the future goals or records that are to be broken. From these things, it’s all about efficiency and effectiveness of a carefully managed training program. To improve means you have to stay in the game long enough to identify shortfalls and accept the work it will take to overcome them.

Another aspect to take into consideration is the environments that you train in. Living in the greater Seattle area, our weather isn’t always ideal for training outdoors whenever we feel like it. For this reason, I sometimes suggest rotating an athletes training events from indoor to outdoor (and vise versa) depending upon the type of workout and the weather forecast.

Stay healthy, train smart. Monitor your workouts to find what’s best for you, and seek professional advise if you are having questions or need guidance.

Written by Dan Lavin
Aquatics Director, Seattle Athletic Club Northgate

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