Have you ever wondered how Olympic swimmers train every day to achieve the results you will later see on the screen of your TV? It is obvious they have to swim a lot, right? Pretty logical… duh. But it is far away from being the only kind of training these swimmers perform to stay toned, strong, and confident.
The first thing I want to mention is that distance swimmers and sprinters have absolutely different kinds of training. For instance, sprinters have to swim for 2 hours every day while also focusing on 5,000-meter laps. And distance swimmers need to swim up to 13 miles a day. An interesting fact is that a high school swimmer begins their practice at 5 am and professional swimmers can start training at 6 - 7 am. Can you imagine that? Every. Single. Day. Crazy!
Except for swimming, most Olympic swimmers do weight training in the gym. What for? Well, they need to be strong while also having powerful shoulders. And that’s when weights come into play. The most effective exercises for shoulders are the dumbbell front raise, the dumbbell press, and the dumbbell lateral raise. Many swimmers train 3-4 times a week for an hour or two depending on their own requirements (or their trainers’, of course).
The next on the list are stretching and recovery which are simply essential for swimmers. A lot of Olympic swimmers have regular massage sessions to help their muscles recover faster. What’s more, they have ice baths, which reduce the chances of muscle swelling and pain after an exhausting workout.
But not only training is important during Olympic Games preparation — a healthy and balanced diet is a key to successful training. Sometimes, swimmers have to consume up to 10,000 calories every day to maintain their energy levels after training. By carefully juggling all these things, Olympic swimmers have all the chances to win this so much desired medal one day.
