My Pre Channel Swimming Tips the Ocean Walker way :)

I’ve been asked for channel swimming tips quite a bit so thought I would blog some out for you guys which I have learnt over the last 7 channel swims.

1. Decide how much you want to do the swim. Do you think of it every day, are you prepared to spend the time training and sacrifices in order to achieve this goal? If the answer is yes then commit early book your boat and Go For It!!

2. Ask yourself whether your swim stroke is as efficient as it can be, can you improve? If the answer is yes, then invest in a coach. You will invest a lot of your hard earned money in a channel swim you want to be prepared as much as possible for the job in hand.

3. Set yourself a pool training plan which you will stick to. This should be simple and not too diverse, so you can see your improvements which in return will give you confidence.

4. Integrate at least once or twice a week some strength training in the Gym, although it’s not as important as swim training, getting stronger will definitely help for speed and endurance.

5. Nutrition – eat enough calories to cover your training 40 percent carbs, 40 percent protein, 20 percent fats. On big training sessions you will get hungry, don’t give into loading yourself with chocolate and sweet foods, not only is not good for you is can lead to diabetes. It can also cause you to feel low after the sugar rush subsides. Mix bag of nuts helped minimise my sugar cravings although don’t taste as good granted!!

6. Don’t allow any negatives to creep into your brain, know only that you will make it.
Positive thinking talk the swim down if you make the task small in your mind, it becomes smaller in reality!

7. Selecting a good supporting team is very important, you will need them in your low moments in training and on the day.

8. Make sure you have spare gear for your training swims, ear plugs, goggles etc. Be well prepared get used to being disciplined and you will be prepared on the day.

‘Never Give Up On Your Dreams!!’

Adam