{"id":2117,"date":"2016-08-02T16:44:39","date_gmt":"2016-08-02T14:44:39","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/pjuractive.com\/mag\/?p=2117"},"modified":"2018-06-12T16:15:28","modified_gmt":"2018-06-12T14:15:28","slug":"5-astonishing-tips-to-maximize-your-swimming-potential","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/pjuractive.com\/en\/blog\/5-astonishing-tips-to-maximize-your-swimming-potential\/","title":{"rendered":"5 Astonishing Tips to Maximize Your Swimming Potential"},"content":{"rendered":"<p>As a kid, I loved\u00a0<strong>swimming.<\/strong> Nowadays, I\u2019m still a swimmer, but I\u2019m focused more on the athletic side of things. I wanted to improve my speed and comfort in the water, and I\u2019m getting better at it each and every day by applying these five simple guidelines.\u00a0Here\u2019s\u00a0<strong>how to<\/strong>\u00a0grow your own set of fins so that you can feel at home in the water too.<\/p>\n<h2>Number One: Increase Hydrodynamics<\/h2>\n<p>Just like a fancy race car, your body will move better through the water if it\u2019s sleek and smooth.\u00a0Cars are specifically designed to cut through air; you can help to tailor your body to cut through water with these adjustments:<\/p>\n<ul>\n<li><em>Wear a swim cap:<\/em> Nothing\u2019s worse than letting long hair (or even short hair!) slow you down.<\/li>\n<li><em>Shave your legs \u2013 and maybe even your arms:<\/em> Professional swimmers do this because it reduces their drag in the water.\u00a0Yes, even men shave! It\u2019s a real thing, and it really is\u00a0<strong>how to <\/strong>best\u00a0<strong>harness<\/strong>\u00a0your potential. Use our new <a href=\"https:\/\/pjuractive.com\/body-after-shave\/\">Body After Shave Spray<\/a> to prevent skin irritation and razor burns after shaving.<\/li>\n<li><em>Buy a suit without frills<\/em>: Are you still wearing the swimsuit with the skirt attached that you bought in eight grade? Do you hop into the pool in trunks that look like old boxers? If you really want to start moving like a pro, you\u2019re going to need a more professional suit. Invest in something nice. The ideal suit hugs the body and doesn\u2019t have any extra fabric. The less fabric you wear means the faster you can swim.<\/li>\n<li><em>Shape your body to be more streamlined:<\/em> By lengthening your muscles, trimming off extra fat, and toning your arms and legs, you\u2019ll be more equipped to zip through the water.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<h2>Number Two: Do Physical Exercise (On Dry Land!) and Eat Healthier<\/h2>\n<p>As the final bullet point of the last category said, you can shape your body to be longer, leaner, and effectively more hydrodynamic.\u00a0Not just that, but there\u2019s another benefit to doing out-of-the-pool physical exercise: While you might think that by going for a swim you\u2019re already getting plenty of physical activity, but that\u2019s not actually enough. One form of physical exercise doesn\u2019t strengthen every aspect of your body, and if you\u2019re not targeting all of your muscle groups, you can\u2019t <strong>harness<\/strong>\u00a0your full potential. Hitting the gym will make you better at\u00a0<strong>swimming<\/strong>. Get into a routine of working your various muscle groups.\u00a0Throw in some yoga here and there to lengthen your muscles. Do Pilates to increase resistance. Try boxing to work on your timing which will aid in swim strokes.<\/p>\n<p>Eating well is key to exercising. If you\u2019re young, you might think that what you eat doesn\u2019t play a dramatic role in how you feel. However, this is untrue, and if you aren\u2019t paying attention to what you eat, there\u2019s no way you\u2019ll be at the peak of your abilities.\u00a0Learn about healthy eating guidelines, adjust your diet to what best suits you, and remember that \u201cdieting\u201d isn\u2019t about weight loss: it\u2019s about gaining nutrition.<br \/>\nBy getting your body into its tip-top shape before you dive in, you\u2019ll be leagues closer to your goals.<\/p>\n<h2>Number Three: Reduce Chafing<\/h2>\n<p>No matter how fit and toned you are, there are parts of the body that still rub together when moving. Where there\u2019s friction, there\u2019s chafing.\u00a0As a swimmer, you probably thought you would escape the chafing nightmare other athletes experience. Nope! Whether you\u2019re in the water or in the gym getting ready to hop in the pool, things will rub, and your skin will hurt. Rule number three for\u00a0<strong>how to\u00a0harness<\/strong>\u00a0your full potential is to deal with chafing. If your body hurts, you\u2019re not going to want to push yourself to be your best. Test <a href=\"https:\/\/pjuractive.com\/shop\/eu\/2skin\/\">pjuractive 2skin\u00a0<\/a>\u2013 the innovation for protection against chafing and blisters. Just apply it to protect delicate areas before swimming. 2skin is water- and sweat resistant.<\/p>\n<h2>Number Four: Do Breathing Exercises<\/h2>\n<p>\u201cI already know\u00a0<strong>how to<\/strong>\u00a0breathe,\u201d you\u2019re probably thinking. Well, breathing exercises are a little different than day-to-day breathing. Swimmers are notable for having some of the biggest lungs around, and this isn\u2019t by chance. Having Michael Phelps level breath-holding abilities comes from actively learning\u00a0<strong>how to\u00a0harness<\/strong>\u00a0your lungs\u2019 capacity. Spend time working on comfortably holding your breath as long as you can. Go a little longer each time (but don\u2019t make yourself pass out!).\u00a0By filling your lungs to their capacity and holding it, you slowly but surely stretch them out, which over time increases their capacity.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Swimming<\/strong>\u00a0requires a great deal of breathing control too, not just lung capacity. By learning\u00a0<strong>how to<\/strong>\u00a0move with your breath and learning\u00a0<strong>how to<\/strong>\u00a0time your breath to optimize oxygen intake, you\u2019ll be better at\u00a0harnessing\u00a0your breath to your advantage when\u00a0<strong>swimming.<\/strong>\u00a0Plus, focused breathing decreases stress, and it\u2019s pretty obvious that people who aren\u2019t under as much stress perform better than those who are.<\/p>\n<h2>Number Five: Be Mindful in the Water<\/h2>\n<p>Connected to the benefit of breathing is the benefit of mindfulness. Mindfulness is a practice used by Zen masters, and it and breathing exercises show up in meditation and yoga. You can\u00a0<strong>harness<\/strong>\u00a0its benefits in your\u00a0<strong>swimming.<\/strong><br \/>\nBeing mindful means focusing your attention on what happens within your body rather than outside of it. Being \u201cin the moment\u201d will better your abilities because you\u2019ll be more in-tune with what your body is trying to tell you.\u00a0You\u2019ll react faster and with more strength than if you let your mind drift to other subjects while you swim. As well, by focusing on your breath; on how your limbs are moving; on how the water feels on your skin, you\u2019ll be less likely to get distracted by other swimmers, an audience, or your own fear of failure. By making your swim about the experience and not about goals or competition, you\u2019ll swim better and improve overall.<\/p>\n<p>How do you maximize your swimming potential? Share your tips.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As a kid, I loved\u00a0swimming. Nowadays, I\u2019m still a swimmer, but I\u2019m focused more on the athletic side of things. I wanted to improve my speed and comfort in the water, and I\u2019m getting better at it each and every day by applying these five simple guidelines.\u00a0Here\u2019s\u00a0how to\u00a0grow your own set of fins so that [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":6698,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[434,341,436],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/pjuractive.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2117\/"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/pjuractive.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/pjuractive.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post\/"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pjuractive.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5\/"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pjuractive.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments\/?post=2117"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/pjuractive.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2117\/revisions\/"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11542,"href":"https:\/\/pjuractive.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2117\/revisions\/11542\/"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pjuractive.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/6698\/"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/pjuractive.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/?parent=2117"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pjuractive.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories\/?post=2117"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/pjuractive.com\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags\/?post=2117"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}