Browsing Category It Is All Upstairs, Baby

Time to get into your head and look around a bit.

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It Was All Foggy!

Posted on December 12, 2011 by swimmerjoe

It was all foggy, a haze, a steam cloud billowing from the 50 meter watery race track in Indy… I was barely there physically but my mind was there very intensely and focused on the other end of the lane.

The deadly silence was creating a eerie feeling in my mind, but I knew there was something going on that was more than epic, things that were unbelieveable and heart riveting. An event was playing in my mind over and over, something that I worked on for months, years in fact and this was the final time it would play. A last march, a point of ecstasy, a final destination.

I look up, see the end, water drips from my chisled chin. Then I heard a command that felt extremely soothing, yet scarey, “Take your mark.”

I heard a water droplet at the end of the pool hit the tile floor 80 meters away, as if I was by myself in a huge warehouse. Then we were off.

I hit the cool 78 degree water and felt like a slick missile from a nuclear submarine speeding through the ocean trying to get to the object first. “How simple is that? Just get there first, before anyone else.”

I felt great, pulling through with ease and creating a little distance between me and the other speedy missiles. I should; I grew up being taught by the best teachers in the world, the meanest, the smartest, the most strategic. Flip turns were absolutely perfect. I always wanted to be the world’s fastest on the walls with the largest plus sign in the universe.

On the way back to my launching pad, I took a quick peek and saw that I was in the lead at the point–just now I hear sounds, muffled noises, lower voices, louder cheers and yelling. They were looking at me, at the lucky person in the middle lane. The noise was almost deafening now, it was hard to think. I kept my head and nose down to drown out the distracting sound.

I touched, I looked both ways, no one was here yet, I must have won, I clearly won. Oh my gosh, the noise! My ballistic heart rate felt like it was beating from the outside. People were congratulating me, looking at me on the big screen. I half smiled and immediately thought about all my insane coaches and family sacrifices that got me to this unreal moment.

“Johnny, Johnny, get up! You are going to be late for practice,” my mom yelled. “What the heck was that?—Dayum!” I said. “What was what?”

Bummer, off I go.

Another day to turn this dream into a reality.

The Night Before the Big One!

Posted on November 9, 2011 by swimmerjoe

For future reference. This blog has moved to the Florida Swim Network site. Go see http://FloridaSwimNetwork.com

by SwimmerJoe

Thinking of you high schoolers. This is the night before the BIG ONE.

Night of fear
Night of excitement
Night of team
Night of sweat
Night of not sleeping
Night of shaving
Night of apprehension
Night of stress
Night of selective thinking
Night of visualization
Night of silence
Night of boredom
Night of waiting
Night of dreaming
Night of winning

Roll over, get the hotel wake up call

Morning of carbs
Morning of slickness
Morning of queasiness
Morning of worry
Morning of intense worrying
Morning of excitement
Morning of readiness
Morning of warming up over and over
Morning of heats
Morning of praying
Morning of giving it the fight of your life
Morning of dreaming
Morning of crying
Morning of the big one
Morning of the rest of your life

Smile and go rest in between

Night of epic proportions
Night of speed
Night of swimming out of your mind
Night of slow motion
Night of noise
Night of extreme stress
Night of fear
Night of bathroom breaks
Night of silence
Night of explosiveness and power
Night of elevated heart rate
Night of unbelievable performances
Night of records
Night of my life

Do it!

Florida Age Group Championships – Day 2 and 3 Recap (swimmerjoe.com)

Start Now! Visualize Yourself Being Great!

Posted on November 8, 2011 by swimmerjoe

For future reference – This blog has moved over to the Florida Swim Network site. Take a look - http://FloridaSwimNetwork.com

After focus, the world’s greatest athletes list visualization as the next most important aspect of their mental training. The importance of this is definitely a must! You have to see yourself being great. I can only speak from my experience, but visualization was huge for me in swimming and other sports that I participated in. (Yes, I was Middle School Champ in wrestling, too!)

In swimming, I would visualize over and over, and over and over again, just to do it absolutely perfect in my mind. I would know how I was going to start, how the stroke felt, how fast the turns were going be, when to breath, on and on until I touched the wall and saw the clock with my best time! Bedtime is the perfect time to practice this…What you can do is relax your body and start from the beginning of your race with how your body feels, the air, the sounds, what you hear and have the special event in your empty relaxed mind. You go through your pre-swim ritual in your head, the stretches, the breathing and the preparation of your event. You see yourself starting swimming and pulling through the water with 100% effort and efficiency….then you glance up at the wall and are extremely overjoyed by the numbers you see on the scoreboard. If you believe you can be the best you can be, if you can actually visualize yourself excelling at your sport and feel the power through your visualization techniques, your will be one mean, powerful and unstoppable athlete!

If you are just training hard that’s great, you will get benefit from that, but if we also add the focus component and visualization technique you will start becoming an even greater well-rounded and more complete athlete. The focus and the visualization probably are worth 50 – 60% of the entire picture, so don’t go on much longer without it. I don’t like giving people a 60% advantage over me doing something and I assume you don’t either! Practice this every night and you will start noticing a difference by mid November…..Let me know how it goes.

I am the Last Man Standing

Posted on July 27, 2011 by swimmerjoe

I am the last man standing.

I am it, the man, the last one in the pool. The one that out-waited everyone. The longest sitter and agitator of the tireless coach who sets his “get in” calling on the ever lasting “repeat” button.

I mean, who says it isn’t dreadfully lonely being the last one, the last one to take a shower after you swim, the last one on the bus, the last one to make a decision…..oh yea, and the last one on the relay!

I am the last man standing.

I’m like the epic Michael Jordan staying after a long practice shooting more and more free throws, the last swimmer practicing turns over and over again becasue he slipped a little in a meet, the business man who had to get it done and stayed late instead of waiting until the next day to finish his presentation. The dedication of being the last man, the numero uno in the “last man” category. The big cheese at the Cheesiest Factory.

I am the last man standing.

The “Jason Lezak” last man, the “Carl Lewis” last man, and yes, even the last man at midnight to finish the Kona Ironman. Spit blood and chew nails for a hobby last man, wait up at night for everyone to get up in the morning last man, and yes, even the last man to fight Chuck Norris. (That is a whole other crazy unbelievable Joeism.)

I am the last man standing.

Are you the last one to leave the pool? Are you the last to leave the weight room and do the extra reps and sets? Are you what you want to be? Are you leaving everything you absolutely have in your training? Too tough to go away, die, or give up? Why don’t you try to be the last man standing. I know in a war (Heaven forbid!), that is the one I would like to be. I know in a Bruce Lee match, that is the one I would like to be. I know playing poker, arm wrestling, or a spelling bee, that is the person I would like to be.

What about you?

Be your own last man. Follow no one.

I am the last man standing…care to join me?

Up to the Scary Group!

Posted on June 16, 2011 by swimmerjoe

Hello, back again. It surely has been a crazy month with tons going on, helping with Florida Swim Network, swimming meets and a 70.3 event that was quite fun!

I wanted to talk about this time a year that means only one big step in a swimmer’s progress. This giant leap involves moving up into the scary Senior Group and/or doing two practices a day over the summer. It is a time where the last of the training wheels are finally taken off. For us, the time is after school ends for the summer and the athlete is going into 9^th grade or high school. Currently this season, I had roughly 12 kids or so and it surely was a sad transition for me. And now that most of the group has transferred to the Senior Group, I know that the moving up was a great idea. Why? They need the extra work and the extra discipline along with the internal pressure they put on themselves to see their potential through. Not only was my son in the group, but a few kids that I’ve known for years and years.

What They Don’t Know Is

What they don’t know is that these extra practices along with extra yardage and dryland will make them more tired than they have ever been. Broken down beyond their own thoughts would ever take them. What won’t kill them will make them stronger, right?

Maturity Levels of the Senior Athletes

What also will happen is the newcomers will see that the athletes in this group most likely “want” to be there and are not pushed by their parents. They want to train hard and they want to be in the best shape of their life. So what happens? Success breeds success in training and in the “will to succeed” area with what they are doing. Also the newcomers to the group learn from the more experienced swimmers and hopefully it’s the correct things.

Meets

What some athletes don’t know about swimming in meets with all this extra training is that meets are sometimes painful both physically with all the hard training going on and mentally, because sometimes best times are extremely hard to come by, but not impossible. With me, when I used to swim years ago and swim in meets while training hard and doing doubles, I was down right awful. Yeah, that’s right, even horrible. BUT, I knew that I was training hard and as long as the athlete knows that, the taper and shave will be ballistic. Let up? Even if slow in practice, keep the hammer down! The agony will pay off.

There is a time and place for every athlete to go to the next level. Some times are different than others, but mostly between 14-15 years old seems to work out best. A general step in progress and training is the best way to grow mentally and physically in a young athlete. If you are an athlete, train hard, even if you are crazy tired, eat well and sleep as much as you can.

If you are a parent, feed them, support them, and realize what they are going through. They are the hardest working athletes in the world. If you are a coach, train them harder and understand that you have athletes that love to be the hardest working athlete on the planet.

Your Investment

Posted on April 11, 2011 by swimmerjoe

Investment? What the heck is that supposed to mean? Are we talking money here? Nope!

I am talking about what you put into athletics–the thoughts, the exercise, the mental, and the day in and day out fight! And trust me with this, it is a fight and NOTHING will ever be given to you on a silver platter. It just doesn’t happen that way. (Even if you’ve never had to clean your room!) So you must work and word hard…that is your investment. Your investment is the every day practice schedules, the strength training, the mental preparation–everything.

Athletes in every sport always think that in the beginning of the season that they can live on what they have done in the past. They think last season’s training will have them ready to go. Never happens. The more you miss, a day here and a day there…well, then your investment becomes weak and less stable. The more you don’t give it your all at practice, even those times you feel bad, your armor becomes dented and its easier the next time to take it easy. Trust me on that one—I see it everyday. “Taking it easy” becomes a snowball, which just builds and builds until not working hard becomes routine.

The great athletes give everything they have, all the time, every time. (Even if they’re not feeling that great.) One instance that comes to mind was Michael Jordan’s 1997 Playoff Game where he had the flu…..he scored 38 points and was the decisive victory that helped the Chicago Bulls win the Championship that year. He was a player that always, always was at full speed and always intense. You can do it and you need to start now.

So start working on your overall investment and build on something that no one has ever done before and take your body to places it’s never been. You’ll thank me later. Work on the everyday, don’t worry about what your friends are doing when you get to practice, UNLESS, you want to live their dreams.

Get focused and do it now. One blog, and you have seen it before, that always reminds me of this is the Pickle Jar!

Anguish and Perseverance!

Posted on March 5, 2011 by swimmerjoe

“Coach, man, I am so sore and tired… I just can’t.”

EXCUSE!

Of course, I used to say that, too. I think most kids do. As a coach, I am seeing it all the time. Kids not really putting forth a maximum 100% effort when it counts, like in practice or meets.

So, one of my favorite questions to ask them is, “You mean to tell me, that if I put a convertible Ferrari at the end of your lane that will be yours if you do it, could you?” I have never heard a NO. Ever.

They all have said they’ve had something left, in meets and practice. I especially see it in practice, when you need to give it every last drop of your effort to get better. Why? Confidence! Do they think they have time or other opportunities. I have news for them!!!

The College Check

When I was growing up and finally got to college, I was blown away when I swam in my first duel meet. I was so sore and so tired… I had trouble even getting comfortable enough to sleep! So, what did the veterans do? They swam so fast that I am sure they heard my jaw hit the ground! I was such a wimp!!! Some of my best friends from Orlando (Charlie Rose and Brandon Bryant) told me they had the same thing happened to them at Florida State and Tennessee.

Well, guess what? Brandon, Charlie and I changed our attitude! We eventually ended up learning how to swim through the soreness. It took the most tremendous gut check. The pain tolerance of a terminator robot! Essentially it took getting to the next level with our mental, physical, and competitive abilities. It took gaining confidence in swimming very hard in practice and surprising ourselves.

How Great Do You Want to Be?

Now, this lesson can be learned as an age-grouper and as a senior level swimmer. This topic just begs me to ask one question, “How great do you really want to be and how much pain are you willing to put yourself through to get there?”

Can you take it to the mental and physical edge and look over only to have your coach pull you back at the last second?

I love doing that with young athletes, the ones that take that journey with me, normally surprises themselves, and sometimes brings tears to my eyes. Lay it on the line, do it now and we (the coaches) will pull you back.

Soreness Scale

With all this being said, I occasionally ask the young swimmers in my group about their pain level. I call it my “soreness scale.” I have them rank their level of soreness from 1-10. In season, I always want them to work hard enough in the pool and dryland to reach a 6 or above. Some coaches have their own level, but this is mine. The kids seem to respond well to this. They also know this is normal now and perform pretty well using it. They also know what happens when taper comes… aha! They will respond and perform even better.

So what’s your excuse for not performing well? Sore? Tired? Hangnail? (I’m kidding with the last one.) The great athletes, or even the ones that want to be the best that they are capable of being, always, always find a way to get through pain, sore, and tired excuses.

Go ahead, amaze yourself. And in the words of Charlie Sheen…. “Winning!”

Shameless plug: If you enjoyed this blog post, perhaps consider giving me a shout out by voting for SwimmerJoe in the Reader’s Choice Award. Click that link.

99 Thoughts

Posted on February 13, 2011 by swimmerjoe

A quick look at the number of posts on this blog and it said 99. I can’t believe I’ve posted 99 times since fall of 2009. Time flies and it’s all extremely fun! It also opens you up into a part of the way my mind works…

What I have decided to do for my 100th post is give you my personal Top 10 posts. Maybe you guys can give me yours? Thanks for reading guys!

My personal Top 10:

#10 – Do You Know Thumper “Uncle” Hare?

#9 – Pain, Can You Handle It?

#8 – “I Cannot Go to Swimming Today…”

#7 – The Pickle Jar

#6 – Power Of The Get Out Swim

#5 – Weakness Needs a Roommate

Tie #4 – Have You Ever Heard of The 2-Man 400-Free Relay? Tricked you, gave you 11.

Tie #4 – “Lane 5, Step Down!”

#3 – Coaching In The 21st Century

#2 – It’s Time to Set Your Goals – A 3-Step Process

#1 – “If, and That’s a Big If”

I tried to emcompass some of the different types of writings in my blog. There are many that I loved to write that I thought should also be in there, but oh well, maybe the next 100. Thanks for reading. Maybe you guys can list some of yours?

The Way Superman Stands

Posted on February 9, 2011 by swimmerjoe

Why does the incredible Superman stand the way he does? Why are all super heroes standing with such massive size and great confidence? Remember the Super Heroes from the 70s and early 80s? When they stood together they looked like one huge force? Why? Why do they stand like that?

A colleague sent me an article on “power posing” the other day and I thought I would get it out to you guys. Is it a half-truth? Is it mental mumbo jumbo? I’ll ask you a question after you read the article and we’ll see what you think.

The article came out on the Miller-McCune.com web page back on November 15, 2010.

Power Poses Really Work

Researchers find that assuming a powerful body position helps you feel powerful, act more self-confident and raise testosterone.
By Jessica Hilo—

How strong is the power of suggestion? For researchers in the field of embodied cognition as it relates to and influences the body — suggestion is a force to be reckoned with.Rooted in psychology, linguistics and neurobiology, embodied cognition has established links between movement and the mental state. A 2008 study published in Discover magazine, for example, found a tie between facial expressions and emotive perceptions. Our Tom Jacobs recently reported on a study from the Netherlands that found that upward motions elevated mood.New research published in the journal Psychological Science continues this discussion. A team led by Dana R. Carney, assistant professor at Columbia University, examined the psychological, physiological and behavioral effects of body positioning.

The researchers studied 42 participants (26 females and 16 males). Subjects were assigned poses that indicated either a high or low display of power and were told to hold positions for two simple one-minute intervals. Feelings of power were measured through self-report.

By collecting saliva samples from test subjects before and after body positioning, researchers measured levels of hormones linked to displays of power. Cortisol, a stress hormone, often increases with feelings of powerlessness. Testosterone levels rise from cues that encourage or reflect dominance.

After they finished posing, participants were given some money and a chance to gamble to assess risk aversion. Handed $2, subjects were told they could roll a die to double their money or lose it all. Feelings of power were measured again through self-report.

The researchers found that high-power posers were more likely than low-power posers to focus on reward. Eighty-six percent of these participants modified their behavior by gambling, while 60 percent of low-power posers took the risk. High-power posers also reported feeling significantly more powerful than their low-power counterparts.

Hormone levels also indicated a difference between high- and low-power posers. High-power posers showed an increase in testosterone and a decrease in cortisol; lower-power posers saw a decrease and an increase, respectively.

These findings push the understanding of embodied cognition into the realm of physiology and motivation, as body movement is linked to mood and behavior. This also suggests that psychological constructs, like power or introversion, can have roots in a pattern of nonverbal physical cues. Rather than mind over matter, perhaps we should think mass over mind.

So do you believe it?

I don’t know if I do, but Superman sure did! Testosterone rush? Hmm, don’t know. Maybe. Here is my question… How many successful people, athletes, business professionals, teachers, etc, stand with their arms held close and their bodies slouched downward?

Let me think about it. Uh, NONE! You never see positive, confident people slouching, looking down, hands wrapped around their mid-section, etc.

So what to do? Start standing with your head high, your chest out, hands on your hips and show the world your confidence. Do you want to psych your competitors out? Show them your greatness!

I could get into what the male penguins, birds, peacocks and others do to find a mate, but that’s another blog post. (Oh yeah, I’ve already found my mate! lol )

Work on your posing!

Weakness Needs a New Roommate

Posted on February 3, 2011 by swimmerjoe

I was jogging early this morning with one of my running groups and no one was talking at all. That doesn’t normally happen. Most times we are gabbing the entire time and before you know it, 6-8 miles are gone. That’s the nice and fun way to do it.

Not today!

What the dark and early morning run did today was make me listen to 11 runners’ feet hitting the pavement as well as listen to some people breathing incredibly hard (me). Listening to these pounding and panting in the cold dark air made me think about my mental toughness. For me, mental toughness is the difference between being the best I can be and giving up before my time.

Weakness loves to encroach on your inner well-being. All the time. Did you hear that? All the time!

And so you have to fight off that weakness or it will overpower your will. For example, have you said any of these excuses or heard them from your friends?

Water is cold, I am going to stink!
I am racing that guy? He is going to kill me!
I have been hurting and going slow in practice, I am going to fail!
My coach is mean! He said that practice was horrible.
I have been swimming slowly lately.
She is better than me now.
Her stroke is not good, why is she better than me?
I can’t make it past the 150 mark!
My parents are going to kill me for going slow!

So just what is happening here? Think about it for a second…These people are saying negative things to themselves OR worse yet, they are saying them to others! A bad attitude is the biggest anchor a person can have. It’s the biggest weakness an athlete can have! Any person who allows negative thoughts is allowing the worst virus to exponentially grow inside them and possibly infect the rest of their exercise group or team.

How do you fix it?

Walter J. Johnson, an eHow Contributor, wrote “How to Build Mental Toughness in Your Athletes.” He had a few great tips and comments:

Find heroes in sports for those who you are coaching. Role models who lived a life of firm self discipline are an excellent way to inspire athletes to continue to build these virtues. Heroes are role models, inspirations and models for imitation.
Struggle is normal and natural, not a sign of weakness. Failure is a normal occurrence, not a sign of inferiority. Mental toughness begins with positive self identification.
Build new friendships with those who are on the same path, or have already succeeded. Peer groups are central to the process of building mental toughness. The peers that your athletes should be part of should also be athletes, regularly working to achieve maximum fitness and professionalism in their work.

And here are tips from another article from Anthony Drago, from ezinearticles.com, talks about mental development:

Mind food is the next essential element in developing mental toughness. What exactly does the term “mind food” mean? Your mind develops the same way your body develops. Based on what you eat and how you train, your body develops. Based on what you feed your mind and how often you train it, your mind develops. So you must feed your mind good food.
It’s like the old computer adage, garbage in, garbage out. If you put positive thoughts and actions into your mind, positive thoughts and actions will come out. It works the same for the negative. So make sure you are the gatekeeper of your mind and only allow in the thoughts you know will help you.

This last piece is from Craig Townsend who wrote “Knowing How to Win” and it is an excellent explanation of mind strength. It actually reminded me of a little awkward World Record distance female swimmer, Janet Evans. Did she have the perfect stroke? NO! The biggest heart? Yep! By far! (Look her up!) Craig writes:

The fact is, if a swimmer is not mentally tough, it wouldn’t matter if they had the perfect technique, a perfect body, perfect weight, plus all the know-how in the world – because it’s only through the mind that a swimmer is allowed to use all these great advantages. If their mind is not ‘programmed’ for success, then nerves, intimidation or fear may stop them from swimming anywhere near the times their potential would suggest. So don’t worry if you feel intimidated by other swimmers who may appear to have better strokes or physique, because as long as you are physically competitive, you can win the big meets anyway, through being mentally tougher than the opposition. Every day, swimmers are winning races when technically they are not as well-equipped as their competitors, and this is simply because they know how to win. This is proven in virtually every sport, it’s not just restricted to swimming.
All it takes is a little belief in yourself that your goal is possible. You see, as soon as we decide something is impossible, it becomes impossible - because our mind then firmly programs our body not to achieve it. So think of your mental training as the ultimate secret weapon – an unfair advantage which many other swimmers do not have, and this will give you the edge.
The mind is so incredibly powerful that it even possesses the capability to overcome physical problems and achieve things which we would not normally consider possible. Many swimmers I have worked with over the years have actually won races while still recovering from severe illness or injury, and this will be the subject of your next tip. The mind is the world’s most powerful computer system, which can help us to win swimming races and achieve our times very easily if we will just allow it.

So, swimmers, triathletes, coaches, all athletes, and parents: Train the mind. Throw away all the negatives. I always heard and felt mind strength was 65% percent of the performance puzzle. Maybe more!

Don’t be weak.
Weakness needs a new roommate.
Kick it out of the house.
100% body, 100% mind, 100% POWER! Bye, bye competitors!

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