Active Recovery Swimming Day
Program Courtesy of Heidi Fearon
A.
For the next 5 weeks Thursday swims will be complete active recovery. I encourage you to pick three things to focus on, for example, chin tuck, breathing out completely just before you breathe in, and high elbows – or chin tuck, high elbows and strong finish at the thigh…whichever three things will center you and help you the most. I would recommend that chin tuck always be one of them because it is the foundation of your body position. Let those three things be your mantra, much like, hips back, chest up, eyes forward or whatever your lifting cues are; these mental anchors are critical for your form and settling your mind. The workout is meant as active recovery. If you have a strong swimming background you can double the yardage below, if not stick with prescribed yardage.
Four sets of:
50 Meter Finger Tip Drag
(FTD: Drag your fingertips along the surface of the water as you recover. This drill encourages high elbows.)
Rest 20-30 seconds
Four sets of:
50 Meters – Count Your Strokes
Rest 20-30 seconds
Four sets of:
50 Meter Drills – Focus on your three drills of choice
Rest 20-30 seconds
Two sets of:
Swim 100 Meters or a single set of 8-10 minutes of swimming at an easy pace
(focus on your breathing pattern and long streamlines with good chin tuck off the walls)
Rest as needed
Four sets of:
Streamlines from the Wall for max distance – emphasize chin tuck
100 meter warm down (optional)
B.
Mobility and Maintenance
* Choose 1-2Â Thoracic Mobility Drills
 from Kelly Starrett’s Mobility WOD
 and spend 5-10 minutes with them.
* Choose 2-3 Lower Body Mobility Drills from Kelly Starrett’s Mobility WOD and spend 10-12 minutes with them.
* Choose 1-2 Upper Extremity Mobility Drills from Kelly Starrett’s Mobility WOD and spend 5-10 minutes with them.
– AND/OR –
* Body work from a licensed body worker (ART, Graston, acupuncture, etc…)
C.
Inflammation Maintenance
* This could be a lot of things, but think in terms of compression, contrast baths, salt baths, castor oil packs, etc….
D.
Nutrition Preparation
* Ensure that you have quality foods prepared in the appropriate quantities to fuel your efforts for the remainder of the week.
E.
Mental Restoration
* Different for everyone – could be meditation or could be gathering with friends; the key is to engage in activities that make your life full and help you recharge your batteries.