Hi all
I wanted to give everyone a little insight into the training plans for the 10 days after season 4 activities end (before school ends) and the start of the next school year (prior to season 1). I will then offer some advice on best practice during the summer holidays :)
Season 4 activities will run from April 17th to June 11th (8 weeks), which means that there is a period of 10 days before school breaks up which is unaccounted for in the activities calendar. This is because the school competition calendar is effectively finished. As swimming (as you are all no doubt now aware) is a year round sport, we will be running training as normal until school ends on June 21st (and likely some form of training until the end of that week - Saturday 24th).
Many of the slightly older, more competitive swimmers in the team will be competing in the SSA National Championships which run from June 13th - June 18th (this is effectively the 'open' age group version of the SNAGS that will take place over the next week or so).
Season 1 activities resume on September 11th, with term 1 of school starting on August 21st. The period between school resuming and season 1 starting will be 'pre-season' training and an opportunity for people to try-out for the team and/or different squads. We will also be running a swim camp from 7th August for those in Singapore. This is to try and keep the amount of time away from swimming training as close to optimal as possible.
In an ideal world, the majority of swimmers would take 3-4 weeks off swim training at the end of the swimming year (July-August), and limit time off during the rest of the year. Swimming is a challenging sport, both physically and psychologically, and this time away from the pool can have many benefits. Adolescents and adults alike may find that physiological adaptations are slightly suppressed during the swimming season, due to the ongoing nature of training. It is quite common for swimmers to experience major adaptations during a longer period of recovery. These can include; anatomical growth (both skeletal and muscular), physiological changes (e.g. contribution of aerobic and anaerobic systems), and psychological effects (such as renewed motivation to train). As a little anecdote, myself (and many other swimmers) find that their wisdom teeth only grow during longer recovery periods. The likely reason for this is that our bodies use most of the energy and nutrients we provide to fuel our busy routines, and we thus experience some of our major bodily changes in the relatively short time frame 'off training'. This is obviously more true for those who train several times per week.
It is quite normal for swimming clubs around the world to 'rest' for 4 weeks in the summer (between swimming years), as this allows the swimmer to return to training fresh (mentally and physically), without losing significant technical and fitness gains made during the previous year.
The psychological aspect of rest cannot be overstated. Swimming is a mentally challenging sport, and it is essential that people have a period of time where they don't 'think' about swimming. This is arguably more important than the physical necessity of rest. As an adult swimmer, many of my coaches told me that I could do any exercise I wanted during my break, but not to think about swimming. Even when on holiday by the pool, I wasn't to be a 'swimmer'. I was just to be a guy playing in the pool like everyone else does. This is quite difficult for those of us who identify ourselves as 'swimmers', but I always started the next swimming year with a fresh perspective, lots of energy, and desperate to get back in the pool to train.
Please see below possible timelines which would result in an uninterrupted 4 week break from swimming:
This would obviously involve training alone, or with a local team at times, which may be difficult or impossible depending on your situation.
Please note that this is all advice, aimed mainly at swimmers who are focused more on performance, particularly those who swim all 4 activity seasons and attend many of the holiday camps (thus limiting time off during the school year).
