In my lifetime, I’ve swum more than 10,000 miles. That’s like swimming from New York City to Cape Town, South Africa, or nearly half the circumference of the earth. I swam 643,000 laps and took over 9.7 million strokes in 16 different countries. I swam from Asia to Europe in my first cross-continental swim, and I went through way too many caps, swimsuits and goggles to count. I competed in college, trained through a global pandemic, raced Olympians, and I got to swim with the most incredible human beings all over the world. Through this journey, I lost weight, gained…
Author: Taylor Holmes
Michael Phelps can swim a 50-meter butterfly in 24.7 seconds. That’s more than half of a football field at a pace of over two meters per second! And because he makes swimming look so easy, regular people think they can just hop in the pool and swim fast without any real training. But when it comes time to actually swim, most people can barely keep their heads above water. Swimming is one of the hardest sports in the world. It’s more difficult than football, baseball, hockey, you name it! But before you disagree, let us show you why. Why Swimming…
This post is sponsored by Henson Shaving, the official shaving partner of MySwimPro! Their razors are designed in line with aerospace standards for the closest shave every time. Use code MYSWIMPRO to get 100 blades free with your purchase. Sticking to your swimming routine is hard. Sometimes it’s harder than your actual swim workout! But if you can train consistently, swimming can change your life in just a few short months. Habits are the key to making swimming a non-negotiable part of your life. Check out our top five swimming habits that will help you keep going even on the…
Want to swim faster? Add drills to your swim workouts! The right mix of drills will refine your technique and improve your efficiency so you don’t get tired as quickly. But, you can’t just go through the motions and do drills incorrectly. If you do, you could end up swimming slower in the long run. Check out five common drill mistakes we see at the pool, and learn how to fix them for maximum speed gains! 1. Kicking When you kick with a kickboard, you’re prone to improper body position. We see many swimmers who end up sinking their hips…
While sports like basketball, football, baseball and soccer pull in billions of dollars and hundreds of millions of TV viewers, swimming doesn’t even come close. Why is it that swimmers have millions of fans cheering for them at the Olympics, but are left hung out to dry between Olympic competitions? Why aren’t all those bandwagon fans becoming REAL swimming fanatics? And why does it seem like Michael Phelps is the only swimmer to ever break out into mainstream media? But even with such a big name at the forefront of the sport, swimming just isn’t as popular as other sports.…
This post is sponsored by Outex! Take stunning underwater photos and videos using Outex’s waterproof phone cases. Use code outexmyswimpro for 10% off your order. Swimming is misunderstood. Because it’s not as popular as bigger sports like baseball or football, lots of misconceptions have been spread far and wide about how hard swimming is, what you need to do to swim fast, and who can be a good swimmer. To set the record straight, we busted seven common swimming myths so you can approach your training with confidence. 1. Swimming is Easy Why do so many non-swimmers think they can…
The fastest you’ll ever move in a swimming race is when you dive off the starting block. Elite swimmers can reach speeds over 10 kilometers per hour off the start! A great dive can be the difference between looking like a dolphin underwater off the start and becoming a belly flopping legend. To help you achieve dolphin status, we’re breaking down four different start variations, plus a few drills you can use to improve your explosiveness. 4 Swimming Start Variations Grab Start In this start, your feet are parallel at the front of the block. Bend down and grip the…
In swimming races, athletes dive off of special blocks that are designed to maximize their speed and explosiveness. A perfect start is essential to a fast race, especially in short swims like the 50 freestyle, where one one-hundredth of a second could be the difference between a gold medal and second place. Let’s take a look at the unique features of diving blocks, and how to use them to your advantage in your next race! The Anatomy of a Diving Block Location & Setup Blocks are raised platforms at the end of each lane at a swimming pool. Most blocks…
It has happened to all of us at some point: Life gets in the way and we end up taking weeks, months or even years off from swimming. When you stop swimming, even for just a short period of time, your VO2 max decreases, your muscles start to atrophy, and you’ll lose your feel of the water almost immediately. But before you give up on swimming or think you can never take a break, let us break down what’s really going on in your body when you stop swimming. Plus, we’ll share a few positive side effects of taking time…
In 1,000 days, I swam more than 1,243 miles. That’s like swimming from New York City to Miami. It’s more than the width of the Mediterranean Sea. And it’s the equivalent of swimming the English Channel more than 50 times. But this challenge resulted in a whole lot more than millions of yards logged. In the process, I lost weight, gained weight, put on muscle, improved my technique and most importantly, I worked on my mindset. Here’s a look at how I pushed through when I wasn’t motivated and what happened to my body after 1,000 swim workouts. Swimming in…
