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One rule all swimmers and coaches agree with on race day is keeping your routine and sticking to strategies that you know work and lead to your best performance. Have a series of checklists that will help set you up to achieve your peak performance. In this blog, we will go through the different ways to prepare for that big race.

Competitions push a swimmer to their limit, adding additional challenges. Swimmers often have to warm up multiple times during the day, once at the beginning of a session and again before each swim. Most warm-ups in the water consist of a moderate level of swimming, maybe try 400 to 800 metres! This can include stroke drills and even high intensity workouts that last around 50 seconds. 

Here are a few things you can do to help prepare that little more:

• Finish your main warm-up at least 30 minutes before you have to race.
• Finish your pre-event warm-up as close to the start of the event as possible. Leave it to the last five minutes of when your race is to begin
• If possible, try getting back into the water 10 to 15 minutes before the race.
• Only work your body enough to warm it up! Don’t work so hard that you fatigue your body before stepping up on the blocks!

As important warming up in the water is for a race, you should also incorporate dryland training into your warm-up, especially if the pool space at a competition is limited and no warm-up pool is available. Dryland training can improve a swimmer’s power, athleticism and speed for when they get back into the water. 

Swimmers need a strong core to transfer force efficiently from one part of the body to another, to push off from the wall and essentially win the race. Good core strength enables the swimmer to accelerate faster and to carry more speed in a dive. Core training can help to improve your breathing flow in the water, improve posture and upper body strength. You can do many dryland workouts that help to improve core strength, such as using resistance bands or doing sit-ups. Dryland training has many benefits for a swimmer. Want to learn more on why dryland training is important to a swimmer? Read more here: https://www.proswimwear.co.uk/blog/why-you-should-begin-dryland-training-/ 

Although your physical ability and health is important for a race, being mentally prepared and ready for a race is also very important. Having a well-known routine that helps prepare your brain for the race is always a great way to have your mind focused and will help to increase your performance.

Having strong self-confidence is also important to being prepared for a race. When a swimmer is able to see future successes as part of their mental preparation, their confidence isn’t too far behind. Confidence is something you can train and sharpen and isn’t something you have to fake. Recognising what you have done well helps to boost your self-esteem and to appreciate how far you have come. Want to learn more on how swimming increases self-esteem and confidence? Read more here :https://www.proswimwear.co.uk/blog/how-swimming-increases-self-esteem/ 

Overall, preparing for your race on the day should be with workouts and routines you are familiar with. Have confidence in yourself and don’t tire your body during warm-ups! We wish you the best of luck with your next competition!

Orca have spent the past 25 years designing and developing a high performance collection of swimming wetsuits. From beginner to expert, Orca triathlon wetsuits are designed for every ability level and budget. Orca have a new range of wetsuits with new materials and specifications, not just new graphics, making model by model updates to their wetsuits! Let us break down the new Apex and Athlex range of Orca wetsuits!

Below is a guide to show the changes to the new range!

APEX WETSUITS

Apex Flow

Replacing the Predator wetsuit is the Apex Flow wetsuit. Having the best combination of buoyancy and flexibility, the Apex Flow wetsuit brings new and improved body support. With big improvements on flexibility and having optimised fit, this wetsuit will help you find the right position in the water. With its great buoyancy, you will be fast in the water and have every possible technical advantage you can have. It will help you to save time and energy in the swim and to put you in the best position for biking, helping you to aim for that podium!

Material: Yamamoto Neoprene #40 and #44

Coating: Nano Ice SCS

Apex Flex 

Replacing the Alpha wetsuit is the Apex Flex wetsuit. For the natural swimmer, The Apex Flex wetsuit now has new improved fit and the highest flexibility with the most freedom of movement. They have designed this wetsuit to be easier to get on compared to its 2021 alpha counterpart. The Apex Flex is usually used for short and middle distances and is perfect for a swimmer looking for a light and very flexible wetsuit. This is perfect for a swimmer who has been swimming for a few years with a neutral position in the water.

Material: Yamamoto Neoprene #40 and #44

Coating: Nano Ice SCS

Apex Float

Replacing the 3.8 wetsuit is the Apex Float wetsuit. For the swimmers looking for the most support in the water, look no further than the Apex Float! With its increased flexibility and highest level of corrective buoyancy, you will be fast in the water and the suit will help you to find the right body position in the water, helping to provide leg support. This is perfect for any triathlete trying to save their legs for biking and running, helping to improve their overall performance.

Material: Yamamoto Neoprene #39 and #40

Coating: Nano Ice SCS

ATHLEX WETSUITS

Athlex Flow

Replacing the Sonar wetsuit is the Athlex Flow wetsuit. For the swimmer with concrete goals in mind, the Athlex Flow wetsuit will be perfect for you. With good flexibility and buoyancy, it will help with the correct body position in the water and can be used at all distances. This wetsuit will give you the perfect balance between buoyancy, flexibility and technical features while not spending too much.

Material: Yamamoto Neoprene #39 

Coating: SCS

Athlex Flex

Replacing the Equip wetsuit is the Athlex Flex wetsuit. Looking for a flexible suit for entry-level? The Athlex Flex wetsuit is light and flexible that is perfect for all distances. Having the most freedom of movement, this wetsuit will help you to move fast through the water.

Material: Yamamoto Neoprene #39 

Coating: SCS and Smoothskin

Athlex Float

Replacing the S7 wetsuit is the Athlex Float wetsuit. For those swimmers that may need a little more assistance on their position in the water, the Athlex Float wetsuit is a good entry-level model wetsuit with good corrective buoyancy. This wetsuit has good flexibility and strong support that can help you travel all distances.

Material: Yamamoto Neoprene #39 

Coating: SCS and Smoothskin

You can now buy these wetsuits here at ProSwimwear! Check them out here: https://www.proswimwear.co.uk/brands/orca/orca-wetsuits.html

Swimming is perfect for physical exercise, working out all of the muscles at once, but it can also be mentally beneficial. It brings a therapeutic state to your mind and helps to bring a positive effect. Swimming is very beneficial for the mind, here is why:

Swimming is an effective way to relieve stress. The regular, repetitive motion of swimming through the water is often relaxing and can help focus the mind on one task. Swimming is a sport that releases endorphins into your brain and can help to bring a positive outlook to life. Being immersed in the water boosts blow flow to the brain, which can have a positive impact on its health. Swimming can lead to at least a 30% improvement in self-worth and satisfaction in life. 

Regular swimming can also help to lower the effectiveness of anxiety and depression. The release of these natural endorphins helps to boost happiness. Swimming is also a great way to help improve memory, focus, and concentration as swimming often takes a lot of focus into your swimming technique. The water can help to relieve the tension of muscles, the floating effect of the water is calming to the mind and helps people to feel happier in themselves.

Swimming has a big community of fellow swimmers who support each other, give each other advice, and help to influence each other. Social interaction with other swimmers to share experiences, tips, and tricks, or simply to enjoy swimming together, can help to boost serotonin and to find some like-minded people to support you. 

There is scientific evidence that suggests that the colour blue/being in blue spaces can improve mental well-being, for example looking up at a blue sky, or looking at the blue sea. It is abundant throughout the natural world and is associated heavily with water. 

In conclusion, swimming is perfect for your physical health, but it can be perfect to help your mental health too. At ProSwimwear, we offer a large range of swimwear, accessories, and equipment to dive into the water with a smile.

Have you heard the news? Adam Peaty, a swimming superstar, has joined Speedo! He is widely regarded as the greatest breaststroke swimmer of all time, and at the most recent Olympic games has won two gold medals (100m breaststroke, 4x100m mixed medley) and one silver (4x100 medley).

Here is what Speedo has said in their press release:

Speedo, the world’s biggest swimwear brand, has today announced a multi-year sponsorship deal with triple Olympic champion and World Record Holder - Adam Peaty OBE.

Widely-regarded as the greatest breaststroke swimmer of all-time, Peaty joins Speedo off the back of winning two gold medals (100m breaststroke, 4x100m mixed medley) and one silver (4x100m medley) at the most recent Olympic Games. An era of dominance means that Peaty now holds 15 of the 20 fastest 100m breast stroke (long course) times in history and has revolutionised the stroke, inspiring people around the world to take up swimming.

Speaking about the new partnership, Peaty revealed that Speedo’s success in the pool, coupled with a passion to use his platform to build a more inclusive and sustainable sport by combining with the world’s largest swimwear brand were the main drivers behind the new deal.

Peaty has recently spoken about his ambition to leave the sport with a time which can never be surpassed. Dubbed ‘Project Immortal’, the eight-time World Champion, will use the next two years sharpening his tools ahead of a bid to cement his legacy within the sport even further. With this deal, he now also has the support of a brand which has helped to win more Olympic medals than any other.

Peaty said: “I’m really excited to be joining Team Speedo alongside so many of the world’s best swimmers who swam so well in Speedo suits last summer. Project Immortal is my next big aim and will be a lot of hard work, but I’m excited about the support Speedo can offer me in this quest for greatness. The figures from Tokyo speak for themselves and I’m certain this partnership will help me reach the next level.”

He joins the likes of Caeleb Dressel, Emma McKeon, Duncan Scott, Tom Dean and Ariarne Titmus, as well as a plethora of British and international stars who form Team Speedo who had a dominant Olympic performance in Tokyo – with the brand being worn by 61% of swimmers who won a Gold medal in the pool, including the only two swimmers to set world records.

As well as the performance credentials, Peaty was also enthused about the role he can play in supporting Speedo’s future activity which centres around becoming more sustainable and helping to increase participation levels in the world of swimming. Speedo recently revealed its Swim United programme, which aims to enable thousands of children in under-represented areas and communities to learn how to swim.

He added: “Since the birth of my son, George, I have become increasingly focused on playing my part in helping to create the best world I can for him. Once I heard the plans Speedo had from a sustainability and diversity perspective, there was never a doubt in my mind that they were the perfect partner for me.

“My background is not that of a traditional swimmer and as a result I am really passionate about finding the next big thing in British swimming. There are so many potential champions out there, we just need to enable them to be in the water and identify that potential and Swim United does that.”

Speaking about the partnership, Simon Rowe, Global Head of Sports Marketing for Speedo, said: “Adam Peaty is one of the greatest swimmers Great Britain has ever produced and we are immensely proud that he has agreed to join Team Speedo. From the moment we met Adam it was clear we had a shared vision for the future of swimming. We’re both committed to making the sport as wide-reaching and sustainable as possible, and so it was the perfect fit for brand and athlete. We are excited about his passion in making swimming a more diverse sport through our Swim United initiative and look forward to sharing further plans in due course”.

In addition to the list of Peaty’s honours, he is also a three-time Commonwealth Games champion and has committed to swimming at Birmingham 2022, having been announced as an automatic qualifier by Team England.

Peaty is fresh from an impressive stint on Strictly Come Dancing which, coupled with his Tokyo exploits, catapulted him into the hearts of the nation and he was awarded an OBE for his services to swimming in the 2022 New Year Honours list. 

To celebrate this fantastic news at Proswimwear, we have 25% off Speedo race suits. Make sure to check it out and to get the best deals in our flash sale! What are you waiting for?

https://www.proswimwear.co.uk/flash-sale/speedo-flash-sale.html

Introducing Level X: The new virtual swimming competition! 

Swim England is introducing a new way to for swim clubs to virtually compete! 

In this blog we will tell you... 

• What exactlty Level X is
• Who the first clubs competing are going to be
• How it's taking place
• How it's scored
• And what comes next for virtual swimming! 

We will be updating you on the latest Level X news throughout this exciting new journey!

Read more now! 

In this blog we will be discussing the return of the International Swimming League! 

The International Swimming sensation returns for season 2!

We will discuss: 

• How the ISL is making it's return 
• What will be happening to ensure safety during the current global pandemic
• Who will be making their return to the starting blocks
• And everything else you need to know about it's return! 

This is an exciting event for the Swimming Community! 

We can't wait to see what this season unfolds! 

Read more now! 

In this blog we discuss five of the many reasons that we love our swim mums!

The blog will discuss...

• Why they are amazing
• What they are capable of
• What they continue to do for us
• Why we love them

This mother's day we wanted to give a shout out to the swim mums that support us ALWAYS! They are incredible individuals and every swim mum is special.

Happy Mother's Day to ALL the swim mums!

An Update from us regarding the Coronavirus (COVID-19) situation: 

This will be updated as and when we get anymore information. 

Best wishes, Team ProSwimwear. 

In this blog post we will be looking at the HUUB Aenmoi Aero Tri-Suit! 

It will include...

• Information about who HUUB are as a brand! 
• What incredible features the suit has
• What makes it so special 
• And Time Savings results from the brilliant tests they did! 

This is a hi-tech powerhouse of a tri-suit and is not one to be missed! 

Read more now! 

In this blog we will be looking at the Dolfin FirstStrike race suit collection! 

This will include... 

• Taking a lot at the history of Dolfin
• Looking at some of the features of the FirstStrike collection 
• Discussing what they do
• Talking about what other amazing products Dolfin have

This is such an affordable, hi-tech collection of race suits - don't miss it! 

Read more about the FirstStrike collection now! 

In this blog we will be talking about 5 thoughts every parent has at a swim meet! 

These will discuss... 

• The thoughts before the race begins 
• How we feel waiting for the race 
• The parents around us
• The thoughts when our kid is swimming

Every swim parent will be able to relate to these thoughts!

Read more now! 

In this blog we will be talking about Chlorine Irritation, and how does it affect you? 

We will talk about... 

• When chlorine is used
• What problems it can cause
• How to spot the signs of chlorine irritation
• What some of the preventative measures are

We discuss what chlorine irritation is, and some of the effects. 

Remember to always get help if any chlorine irritation bothers you for prolonged periods of time!

Read more now! 

In this blog you can discover more about the HUUB Brownlee Agilis Wetsuit! 

It will talk about... 

• How the wetsuit came to be designed
• What they wanted from designing this suit
• The main features 
• What influence the Brownlee brothers had in the making

This is an incredible wetsuit - unlike any other that has come before it! 

Read more - you WON'T want to miss this! 

In this blog we talk about the Brownlee Brothers journey and achievements!

We talk about... 

• Their story so far 
• What their achievements have been
• Some of their greatest moments
• Their incredible contributions to the Triathlon world

They are incredible triathletes with an incredible journey and achievements! 

Read more now! 

In this blog we celebrate Valentines day by discussing what we LOVE about swimming! 

This includes...

• Reasons why we love swimming
• How it has changed our lives
• What it brings to our lives
• And why we can't live without it! 

So if you love swimming, then you'll be able to relate to this blog!

Read more now! 

In this blog we will be discussing the five things that a swim parent dreads to hear!

This blog will look at... 

• Some of the things we hear as swim parents that fill us with dread!
• Situations we would rather never face
• Highlight the difficulties of swim parenthood 
• Recognise why we do it and why we love it! 

Enjoyment is natural - but so is dread! The Swim Parent life is multifaceted, and we represent all of it!

Read more to hear what we say! 

In this blog Chris Walker-Hebborn will be discussing his thoughts and experience on the Olympics! 

This will include... 

• How much pressure competing to get to the next stage is
• What the Olympic Standards are for athletes
• How you qualify for the games
• A canded account of Chris' experience in the Olympics

With the big year for swimming now upon us... this is a blog you CAN'T miss! 

Read more now! 

In this blog we will look at the Arena Carbon Core FX! 

This blog will cover... 

• The beginnings of Arena
• What the features of the Carbon Core are
• What those features do 
• A summary of the Carbon Core
• What else you can expect from Arena

The new additions to the Arena Powerskin collection are out now! 

In this blog we will take a look at the Arena Powerskin Carbon Glide! 

This blog will cover... 

• How Arena began and has developed 
• What the Arena Carbon Glide does
• Some specific features of the Arena Powerskin Carbon Glide 
• A summary of the Glide and what else you can get from Arena! 

The new additions to the Arena Powerskin collection are out now! 

In today's blog ProSwimwear Ambassador Adam Chillingworth talks about motivation! 

He talks in depth about... 

• Keeping the cycle of motivation going
• How to stay motivated 
• Dealing with tough training
• And ways Adam motivates himself! 

Adam gives some great advice on how to stay motivated from his own experience! 

Read more to find out how to stay motivated this year!