Believe it or not, one of the ways in which physical activities leave a person open to potential injury is through sheer boredom. People grow comfortable in their routine and begin to let safety lapse. Maybe a route that a jogger runs has become second nature and thus they miss damage to the hiking trail that can cause a severe sprain. Or someone on a bicycle gets so into the zone listening to their headphones that they end up running smack-dab into an obstacle.
So it goes with swimming. When boredom sets in, which is certainly possible given that you’re going back and forth across a pool, you tend to let safety lapse. You don’t pay as much attention to your form, or to warming up. You forget where you are in relation to the edge of the pool and awkwardly strike your head or your feet against the pool edge. With that in mind, we thought we’d relate some of the tips on staving off boredom (and maybe injury in turn) included in a new report.
Perhaps you might try altering the way you work out. You may have one swimming stroke that you favor above others, but you could benefit from switching things up. Not only does this prevent boredom, but it can help you maintain balance throughout your body. Different strokes allow you to work out different muscle groups, and it’s this balance that’s key to avoiding injury.
Think about having some sort of goal ready to go before you get into the pool. If you’re rehabbing from an injury, your goal may simply be to get movement into the part of your body that’s been giving you problems. If you’re training, you might switch up the intensity, going for quicker times when swimming from one end of the pool to the other. Don’t push yourself too hard, but also make sure you’re deriving value from the workout by getting your blood and your respiration up.
Where you swim can play a role in injury prevention, as can what you use during the swim. If you switch to a shorter pool, you could be more open to injury due to the extended number of times you’ll have to turn. Depth can similarly play a role in injury exposure. If you’re trying to build muscle definition or get an injured muscle back in shape, you can use strategically positioned pool weights (under the watchful eye of a personal trainer) to direct your focus toward certain portions of your body (the arms instead of the legs, for instance).
Finally, make sure you swim with someone. If an injury does occur, having someone with you can ensure that the threat posed by an emergency is mitigated.
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