Swim Fitness Articles

A Master Swimmer's Perspective

Part I - A Master Swimmer's Perspective On Swimming with Coach Bridgewater

The question you have to ask yourself is this - what it's like to be coached by a former Olympian? As you might expect, former Olympian Gold Medallist Brad Bridgewater has high expectations from his Master Tiburónes.

Of course he has high expectations! Brad stood on the most sacred of swimming platforms and listened with the rest of the world as the American National Anthem played in honor of his gold finish in the 200-meter backstroke in Atlanta in 1996. How awesome is that?

For a look at what it is like to swim for Coach, fast-forward to Irving, Texas North Lake College Aquatic Center where we found one of our swimmer's personal logs and are sharing it with you today.

Week One
We discovered today that Coach has four primary practice modes:

• Warm-up Mode - Easy 1000 meters of assorted play stuff - plenty of time to talk and get caught up - kick a little, pull a little, and talk a little trash. Hey, this is great.
• Fast Mode - Heart pounding, breath gasping, muscle cramping, water churning, go for gold, kick butt fast. Make the bad man stop!
• Survival Mode - This is where you discover the real reason why there are lane lines in the pool, something to hold on to. Can't talk, barely breathing, discovering why the rec swimmers love to float on their backs.
• Warm Down, Throw Up, Drink Up Mode - For those with the energy, drinking is good. Anything to get that taste out of your mouth!

Week Two
We finally discover that his workout motto was not a joke. "If you aren't crying after practice, it wasn't hard enough!" Please make the bad man stop.

Week Three
Surprise, Surprise! Coach can still swim as he practices with us today. No one is really sure if he swam or not because no one could see him. 30 x 100 set on some animal interval. We all saw him at the start of each 100 but after that all bets were off. I'll be joining AARP next year, for crying out loud. How am I suppose to go that fast? Make the bad man stop!

Week Four
Unbelievable. I must be going faster because I have more time to rest during the intervals. And, I did lose 6 pounds this month in spite of eating like a horse. Suspicion around the team is growing that Coach is not a morning person. There can be no other explanation for his abnormal demeanor in the morning. Heck, it's only 6:00 in the morning -- what can you expect. The second theory floating around (no pun intended) is that Coach has come back to life as one of his Olympic coaches and wants us to be really, really good. Hey, don't make the good man stop!

We are Master Swimmers!

Used with permission from Mike Bonser, Irving Masters Swim Club

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