BETTER HEALTH FOR INDIVIDUALS
PHYSICAL ACTIVITY
DEVELOPING PERSONAL SKILLS:
My weekly average of vigorous Physical activity is 12 hours of swimming training and three hours of gym work. Up until a month ago I was doing an additional six hours of swimming a week. I was finding that my swimming times were not improving and as a sprinter my coach decided to cut down on some of my sessions. I am now finding that I am feeling physically and mentally stronger. Finding the correct balance of physical activity is crucial to your health and wellbeing.
I have found that through my training regime and competitive swimming I have become self confident and assertive. I feel it has developed my leadership skills, I am more than happy to step up and take control of situations when others are floundering. The results of training at this level has given me another payoff, I have a positive body image of myself (a lot of teenagers struggle in this area).
My swim coach is the main provider of information for my physical activity. He provides a yearly training plan and supervision of daily training, feedback on training and racing techniques, moral support and motivation. Other information is received from my personal trainer at the gym, chiropractor and nutritionist.
The development of personal skills is essential to my chosen sport of swimming. Though swimming, looking from the outside, appears to be an individual sport there is a strong sense of belonging to a team. This may be just your club squad, school squad, or at higher levels, state or national teams. You have to be able to get along with a wide range of personalities and temperaments and be able to mix with people of many different age groups.
One needs to develop the skills necessary to deal with defeat as well as success. It’s easy to be a winner but a lot more difficult to deal with and bounce back from a loss.
One of the most important personal skills any elite athlete has to...