Swimmers often find themselves stuck with doubt when it comes to doing tough things in the water. Here’s a simple question to ask when you find doubt and uncertainty stopping you from excellence.

In the pursuit of excellence in the water, we often find ourselves staring at a tiled black line that mark the crossroads between potential and self-doubt.

While reading through Katie Ledecky’s autobiography, Just Add Water, I came across a passage that perfectly describes the power of asking “why not?” to help navigate those moments.

(It also closely mirrors an article I wrote a few years ago, Why Not You?)

Ledecky discusses the power of this simple question as she ascended towards GOAT status in the months and years following her initial triumph at the London Olympics in 2012, where she stunned the swimming world to win gold in the 800m free.

In this article, we’ll take a deeper look at how she used that little question, the stratospheric results that radiated from it, and how the rest of us swimming mortals can steal this mental tip for faster swimming in our own lives.

Let’s dive in.

The Ledecky Slam

August 3, 2012.

Katie Ledecky is 15 years old and has qualified for lane three in the final of the 800m freestyle at the London Olympic Games.

Next to Ledecky, in lane four, Rebecca Adlington of Great Britain, hometown favorite and also favorite-favorite, with Adlington being the world record holder in the event.

Unlike the Ledecky we know today, who is NOS-boosting from the start, Ledecky doesn’t take the lead until the 200m mark.

But once she takes it, the lead is never relinquished. Ledecky extends the lead bit by bit, hundred by hundred, until she hits the wall for gold, four seconds ahead of second place and just half a second off Adlington’s world record mark.

Ledecky, gold. Upset, confirmed.

Stateside, following her performance in London, Ledecky’s training and mindset begin to expand.

Naturally.

With her club team, NCAP (Nation’s Capital Swim Club), Ledecky was training with another international-caliber distance swimmer Andrew Gemmell, who had made the 2012 Olympic team in the 1500m freestyle.

With Gemmell in the next lane each day at practice, Ledecky began to ask herself that simple question: Why not?

Why couldn’t she keep up with him? Why couldn’t she race him over the practices, sets, and repetitions during training? Why couldn’t she achieve something that seemed impossible?

As Ledecky recounts in Just Add Water:

“As I was grinding away to keep up with him, I would ask myself, why not?”

The mantra soon became more familiar than the smell of chlorine:

“Keeping pace with the male swimmers? Why not? Shaving time off my records? Why not? Doing something significant every time I swim? Why not?”

And:

“I knew if I visualized those goals, if I created an expectation for myself that I would improve, the odds of my doing so rose considerably. I applied this mentality whether the swim was a practice, a stop on the domestic Pro Swim Series tour, or a World Championship.”

The question expanded on what was possible, allowing Ledecky to stack up some crazy training in practice and freeing her up to swim without limiting expectations or pressures when stepping on the block.

Of course, “why not?” only works if you follow through and do the work in the pool.  

And if there is one thing Ledecky is renowned for, it’s a killer work ethic:

“Having the mindset that you can do something memorable will produce results—if you’ve done the work. And I always do the work.”

Goosebumps. (And yes, emphasis mine.)

Ledecky credits these changes in perspective and the resulting increases in performance during training for her performance at the 2015 World Championships.

At that meet, in Kazan, Russia, Ledecky uncorked a history-shattering performance, winning gold medals in the 200m, 400m, 800m, and 1500m freestyles, becoming the first swimmer to accomplish the feat at a major international meet.

The new benchmark colloquially became known as “The Ledecky Slam.”

Ledecky won her 800m and 1500m races in world record time, and she also won a gold medal in the 4x200m freestyle relay with her American teammates.

From there, Ledecky chiseled consistency into a dizzying amount of achievements in the pool.

Four gold medals at the Rio Olympics in 2016. Individual and team NCAA titles in 2017 and 2018. Five more Worlds gold medals in 2017. Defending her 800m Olympic title for the third time in 2020.

And on and on and on.

The Power of Why Not

Often, we get caught up in what we think is possible. Or what others tell us is possible.

And instead of allowing our full potential to shine through and pursue outrageous goals, we play it safe, stick with the intervals we know, and remain in our standard position in the lane.

Asking yourself “Why not?” invokes a curiosity that allows you to chase big things in the water without fear or limitation. Of exploring what’s possible without worrying about worst-case scenarios.

And no, they don’t have to be world records or multi-gold-medal performances at Worlds or the Olympics.

Things like:

• Making every practice from now until the end of the season? Why not?
• Giving a 9/10 effort during the main set every time I go to practice? Why not?
• Choosing to use a positive mindset even when the workout stinks? Why not?
• Taking steps to plan and meal prep to improve dietary habits? Why not?
• Tracking and measuring my workouts to identify areas for improvement? Why not?
• Adding one more training session to my weekly schedule? Why not?
• Setting higher goals and implementing a commensurately ambitious process? Why not?
• Focusing on swimming with excellent technique every stroke and every lap? Why not?
• Going to sleep an hour earlier each night to maximize recovery? Why not?

.

Often, all it takes is for us to use the right question to see past perceived limitations in and out of the water.

Wrapping Things Up

By daring to envision something greater for our swimming, we can unlock new levels of growth and performance in the water.

Using “why not?” in your preparation and swimming is the first step to deke out limiting thoughts that are keeping you from excelling in the water.

The next time things get hard in the pool, or you are staring down a challenge longer than a 100m pool, ask yourself…

“Why not?”

https://www.yourswimlog.com/katie-ledecky-power-of-asking-why-not/

Looking to take your mindset and swimming to the next level? Here are five things you can learn from Jack Alexy, one of the fastest freestylers on the planet.

American Jack Alexy has joined the ranks of elite sprinters in the world.

Now 21 years of age and standing a towering 6’8”, Alexy exploded onto the international scene at the 2023 World Championships, winning five medals, including silvers in the 50m and 100m freestyles.

He’s also one of the fastest men in history over 100m of freestyle, clocking an eye-popping 47.08 in the preliminaries at the US Olympic Trials earlier this year.

Later this month, in Paris, Alexy will compete individually in the 100m freestyle relay and also join Caeleb Dressel, Ryan Held, and Chris Guilano as they will almost certainly threaten the world record in the 4x100m freestyle relay.

So, what does it take to excel at the highest level and under massive pressure?

Here are some mindset tips from Jack Alexy on training mindfully, preparing for peak performance, staying motivated to chase your goals, and more.

Let’s dive in.

Set goals for training

After a disappointing 2022, where Alexy added time in his best events at the US Trials for Worlds, he recommitted himself to preparing as well as possible in the water. To not waste an opportunity to get better.

“I was approaching every practice with that mindset and question of asking myself, what do I do today in these next two hours that in the water to make an Olympic team, world team, or win an Olympic medal,” said Alexy in a podcast with USA Swimming.

This mindset is wildly powerful for swimmers who struggle with motivation, consistency, or staying focused during training.

Every set, every lap, every meter is a gift and an opportunity to fine-tune your swimming and push yourself closer to the big goals you have for yourself in the pool.

Alexy’s mindset is simple when it comes to training:

“What do I have to do in the next two hours to move closer to achieving my goals?”

Train for killer technique in the pool

Alexy’s renewed focus after a disappointing 2022 campaign wasn’t just about blinding effort and working as hard as possible each day, but also finding ways to swim better.

In training, he was conscious of how his body moved through the water, how his hands caught the water, his body position, feel for the water.

“That’s really important for me—not necessarily putting yards in but just being in the water and doing drill work or just floating around or sculling, so that’s helped me a lot,” Alexy told SwimSwam’s Coleman Stewart.

Swimming fast isn’t just about going balls-to-the-wall each day in training, dropping blinding reps of maximum effort. It’s also being highly efficient and without getting too hokey about it, working with the water to develop speed instead of against it.

“Doing everything in practice with the intention to get better, and not just going through the motions, really helped me too.”

Leave it all in the pool

Given that swimmers put in so many meters and yards into the pool over the course of a season and career, it can be easy to coast at times, or even procrastinate with giving our best effort.

With another 1-2 practices tomorrow, it’s easy to fall into the mindset that we can push a little harder starting later.

But Alexy recognizes the pain of regret down the road will be worth the extra effort today.

“I don’t want to look back and think that if I’d put in 10% more effort every day, it could have made that much of a difference. I want to be the best version of myself that I possibly can in and out of the pool.”

Swimmers shouldn’t have to wonder if they could have been great, or what they could have done had they shown up to training. If this is something you want, don’t leave room for regret.

When you surf into the wall at the end of the Big Race at the Big Meet, know you’ve give it your all and that you brought the absolute best version of yourself to the pool.

Use your goals for fuel.

The roller coaster of a swim season is filled with ups and downs. Heck, even a week of training has its own yo-yo vibe, with some workouts going well, others not-so-well.

Alexy’s key to preparing the best he can is using his goals as daily fuel, reminding himself constantly of what he wants and what he is willing to do to earn it.

It comes down to:

“Every day, waking up, and thinking, ‘How bad do you want to achieve this goal? How bad do you want to win? How bad do you want to make the team?’”

Alexy also wisely notes that this mindset isn’t about being “overwhelmed and consumed” by your goals but letting it “fuel you and drive you” in the moments you need it most.

Like when you are tired and groggy and your snooze is going off for the third time before morning practice.

Or when Coach pulls a sneaky-sneaky and draws a long bracket around the entirety of the main set and write “5x.”

Or when you have a disappointing race or meet and need to refocus on moving forward.

Write your goals down. Have them visible. Use them for fuel and motivation each day when your motivation and commitment waver.

Learn from your setbacks.

At the 2021 US Trials, Alexy put up some blazingly fast times in the 50m and 100m freestyles. He broke Caeleb Dressel’s 17-18 NAG record in the 100m freestyle and placed tenth.

Things were looking very bright for Alexy. The following year in his freshman year at Cal Berkeley, he performed below expectations at NCAA championships, not making the top 16 in his individual events.

Later that spring, at US Trials for Worlds, he added 1.28 seconds to his 100 freestyle PB, failing to get out of the preliminaries, placing a disappointing 24^th.

These setbacks led to a renewed focus and determination, and looking back on those performances now, Alexy credits them as fuel for the heights that he’s climbed this year.

“If I didn’t have that failure, I wouldn’t have been able to get to where I am now.”

: Jack Alxy @ Instagram

https://www.yourswimlog.com/jack-alexy-mindset-tips-for-faster-swimming/