Regardless of how long it has been since you started swimming, motivation is essential to making progress and achieving your overall athletic goals. However, it’s extremely common for swimmers to struggle with staying motivated, whether it’s due to being burned out from training or not being able to perform as expected during competitions.
As such, a previous post outlines motivational strategies for swimmers, starting with accepting the ups and downs of motivation as natural in order to truly overcome it. After acceptance comes the step of reflecting on your motivating force, which you can do by creating a vision board, writing down your goals, and watching videos of motivational speakers.
Additionally, you can reignite your passion for swimming by reading books that highlight how fellow swimmers overcome obstacles and ultimately remind you of the joy and fulfillment the sport brings. And as books increasingly evolve beyond print, you can better incorporate reading into your personal and athletic routine by opting for audiobooks.
Why listen to audiobooks?
To start, listening to audiobooks exercises your brain, similar to how reading targets the regions responsible for memory and comprehension. Thus, it improves your cognitive health and functioning, enabling you to focus and concentrate better on your sport. The audiobook format is also ideal for multitasking, making it easier for you to listen while exercising or doing other daily tasks.
More importantly, you can easily access sports and recreation audiobooks through Everand’s extensive digital library. Aside from finding trending titles like The Last Dive by Bernie Chowdhury and memoirs from top athletes like Muhammad Ali, Serena Williams, and Tom Daley, you can discover the most engaging listens that focus solely on swimming—from tips and techniques to inspirational stories. Everand’s online subscription platform also has user-friendly features like playback control, sleep timer, and previews to let you customize your audiobook listening experience.
So, here are the most inspiring audiobooks to add to your library and boost your motivation as a swimmer.
Swimming audiobooks worth listening to:
1.) Why We Swim by Bonnie Tsui
As covered in another previous article, finding your why is essential to overcoming a motivational slump and keeping yourself accountable even when things get tough. Thus, Bonnie Tsui’s Why We Swim is the perfect book for any swimmer struggling to remember why they participated in the sport in the first place and why they must keep going. Narrated by Angie Kane, the book weaves together facts and stories to explore human beings’ natural love for and unique skill of swimming from the various perspectives of survival, well-being, community, competition, and flow.
2.) Just Add Water by Katie Ledecky
If you tuned in to the recently concluded 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris, there’s no denying that American competitive swimmer Katie Ledecky has cemented her status as one of the all-time greats. In her recently released memoir, Just Add Water: My Swimming Life the nine-time Olympic gold medalist talks about her athletic journey—from the people who helped her get to where she is to her progression-style training that set her up as a champion of distance swimming.
3.) No Limits by Michael Phelps and Alan Abrahamson
Swimmers from different generations have always looked up to Michael Phelps, the American swimmer who holds the record for the most gold medals won in a single Olympics. By listening to the abridged audiobook version of No Limits: The Will to Succeed, you can be inspired to embody Phelp’s remarkable amount of hard work, sacrifice, and dedication through personal anecdotes about his family, coach, and memorable races. He also shares valuable lessons he learned throughout his career as a world champion.
4.) Swimming Pretty by Vicki Valosik
In Swimming Pretty: The Untold Story of Women in Water, writer, instructor, and synchronized swimmer Vicki Valosik uncovers the history of aquatic performance and how it has transformed women’s relationship with swimming. Even if you don’t particularly participate in synchronized swimming, the 13-hour audiobook can be equally informative and inspiring for swimmers who need to be reminded of the sheer beauty, strength, and athleticism that goes into swimming.
5.) Swimming Made Easy by Ace McCloud
As swimmers, the training system you adopt can make a significant difference in your motivation and overall athletic performance. This is why Olympic coach Jon Urbanchek’s ‘color system’ serves as a strategic roadmap for training from pre-season to tapering. Similarly, Ace McCloud’s Swimming Made Easy provides a blueprint for increasing your strength and stamina in the water and gaining a competitive edge. Narrated by Joshua Mackey, it has both beginner and expert strategies that will motivate you to achieve an efficient swimming stroke.
6.) The Art of Resilience by Ross Edgley
Beyond being a test of physical strength and endurance, swimming also requires the right mentality to push yourself beyond boundaries and overcome any adversity. In this case, The Art of Resilience: Strategies for an Unbreakable Mind and Body guides you through shifting your mindset and emerging as a tougher, more resilient athlete. Author and narrator Ross Edgley uses not only his swim experience but also case studies of extreme athletes, fitness experts, and psychologists to uncover the secrets of mental fitness and discipline.
7.) Endure by Alexander Hutchinson
Lastly, Alexander Hutchinson’s Endure: Mind, Body, and the Curiously Elastic Limits of Human Performance also invites athletes like you to go farther and push harder to truly achieve more. By blending scientific studies with masterful storytelling, journalist Hutchinson can help you cultivate a stronger mind-body connection that will help you overcome the lack of motivation and become a swimmer with improved physical and mental endurance.
If you enjoyed these listening recommendations, continue reading Swim Like A Fish’s Blog for more insightful tips and resources on swimming.
The post 7 Inspiring Audiobooks About Swimming to Boost Your Motivation appeared first on Swim Like A Fish.
source https://swimlikeafish.org/7-inspiring-audiobooks-about-swimming-to-boost-your-motivation
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