November 27, 2024 • 17 mins
What if the key to swimming faster in 2025 lies in how you navigate the holiday season? In this energizing episode of Champion’s Mojo, hosts Kelly Palace and Maria Parker share eight actionable strategies to maintain fitness and motivation between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day. With the average American gaining up to 10 pounds during the holidays, they provide expert advice on avoiding setbacks and staying on track to crush your fitness goals.
From setting a January swim meet as your motivation to practical tips like keeping tempting foods out of reach, Kelly and Maria dive deep into the art of balancing holiday indulgence with athletic discipline. They highlight how inspirational reads and listens can spark your drive and discuss the importance of yoga, stretching, and body work to enhance recovery and prevent injuries.
Whether you're aiming to shed a few pounds, build strength, or simply stay consistent, this episode offers valuable insights and a fresh perspective on making the most of the holidays to set the stage for your best year yet. Don’t miss this motivational roadmap to finishing 2024 Strong and making 2025 stronger, leaner, and faster!
Email us at HELLO@ChampionsMojo.com. Opinions discussed are not medical advice, please seek a medical professional for your own health concerns.
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Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Speaker 1 (00:03):
Hello friends, welcome to the Champions Mojo
podcast.
I'm your host, kelly Pallas,and, as usual, I'm co-hosting
with my wonderful sister-in-law,maria Parker.
Hey, maria.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Hey Kelly, it's great to be with you.
We've just been enjoying agreat conversation before we hit
the record button, so I'mexcited to share with our
listeners.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
Yes, so it's the day before Thanksgiving and we have
been talking about settingourselves up for a great 2025.
And a lot of people wait untilJanuary 1 to make some plans,
and you and I feel reallystrongly about, really strongly
about starting a little earlierand looking at the the these
(00:46):
next.
You know, eight weeks is is acrucial time when you can really
backslide on your training,your fitness level, your ability
to perform, your ability totrain and and we feel like we
wanted to put this out therewhat we're doing, uh're doing
and hopefully inspire some ofyou guys to think about things
(01:09):
that you want to be doing, andthese are the things that we're
going to be doing.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Right, and you know, for me this is something I think
about because my birthday isearly in the year and my
birthday is an important day forme.
It's in February, so I'm oftengoing through the holidays
thinking I do not want to feelbad in February.
So this is a great time to totake kind of advantage of.
The holidays offer a lot ofadvantages for us.
(01:35):
Sometimes I think we use themas excuses to, like you said,
backslide or, you know, toovereat or whatever.
But it's also an advantage.
You have more free time, moretime to you know, think and do,
do the things that you want todo.
So you should think of thesethese next six weeks as a great
opportunity to start some somegood habits.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
Yes, so we've come up with eight things we're going
to be doing.
We discussed them at length asthe sister-in-law and elite
masters athletes that we are.
So you know everybody canadjust as they see fit.
But so so my first one, maria,went.
Oh, no, is my first one.
(02:20):
Between now and January one, Iwant to lose five pounds of fat.
Of course you don't want tojust lose five pounds on the
scale, you want to be lean.
I want to lose five pounds offat, and here's why I'm putting
that out there as a goal.
But the average Americanbetween October 31st, halloween
(02:46):
and the 1st of January gains 7to 10 pounds.
So if I just have the goal ofokay, I'm going to try to lose
weight during the holidays, thenmaybe I won't go back for a
second you know piece of pie, ormaybe I won't overeat when it's
just, it's like saying, oh, Iwant to break 530 and the 500
(03:08):
free.
You know, that's that's kind ofa stretch goal for me.
But if I aim for 530, maybeI'll go 535.
And that's what I'm doing withthis lose five pounds.
Also, I will say that many ofthe swimmers that we interview
you know that have done eliteperformances.
One of the things we ask them,maria.
(03:28):
You remember and I'mspecifically thinking of Amy
Rieger she just blew everybody'sdoors off and did some amazing
times as she turned 60.
And we asked her what was oneof the secrets.
She said you know, I lost thatfive pounds that I just needed.
And so you know, I'm not sayingthat that's something that is a
(03:50):
must, but I feel like if I justput that goal out there to lose
some weight, maybe I won't gainthe seven pounds that could
happen, maria.
Okay, why did you give me a big?
Speaker 2 (03:58):
oh, Well, I think you know people, this is a
sensitive topic.
But I think the people whodon't need to lose five pounds
because they're you know peoplethis is a sensitive topic.
But I think the people whodon't need to lose five pounds
because they're you know they'reripped they already know the
tips and tricks for gettingthrough the holidays without
gaining seven pounds.
And you know I just.
But you know, I think, takethis as inspiration.
You don't have to give in toevery, you don't have to accept
(04:20):
every piece of sugar loadedcarbohydrates that's offered to
you.
And for me, you know, a verysimple thing is like, just don't
keep it around the house.
Like, yeah, on Thanksgivingwe're going to have pie, I'll
have a piece of pie, but I'm notstoring the leftovers in my
fridge, I'm giving them away.
And that keeps me on track forwhat you're talking about, kelly
.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
Yeah, and, and one of the secrets that I do, when you
know, tomorrow againThanksgiving, tons of tons of
stuff and Mark and I are incharge of bringing all the
desserts, so we have five piesfor about 20 people, and but is
I try never to go into a bigbuffet type situation, starving,
like I don't you know, I justgo in hungry but not starving.
(05:04):
So maybe before I leave forthat, I will, you know, drink a
little, have a little small bitof yogurt or eat five almonds or
something.
You know that it's that I'm notstarving when I get there is
kind of one of the ways that I'mable to to not just overeat
like crazy.
So anyway, that was number one,maria, you, you came up with
(05:25):
number two.
Tell us about that.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
Well, I think.
I think again, this is a greatopportunity.
Your schedule's different thanit normally is, but you really
need to stay consistent withyour training, and that that
doesn't mean you have to do thetraining at the same time.
You know, if you're, if you cansleep in or whatever, take
advantage of some of the middaydaylight, do that.
But don't stop training, andfor a lot of us, this means you
(05:50):
know training on travel days andtraining when we're.
You know training on on dayswhen there we have guests, for
instance, and I, my family nowand extended family, they all
know that I'm going to work out.
That's just part of it and wetry to include that as part of
our.
For instance, tomorrow isThanksgiving and it's going to
(06:11):
start out with a big run, a bigfamily group run.
I'm not running because I'vehad knee surgery, but I'll be
keeping the grandkids whileeverybody else goes for a run,
and I just think if youestablish things like that,
that's going to get you throughthis holiday and also all the
holidays coming.
Don't forget to train.
And also this is a tip I tellmyself If I don't train, I'm
(06:32):
going to feel cranky andirritable, which is not how I
want to feel in the holidays.
Training keeps my mood good.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
Yeah, I love that.
Of course, if we're looking atthe holidays, sometimes you just
think, oh, this is the time tokind of let down and relax.
And yeah, we definitely shouldrelax and enjoy family and enjoy
traditions and enjoy the socialpart of it.
But yeah, you can get that withyour training group, or maybe
go to your, have coffee, your,your training group, but keep
(07:03):
the training going.
It's just like, don't make theexcuse of this is and and
obviously you know, pools areclosed on Thanksgiving day and
maybe even New Year's Eve.
I mean Christmas Eve andChristmas day.
But if you can't do you knowthe exact swim you want to do.
Well, then go for a long walkor, you know, do something to
keep moving, turkey trot, butbut keep that you know the exact
(07:24):
swim you want to do.
We'll then go for a long walk or, you know, do something to keep
moving turkey trot, but butkeep that, you know, keep your
cardiovascular fitness and yourstrength going during the
holidays.
So consistent training, Allright.
So that's number two.
Number three is it's kind ofcool if you can do one simple
little strength training move,and this is something I'm going
(07:44):
to do again.
These are things Maria and Iare doing to be ready for
January.
I am in the middle of a sit-upstreak.
I do 100 sit-ups every day,which isn't a lot, but if you
think about it at the end of themonth, what is that?
Speaker 2 (07:58):
3,000, you know that is 30 days.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
Yeah, that's 3000 sit-ups.
Swimming is highly core driven,so I just do a hundred.
I do the um Navy seal sit-ups,which is where I I tuck my feet
under our sofa and you know thethe weight of the couch holds me
up and I bring my chest all theway up to my knees and I try to
do, you know, 60 of those in intwo minutes and then I'll go on
(08:23):
and do another 40.
Sometimes I'll do a straight100, but I usually just do 60.
And Mark can't do those sit-ups.
They hurt his back.
So he does crunches and he does100 every day.
But start a streak, whetherthat's sit-ups, push-ups, you
know, if you can't do fullpush-ups, you can do pull-ups,
(08:43):
you can do pull-ups.
You can do, you know, assistedpush-ups, where you're just on
your countertop and you'reslanted in.
But just if you just continuethat, that's something you can
easily do in between hangingChristmas bulbs or you know,
baking goods or whatever you'redoing with your family or over
the holidays you can say, oh, Igot to keep my streak going and
just get out the Excelspreadsheet and just check it
off.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
Yeah, I love that.
Or put a little star on yourcalendar and it's not forever.
Just imagine yourself doing ittill January 1st, and what a
great thing to have done allthose sit-ups or whatever.
I love that one, kelly.
I love a streak.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
Oh yeah, so that's number three.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
Maria, you got number four, which is, yeah, number
four is during this holidayseason, when things aren't so
maybe regular, with yourswimming team or with whatever
team you're on, pick onetechnique in your sport swimming
that you really need to work onJust one technique.
(09:41):
So whatever it is, for me itwould be kelly asked me what
would your technique?
For me it'd be flip turns.
I'm terrible at flip turns, um,but if I work on that
consistently just during thisperiod, not necessarily the
whole year or whatever, but justduring this period, it's like a
little mini block where I'mgoing to work on this one
technique that I know I need towork on.
What are some some othertechniques, kelly, that people
(10:01):
could specialize in that theymight have trouble with?
Speaker 1 (10:05):
Yeah, I think that's a great thing, maria.
I love this one and I'm goingto be doing this one too.
Again, you and I both kind ofagreed that we're going to both
do all eight of these that wecame up with for us.
But I think technique if youtake one, take your, but I think
technique if you take the place, you know you need the most
(10:26):
work so that you want to see thebiggest result.
So I know I need the most workon my butterfly, but I don't
care about my butterfly.
I don't want to do butterfly, Idon't.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
So I'm not going to work on that.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
It's not going to be butterfly.
It's not work on the thing thatyou're the worst at.
It's work on the thing thatwill most improve the event, or
the stroke, or faster, you know,on a base 25 where you know I'm
generally known as distanceperson, but I want to be faster.
(11:00):
So I want to work on thetechnique, my sprinting
technique, you know when I'mhigher tempo.
So I'm going to be working ontempo.
(11:20):
I'm going to be working ontempo.
I know Denise has a littletempo trainer so it's not always
easy for me to use or put on,but I have it, I love it, it
shows my tempo.
So I'm going to be working ontempo and I think that's going
to make the biggest differencefor me in my events.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
So, whatever your events are that you want to work
on, it could just be a reallystrong push off the wall right,
it just just push off the wallit could be one dolphin off each
wall, streamlining it could bestreamlining.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
It could be dolphining, it could be your
tempo, it could be your, yourcatch, it could be your start,
it could be streamlining um, offthe start, getting into a hole.
I know, you know, a lot ofmaster swimmers will be very
flat on their dives and so, yeah, just I think we've covered.
You know what that one is.
So that's number four.
(12:12):
Um, number five this issomething over the holidays that
I think will be really easy todo, but it just makes a huge
difference for me, um, and thatjust makes a huge difference for
me.
And that's to read or listen.
Read or listen to somethinginspirational.
And you know this is not meantto be self-serving, but it is a.
(12:34):
It's a conversation Marie and Ijust had, and the podcast right
before this is the MichelleKuvan Kupfer interview.
So listen to podcasts or booksthat inspire you.
I had, of course, weinterviewed Michelle and it was
very inspirational.
But I went back and listened tothe final finished product of
(12:56):
that podcast, which I think ispodcast 262 for us, our very
last one that we produced.
That's 262 for us, our verylast one that we produced.
And after I listened toMichelle talking about how hard
she was working and kind of herinjuries and overcoming her flip
turn, dizziness and all this.
I thought, gosh, that justinspires me to go swim.
Another book that I've beenlistening to is called the
(13:18):
Comfort Crisis and it isphenomenal.
It's a great book, michaelEaston, or is it Michael Easter?
We can put that in the shownotes, but that book also when I
listen to that, it inspires me.
So during this time it is goingto be harder to get motivated.
So find things that you canread or listen to that are going
to get you down to the, to theworkout.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
I love that and I think that's that's that's a
great thing.
Listen a little bit every day,I love it, and if you're in the
car or on an airplane, greatopportunity for uh to listen, or
if you're a reader, read.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
All right, that was number five.
Number six Maria.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
Oh, this is a great one.
This is kind of like mybirthday.
Put a meat on the calendar forJanuary and you need to do this
right now.
Go find a meat in January.
This is probably, for me, thebiggest thing to keep me
training.
If I know there's somethingcoming up early in the year that
will keep me training throughthe holidays, it's because if
you take a whole week off inDecember, it's going to just
(14:19):
crush your, your, you know your,your, your fitness and so if
you have a meet, meet that'sgoing to keep you getting up and
keep you helping you beconsistent in your training.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
Yeah, I think this probably is the most powerful
one of of all eight number sixhere, but it's just like they're
all the okay.
All the January meets areposted.
You can go to clubassistantcom,google Club Assistant, master
Swimming All the meets are there.
They're also posted on yourlocal, you know, master Swimming
(14:51):
websites, your local LMSCs.
The meets are out there forJanuary.
There are tons of them and someare short course meters, which
is, you know, a great venue todo.
Most of them are probably shortcourse yards.
But put a meet on the calendar,or put two meets on the
calendar, because you know, youknow, when there's something on
(15:12):
the calendar, you're, you'regonna, it's going to motivate
you to get down to the pool.
So, um, that is we're, we'reboth doing it.
So that's, that's, that's a,that's a really peak one.
Um, all right.
So that was your number six.
My number seven is schedule sometime to do body work.
You know that.
(15:33):
You know maybe you're watchingChristmas movies or holiday
movies or just hanging outchatting.
What's wrong with doing someserious deep stretching, working
with a massage gun, but reallytaking care of your body and the
the sitting, just sitting.
You know, when you're visiting.
Why not do like Mark and I areinto this thing called primal
(15:56):
squatting.
So when we are talkingsometimes we'll get in the
primal squat.
If you don't know what a primalsquat is, just Google it.
It's great for your lower back,for stretching.
You know your quadriceps orhamstrings.
You know massage gun.
Obviously you could get amassage if you want to do that.
But take care of your bodybecause you're you know, the
(16:17):
more you take care of your body,the less you're going to be
injured, the better you're goingto feel.
In practice, all that, all ofit comes together.
But I think taking care of ourbodies through stretching, yoga,
massaging, is important.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
Yeah, I was going to say, extend that to yoga and
massage.
That's with this.
With your consistent trainingand your streaking on whatever
it is you're doing, you're goingto need a stretch, and and and.
I love that, you know, justtake time for body work and it's
something you can do socially,you know, while you're, while
you're visiting with family.
So, okay, that's great.
(16:48):
Oh, last one.
This is this one is reallyKelly's, but swim really fast
once a week.
Speaker 1 (16:58):
You need it, Maria, but you agreed to it.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
Yeah, I agreed to it, but this is something that's
kind of consistent.
It's not just for me.
You know, most people know thatmy main sport is cycling.
This is true for any sport Like, especially those of us who
have sort of slipped into theendurance, like you know, long
and slow, because we like thefitness and we like the
(17:22):
psychological getting gettingout there and doing it fast once
a week, hard and fast once aweek.
It just it's good for you, itwakes your muscles up, it's
it'll, it'll improve everything.
And this is true for swimmingand cycling and running and any
sport that you do.
You know, bring some, bringsome bounce into it.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
Yeah, so that that is number eight.
Get really fast once a weekwhether like you know in any
sport, swim fast once a week.
And you know some.
You know obviously a lot, of, alot of uh training schedules.
Seasonal training scheduleshave kind of these big yardage
blocks over the holidays andthat's totally cool.
(18:01):
I mean, if you're, if you'reconsistent training includes
swimming a lot of yards over theholiday season, that's cool.
But you still, you still shouldswim fast once a week.
That's what we're going to tryto do, which is is really fast,
Like we're talking, you knoweight fifties on five minutes
all out, or you know 10, 25 ontwo minutes, just as fast as you
(18:25):
can go again, getting thattempo, getting that speed,
feeling what it feels like to tobe completely exhausted, mark
was.
Mark was saying to me the otherday he's like, oh gosh, I saw, I
saw you doing those hundreds onthat interval.
And he said I looked over andyou were floating on your back
just sucking air and I was likeyou know, if you can envision
(18:45):
yourself that exhausted whereyou're, just like, you cannot
even stand up in your lane, youjust have to throw your body
back, you're floating on thewater and you're just sucking
air in because you're soexhausted.
That's the type of effort we'retalking about there, so that
sounds like fun.
Yeah, I know, Maria, that'sright right up your alley you
(19:06):
love this stuff.
Well so, anyway, these are whatwe're going to do and hopefully,
you know we'll.
We'll see how they go, but it's, I think I think these are, I
think these are some powerfulthings that have, um, listeners
out there.
What are you guys doing?
You know, uh, drop us an emailor post it on Instagram.
We're going to, you know, postan Instagram.
(19:26):
That's usually where we, wherewe are and um, we so appreciate
you guys.
You know, on Thanksgiving we're, we're really grateful and
thankful for you guys being withus.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
Uh, we're going into our sixth, sixth year in 2025.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
Maria, what, what are your thoughts on our great yeah
?
Speaker 2 (19:43):
absolutely I'm, I'm and I, you know, I think,
spending some time reflecting onbeing able to swim, being able
to ride, being able to run sucha great thing to be able to, and
if you're grateful for it, thenyou're not going to give it up
easily.
Speaker 1 (20:02):
Yeah, yeah.
So all right, Maria.
Well, we will not be togetheron Thanksgiving, but I will be
with a bunch of our family whowill miss you.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
Yeah, have a wonderful time.
Speaker 1 (20:08):
Yeah, but we will see each other soon and I love you
so much.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
I love you too, kelly , take care.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
All right, bye-bye.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
Bye-bye.
Hello friends, welcome to the Champions Mojo
podcast.
I'm your host, kelly Pallas,and, as usual, I'm co-hosting
with my wonderful sister-in-law,maria Parker.
Hey, maria.
Speaker 2 (00:13):
Hey Kelly, it's great to be with you.
We've just been enjoying agreat conversation before we hit
the record button, so I'mexcited to share with our
listeners.
Speaker 1 (00:23):
Yes, so it's the day before Thanksgiving and we have
been talking about settingourselves up for a great 2025.
And a lot of people wait untilJanuary 1 to make some plans,
and you and I feel reallystrongly about, really strongly
about starting a little earlierand looking at the the these
(00:46):
next.
You know, eight weeks is is acrucial time when you can really
backslide on your training,your fitness level, your ability
to perform, your ability totrain and and we feel like we
wanted to put this out therewhat we're doing, uh're doing
and hopefully inspire some ofyou guys to think about things
(01:09):
that you want to be doing, andthese are the things that we're
going to be doing.
Speaker 2 (01:13):
Right, and you know, for me this is something I think
about because my birthday isearly in the year and my
birthday is an important day forme.
It's in February, so I'm oftengoing through the holidays
thinking I do not want to feelbad in February.
So this is a great time to totake kind of advantage of.
The holidays offer a lot ofadvantages for us.
(01:35):
Sometimes I think we use themas excuses to, like you said,
backslide or, you know, toovereat or whatever.
But it's also an advantage.
You have more free time, moretime to you know, think and do,
do the things that you want todo.
So you should think of thesethese next six weeks as a great
opportunity to start some somegood habits.
Speaker 1 (01:56):
Yes, so we've come up with eight things we're going
to be doing.
We discussed them at length asthe sister-in-law and elite
masters athletes that we are.
So you know everybody canadjust as they see fit.
But so so my first one, maria,went.
Oh, no, is my first one.
(02:20):
Between now and January one, Iwant to lose five pounds of fat.
Of course you don't want tojust lose five pounds on the
scale, you want to be lean.
I want to lose five pounds offat, and here's why I'm putting
that out there as a goal.
But the average Americanbetween October 31st, halloween
(02:46):
and the 1st of January gains 7to 10 pounds.
So if I just have the goal ofokay, I'm going to try to lose
weight during the holidays, thenmaybe I won't go back for a
second you know piece of pie, ormaybe I won't overeat when it's
just, it's like saying, oh, Iwant to break 530 and the 500
(03:08):
free.
You know, that's that's kind ofa stretch goal for me.
But if I aim for 530, maybeI'll go 535.
And that's what I'm doing withthis lose five pounds.
Also, I will say that many ofthe swimmers that we interview
you know that have done eliteperformances.
One of the things we ask them,maria.
(03:28):
You remember and I'mspecifically thinking of Amy
Rieger she just blew everybody'sdoors off and did some amazing
times as she turned 60.
And we asked her what was oneof the secrets.
She said you know, I lost thatfive pounds that I just needed.
And so you know, I'm not sayingthat that's something that is a
(03:50):
must, but I feel like if I justput that goal out there to lose
some weight, maybe I won't gainthe seven pounds that could
happen, maria.
Okay, why did you give me a big?
Speaker 2 (03:58):
oh, Well, I think you know people, this is a
sensitive topic.
But I think the people whodon't need to lose five pounds
because they're you know peoplethis is a sensitive topic.
But I think the people whodon't need to lose five pounds
because they're you know they'reripped they already know the
tips and tricks for gettingthrough the holidays without
gaining seven pounds.
And you know I just.
But you know, I think, takethis as inspiration.
You don't have to give in toevery, you don't have to accept
(04:20):
every piece of sugar loadedcarbohydrates that's offered to
you.
And for me, you know, a verysimple thing is like, just don't
keep it around the house.
Like, yeah, on Thanksgivingwe're going to have pie, I'll
have a piece of pie, but I'm notstoring the leftovers in my
fridge, I'm giving them away.
And that keeps me on track forwhat you're talking about, kelly
.
Speaker 1 (04:39):
Yeah, and, and one of the secrets that I do, when you
know, tomorrow againThanksgiving, tons of tons of
stuff and Mark and I are incharge of bringing all the
desserts, so we have five piesfor about 20 people, and but is
I try never to go into a bigbuffet type situation, starving,
like I don't you know, I justgo in hungry but not starving.
(05:04):
So maybe before I leave forthat, I will, you know, drink a
little, have a little small bitof yogurt or eat five almonds or
something.
You know that it's that I'm notstarving when I get there is
kind of one of the ways that I'mable to to not just overeat
like crazy.
So anyway, that was number one,maria, you, you came up with
(05:25):
number two.
Tell us about that.
Speaker 2 (05:27):
Well, I think.
I think again, this is a greatopportunity.
Your schedule's different thanit normally is, but you really
need to stay consistent withyour training, and that that
doesn't mean you have to do thetraining at the same time.
You know, if you're, if you cansleep in or whatever, take
advantage of some of the middaydaylight, do that.
But don't stop training, andfor a lot of us, this means you
(05:50):
know training on travel days andtraining when we're.
You know training on on dayswhen there we have guests, for
instance, and I, my family nowand extended family, they all
know that I'm going to work out.
That's just part of it and wetry to include that as part of
our.
For instance, tomorrow isThanksgiving and it's going to
(06:11):
start out with a big run, a bigfamily group run.
I'm not running because I'vehad knee surgery, but I'll be
keeping the grandkids whileeverybody else goes for a run,
and I just think if youestablish things like that,
that's going to get you throughthis holiday and also all the
holidays coming.
Don't forget to train.
And also this is a tip I tellmyself If I don't train, I'm
(06:32):
going to feel cranky andirritable, which is not how I
want to feel in the holidays.
Training keeps my mood good.
Speaker 1 (06:39):
Yeah, I love that.
Of course, if we're looking atthe holidays, sometimes you just
think, oh, this is the time tokind of let down and relax.
And yeah, we definitely shouldrelax and enjoy family and enjoy
traditions and enjoy the socialpart of it.
But yeah, you can get that withyour training group, or maybe
go to your, have coffee, your,your training group, but keep
(07:03):
the training going.
It's just like, don't make theexcuse of this is and and
obviously you know, pools areclosed on Thanksgiving day and
maybe even New Year's Eve.
I mean Christmas Eve andChristmas day.
But if you can't do you knowthe exact swim you want to do.
Well, then go for a long walkor, you know, do something to
keep moving, turkey trot, butbut keep that you know the exact
(07:24):
swim you want to do.
We'll then go for a long walk or, you know, do something to keep
moving turkey trot, but butkeep that, you know, keep your
cardiovascular fitness and yourstrength going during the
holidays.
So consistent training, Allright.
So that's number two.
Number three is it's kind ofcool if you can do one simple
little strength training move,and this is something I'm going
(07:44):
to do again.
These are things Maria and Iare doing to be ready for
January.
I am in the middle of a sit-upstreak.
I do 100 sit-ups every day,which isn't a lot, but if you
think about it at the end of themonth, what is that?
Speaker 2 (07:58):
3,000, you know that is 30 days.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
Yeah, that's 3000 sit-ups.
Swimming is highly core driven,so I just do a hundred.
I do the um Navy seal sit-ups,which is where I I tuck my feet
under our sofa and you know thethe weight of the couch holds me
up and I bring my chest all theway up to my knees and I try to
do, you know, 60 of those in intwo minutes and then I'll go on
(08:23):
and do another 40.
Sometimes I'll do a straight100, but I usually just do 60.
And Mark can't do those sit-ups.
They hurt his back.
So he does crunches and he does100 every day.
But start a streak, whetherthat's sit-ups, push-ups, you
know, if you can't do fullpush-ups, you can do pull-ups,
(08:43):
you can do pull-ups.
You can do, you know, assistedpush-ups, where you're just on
your countertop and you'reslanted in.
But just if you just continuethat, that's something you can
easily do in between hangingChristmas bulbs or you know,
baking goods or whatever you'redoing with your family or over
the holidays you can say, oh, Igot to keep my streak going and
just get out the Excelspreadsheet and just check it
off.
Speaker 2 (09:09):
Yeah, I love that.
Or put a little star on yourcalendar and it's not forever.
Just imagine yourself doing ittill January 1st, and what a
great thing to have done allthose sit-ups or whatever.
I love that one, kelly.
I love a streak.
Speaker 1 (09:18):
Oh yeah, so that's number three.
Speaker 2 (09:20):
Maria, you got number four, which is, yeah, number
four is during this holidayseason, when things aren't so
maybe regular, with yourswimming team or with whatever
team you're on, pick onetechnique in your sport swimming
that you really need to work onJust one technique.
(09:41):
So whatever it is, for me itwould be kelly asked me what
would your technique?
For me it'd be flip turns.
I'm terrible at flip turns, um,but if I work on that
consistently just during thisperiod, not necessarily the
whole year or whatever, but justduring this period, it's like a
little mini block where I'mgoing to work on this one
technique that I know I need towork on.
What are some some othertechniques, kelly, that people
(10:01):
could specialize in that theymight have trouble with?
Speaker 1 (10:05):
Yeah, I think that's a great thing, maria.
I love this one and I'm goingto be doing this one too.
Again, you and I both kind ofagreed that we're going to both
do all eight of these that wecame up with for us.
But I think technique if youtake one, take your, but I think
technique if you take the place, you know you need the most
(10:26):
work so that you want to see thebiggest result.
So I know I need the most workon my butterfly, but I don't
care about my butterfly.
I don't want to do butterfly, Idon't.
Speaker 2 (10:38):
So I'm not going to work on that.
Speaker 1 (10:40):
It's not going to be butterfly.
It's not work on the thing thatyou're the worst at.
It's work on the thing thatwill most improve the event, or
the stroke, or faster, you know,on a base 25 where you know I'm
generally known as distanceperson, but I want to be faster.
(11:00):
So I want to work on thetechnique, my sprinting
technique, you know when I'mhigher tempo.
So I'm going to be working ontempo.
(11:20):
I'm going to be working ontempo.
I know Denise has a littletempo trainer so it's not always
easy for me to use or put on,but I have it, I love it, it
shows my tempo.
So I'm going to be working ontempo and I think that's going
to make the biggest differencefor me in my events.
Speaker 2 (11:41):
So, whatever your events are that you want to work
on, it could just be a reallystrong push off the wall right,
it just just push off the wallit could be one dolphin off each
wall, streamlining it could bestreamlining.
Speaker 1 (11:52):
It could be dolphining, it could be your
tempo, it could be your, yourcatch, it could be your start,
it could be streamlining um, offthe start, getting into a hole.
I know, you know, a lot ofmaster swimmers will be very
flat on their dives and so, yeah, just I think we've covered.
You know what that one is.
So that's number four.
(12:12):
Um, number five this issomething over the holidays that
I think will be really easy todo, but it just makes a huge
difference for me, um, and thatjust makes a huge difference for
me.
And that's to read or listen.
Read or listen to somethinginspirational.
And you know this is not meantto be self-serving, but it is a.
(12:34):
It's a conversation Marie and Ijust had, and the podcast right
before this is the MichelleKuvan Kupfer interview.
So listen to podcasts or booksthat inspire you.
I had, of course, weinterviewed Michelle and it was
very inspirational.
But I went back and listened tothe final finished product of
(12:56):
that podcast, which I think ispodcast 262 for us, our very
last one that we produced.
That's 262 for us, our verylast one that we produced.
And after I listened toMichelle talking about how hard
she was working and kind of herinjuries and overcoming her flip
turn, dizziness and all this.
I thought, gosh, that justinspires me to go swim.
Another book that I've beenlistening to is called the
(13:18):
Comfort Crisis and it isphenomenal.
It's a great book, michaelEaston, or is it Michael Easter?
We can put that in the shownotes, but that book also when I
listen to that, it inspires me.
So during this time it is goingto be harder to get motivated.
So find things that you canread or listen to that are going
to get you down to the, to theworkout.
Speaker 2 (13:41):
I love that and I think that's that's that's a
great thing.
Listen a little bit every day,I love it, and if you're in the
car or on an airplane, greatopportunity for uh to listen, or
if you're a reader, read.
Speaker 1 (13:52):
All right, that was number five.
Number six Maria.
Speaker 2 (13:55):
Oh, this is a great one.
This is kind of like mybirthday.
Put a meat on the calendar forJanuary and you need to do this
right now.
Go find a meat in January.
This is probably, for me, thebiggest thing to keep me
training.
If I know there's somethingcoming up early in the year that
will keep me training throughthe holidays, it's because if
you take a whole week off inDecember, it's going to just
(14:19):
crush your, your, you know your,your, your fitness and so if
you have a meet, meet that'sgoing to keep you getting up and
keep you helping you beconsistent in your training.
Speaker 1 (14:30):
Yeah, I think this probably is the most powerful
one of of all eight number sixhere, but it's just like they're
all the okay.
All the January meets areposted.
You can go to clubassistantcom,google Club Assistant, master
Swimming All the meets are there.
They're also posted on yourlocal, you know, master Swimming
(14:51):
websites, your local LMSCs.
The meets are out there forJanuary.
There are tons of them and someare short course meters, which
is, you know, a great venue todo.
Most of them are probably shortcourse yards.
But put a meet on the calendar,or put two meets on the
calendar, because you know, youknow, when there's something on
(15:12):
the calendar, you're, you'regonna, it's going to motivate
you to get down to the pool.
So, um, that is we're, we'reboth doing it.
So that's, that's, that's a,that's a really peak one.
Um, all right.
So that was your number six.
My number seven is schedule sometime to do body work.
You know that.
(15:33):
You know maybe you're watchingChristmas movies or holiday
movies or just hanging outchatting.
What's wrong with doing someserious deep stretching, working
with a massage gun, but reallytaking care of your body and the
the sitting, just sitting.
You know, when you're visiting.
Why not do like Mark and I areinto this thing called primal
(15:56):
squatting.
So when we are talkingsometimes we'll get in the
primal squat.
If you don't know what a primalsquat is, just Google it.
It's great for your lower back,for stretching.
You know your quadriceps orhamstrings.
You know massage gun.
Obviously you could get amassage if you want to do that.
But take care of your bodybecause you're you know, the
(16:17):
more you take care of your body,the less you're going to be
injured, the better you're goingto feel.
In practice, all that, all ofit comes together.
But I think taking care of ourbodies through stretching, yoga,
massaging, is important.
Speaker 2 (16:28):
Yeah, I was going to say, extend that to yoga and
massage.
That's with this.
With your consistent trainingand your streaking on whatever
it is you're doing, you're goingto need a stretch, and and and.
I love that, you know, justtake time for body work and it's
something you can do socially,you know, while you're, while
you're visiting with family.
So, okay, that's great.
(16:48):
Oh, last one.
This is this one is reallyKelly's, but swim really fast
once a week.
Speaker 1 (16:58):
You need it, Maria, but you agreed to it.
Speaker 2 (17:00):
Yeah, I agreed to it, but this is something that's
kind of consistent.
It's not just for me.
You know, most people know thatmy main sport is cycling.
This is true for any sport Like, especially those of us who
have sort of slipped into theendurance, like you know, long
and slow, because we like thefitness and we like the
(17:22):
psychological getting gettingout there and doing it fast once
a week, hard and fast once aweek.
It just it's good for you, itwakes your muscles up, it's
it'll, it'll improve everything.
And this is true for swimmingand cycling and running and any
sport that you do.
You know, bring some, bringsome bounce into it.
Speaker 1 (17:41):
Yeah, so that that is number eight.
Get really fast once a weekwhether like you know in any
sport, swim fast once a week.
And you know some.
You know obviously a lot, of, alot of uh training schedules.
Seasonal training scheduleshave kind of these big yardage
blocks over the holidays andthat's totally cool.
(18:01):
I mean, if you're, if you'reconsistent training includes
swimming a lot of yards over theholiday season, that's cool.
But you still, you still shouldswim fast once a week.
That's what we're going to tryto do, which is is really fast,
Like we're talking, you knoweight fifties on five minutes
all out, or you know 10, 25 ontwo minutes, just as fast as you
(18:25):
can go again, getting thattempo, getting that speed,
feeling what it feels like to tobe completely exhausted, mark
was.
Mark was saying to me the otherday he's like, oh gosh, I saw, I
saw you doing those hundreds onthat interval.
And he said I looked over andyou were floating on your back
just sucking air and I was likeyou know, if you can envision
(18:45):
yourself that exhausted whereyou're, just like, you cannot
even stand up in your lane, youjust have to throw your body
back, you're floating on thewater and you're just sucking
air in because you're soexhausted.
That's the type of effort we'retalking about there, so that
sounds like fun.
Yeah, I know, Maria, that'sright right up your alley you
(19:06):
love this stuff.
Well so, anyway, these are whatwe're going to do and hopefully,
you know we'll.
We'll see how they go, but it's, I think I think these are, I
think these are some powerfulthings that have, um, listeners
out there.
What are you guys doing?
You know, uh, drop us an emailor post it on Instagram.
We're going to, you know, postan Instagram.
(19:26):
That's usually where we, wherewe are and um, we so appreciate
you guys.
You know, on Thanksgiving we're, we're really grateful and
thankful for you guys being withus.
Speaker 2 (19:37):
Uh, we're going into our sixth, sixth year in 2025.
Speaker 1 (19:40):
Maria, what, what are your thoughts on our great yeah
?
Speaker 2 (19:43):
absolutely I'm, I'm and I, you know, I think,
spending some time reflecting onbeing able to swim, being able
to ride, being able to run sucha great thing to be able to, and
if you're grateful for it, thenyou're not going to give it up
easily.
Speaker 1 (20:02):
Yeah, yeah.
So all right, Maria.
Well, we will not be togetheron Thanksgiving, but I will be
with a bunch of our family whowill miss you.
Speaker 2 (20:06):
Yeah, have a wonderful time.
Speaker 1 (20:08):
Yeah, but we will see each other soon and I love you
so much.
Speaker 2 (20:12):
I love you too, kelly , take care.
Speaker 1 (20:14):
All right, bye-bye.
Speaker 2 (20:15):
Bye-bye.
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