This mental training book will help you build a high-performance mindset

Happy Tuesday!

As you can tell by the subject line, today’s email is a chlorinated SELLY SELL.

If you want to learn more about how Conquer the Pool will help you develop a high-performance mindset that donkey-kicks personal best times, read on.

If not, hit the back button and we will resume our usual motivational goodness on Sunday.

On to the good stuff…

A high-performance mindset is the missing piece of your training

Swimmers work hard in the pool.

All those early mornings, the quiet rides to the pool, the long staring contests with the black line.

But the reality is that physical training isn’t enough to consistently perform at a high level.

After all…

Tons of swimmers work hard in training but can’t put it together under pressure.

(I have an inbox overflowing with emails from these swimmers and parents to prove it.)

The missing part of their preparation isn’t more meters, lifting more weights, or even eating better between workouts.

It’s unlocking the full power of their mindset.

The mental game is the difference between the swimmer who works hard and EXCELS in competition…

And the swimmer who works hard, but cracks under pressure like a kick board that has been left out in the sun.

A high-performance mindset is an (almost) unfair competitive advantage

Swimmers and coaches KNOW how critical the mental part of preparation is, and yet, why do so many of them prefer to leave things to chance?

The short answer is that most swimmers believe their default mindset is just that—the default.

Hard-wired and “fixed.”

The way they focus, how they use pre-race nerves, how confident they are on a day-to-day basis in training…

It’s just the way it is and I can’t change.

But your mindset is something you can train.

Just like your technique.

Just like your start.

Just like your different energy systems.

Your mindset, the collection of skills you bring with you to the pool each day, is something that can be developed, strengthened, improved.

Stop believing that a better mindset is an accident.

Stop wishing for a tougher mindset to fall out of your mesh bag.

And stop believing that working a mindset is impossible.

Conquer the Pool: A blueprint for unlocking a high-performance mindset

I started writing this book back in 2017 with one swimmer in mind…

The age grouper version of myself.

As an age grouper and collegiate swimmer, I rode the motivational roller coaster that came with having a foggy understanding of how my mindset worked best…

• I would be on top of the world when I had a great practice, but down in the dumps for days when a main set didn’t go my way.
• I obsessed over results and outcomes, getting stressed and anxious at something that was months away, costing me valuable focus and effort “in the moment.”
• I tried mental skills, from visualization to self-talk, but not in an organized or sustained way, which made me think those skills were ineffective or hokey.

Because my mindset was disorganized and murky, I had a hard time being consistent with my training and racing.

Which was more frustrating than swimming a 1,500m freestyle and then finding out you got disqualified for false starting.

12-year old Olivier would have loved this book.

And I know you will too.

Here’s how Conquer the Pool will help you get to the next level with your swimming.

The book is broken down into three parts:

Goals, Practice, Competition.

Part 1: High-performance goal setting made simple

Having big goals is a big first step to success in the water.

But EVERYONE has big goals.

Ambition is easy.

Everyone would love to go faster than ever, smash personal best times, win gold at state, qualify for the Olympic team, and so on.

The book includes proven and actionable goal setting techniques, tips and tricks that you can apply to YOUR goals, no matter how ambitious or silly they might be to the people around you.

Including:

• Goal setting exercises to help you get to the bottom of what you want from yourself in the water
• A journaling exercise that brings your goals to life and gives you a clear idea of the adversity and struggles ahead
• The importance of having ridiculous goals (that are also realistic)
• Why low expectations are not a way to relieve the pressure and stress from your big goals
• A step-by-step blueprint for BUILDING the performance of your dreams

Having big goals is awesome…

But having the skills to bring those goals to life is something else entirely.

Part 2: Unlocking high-grade swim practices more consistently

The performance you bring to the pool on race day is built in training.

There’s no getting around this fact.

The test sets. The main sets. The butterfly-but-I-am-a-backstroker sets.

But how much thought do you give to the mindset that you have in training?

Do you walk onto the pool deck with a clear and determined focus on what you want to improve? Do you have the tools to persevere during moments of difficulty and doubt?

Or are you like most swimmers…

Going through the motions, swimming through the workout, and then surprised to find that the elite performance you want for yourself isn’t there?

Conquer the Pool gives you a comprehensive set of tools to straight-up dominate your swim practices.

Including:

• Why you need to start adopting a process-based mindset TODAY
• How to build a custom process that gives you concrete, specific and controllable things to work on each day
• A quick and proven visualization technique you can start using at your very next practice for faster swimming
• A full set of self-talk tools to get you from “I can’t” to “holy cow I am doing it”
• What kind of self-talk to use, and when to use it
• Learning the truth behind dealing with discomfort during hard sets (and what you can do to push through)
• How to use your incredible powers of focus for high-grade effort in training
• The big myth of motivation, and how you have been approaching getting motivated to train hard is backwards
• How to decrease the uncertainty and doubt about your goals and results and learn to stay “in the moment”
• Why being focused and present helps your practices go by faster (and helps you improve faster in the process)

And a whole lot more. No more going through the motions. No more wasted meters. Just straight-up excellence.

Part 3: The racing mindset

For most swimmers, this is the section that they skip to right away.

They have been doing the work in training, but they want to solve the Rubik’s cube of why the times on the scoreboard don’t reflect what they are doing in training.

In Conquer the Pool, swimmers are given a toolbox so that they can get under the hood and get a proper understanding of what drives their best performances.

You will learn things like:

• What YOU need to perform your best every time you step up on the blocks
• The truth about pre-race nerves, and why they aren’t so scary
• How to make the process of racing a more enjoyable one (and not scary or so pressure-filled that it becomes miserable)
• How to build a pre-race routine that puts fast swimming on auto-pilot
• Tips for getting yourself fired up for those sessions and meets where it “doesn’t matter”
• How to build a blueprint for race day success, EVERY TIME.

And much, much more.

“But will it work for me?”

Here are some of the more common questions I get about the book from swimmers and parents.

How much time do I need to spend reading and working on this book?

The book can be read in a couple hours.

My suggestion?

Spend ten minutes a day working on it and give yourself 24-hours between readings to let the stuff sink in.

(And maybe add 5 minutes per day to do the worksheets and exercises that accompany the reading.)

I’ve tried mental training before and it didn’t work.

This book is fully grounded in research and science. And it is presented and organized in the way that swimmers think.

The material has worked for thousands of swimmers across the globe, including Olympic gold medalists, NCAA champions, Masters champions, age group swimmers, and countless others.

Read the book, try some of the worksheets, and the book will help you swim faster than ever.

Where can I learn more about the book?

You can learn more about the book here.

There is information on team orders (we can do team and group orders with a discount of 25% and also add your club logo to the cover of the book).

Reviews from some of the top swim coaches and swimmers on the planet.

(Here is one from Olympic gold medalist Cody Miller: “This book is really, really beneficial for swimmers looking to elevate their game.”)

And everything you need to order a copy for yourself (or for someone else as a gift this holiday season).

If you have any questions about the book, feel free to hit reply and I will do my best to answer.

Here is the link to check out the book one more time.

See you in the water,

Olivier