Courtney- I just stumbled on this article in Triathlete Mag that shed some light on your question, especially this part.<br><br><a href="http://www.triathletemag.com/Departments/Training/2007/Can_you_learn_talent__or_do_you_take_the_same_stroke_100_000_times_.htm" target="_blank">http://www.triathletemag.com/Departm...000_times_.htm</a><br><br><i>Average performers tend to feel they’re getting the job done if they simply grind out long sets of freestyle repeats. But too often that just means the same freestyle stroke imprinted thousands of times. Expert performers tirelessly experiment or refine with every drive, swing or stroke. They set specific goals, tirelessly self-check, stay in the moment and never become complacent. Tiger Woods scrutinizes videos or snapshots of his swing, analyzes each part, then drills subtle tweaks until they’re automated responses. Further, his swing is never good enough. Even when he was already winning more than anyone else, he took it apart, endured a year of adjustment (and – for him – mediocre results) then emerged more dominant than ever.<br><br>
While average swimmers focus mainly on recording a certain yardage figure, satisfied to repeat the same unimproved stroke over and over, Alexandre Popov, the world’s fastest swimmer for an astonishing 11 years, constantly tinkered and polished. When asked why Popov sometimes trained six hours a day for races that lasted less than 50 seconds, his coach, Gennady Touretski said, “More opportunities to imprint correct technique.”<br><br>
The most relevant message in all of this for adult athletes is that we should tackle new challenges -- especially those we thought required talents we’re not sure we possess. Swimming is unique among all sports in the opportunity it offers to compensate for physical ordinariness with superior mindfulness. Moving a human body through water requires so many subtle skills that the combination of time and clear focus can add more to your mastery than whatever age may subtract from your physical capacity.<br></i>
