Training With Intent: Why Purpose Matters in the Water

One of the biggest mistakes swimmers make — from age group to elite — is thinking that more automatically means better. More yards, more laps, more time in the pool. The problem? More yardage without intent just teaches your body to go slow, get sloppy, and survive the set instead of adapt to it.

Champions don’t train to survive training.They train to create specific adaptations.

What Training With Intent Actually Means

Training with intent means every rep, every kick, every pull, and every streamline has a reason behind it.

• What are you trying to get out of this set?

• Are you working speed, power, technique, tempo, distance per stroke, or race-specific execution?

• What’s the goal today — not just in general?

When swimmers know why they’re doing something, the how becomes sharper:

• Body position cleans up.

• Turns are tighter.

• Underwaters become purposeful.

• Tempo becomes controlled and repeatable.

Intent creates adaptation, not fatigue.

The Problem With “BS Yardage”

We all know the classic grind set:

“Just get the laps done.”

That mindset is what leads to:

• Lazy stroke mechanics

• No improvement in speed

• Chronic fatigue without performance gain

• Mindless swimming

You end up training your body to move at the pace you swam most of the yardage at — and guess what?

Most of that yardage is slow.

So when race day comes, your body only knows how to survive effort, not produce speed under demand.

Speed and Power Require Overload — Not Distance

If you want to be faster, you have to:

• Apply force against the water

• Maintain line and leverage

• Increase tempo without losing shape

• Learn how to access power repeatedly

Training With Intent Means Training for the Demands of Racing

This is where resistance-based training—done correctly—becomes a game changer. Tools that increase resistance allow swimmers to feel pressure, engage correct muscles, and reinforce ideal biomechanics at real racing speeds.

The Destro Machines, for example, allow swimmers to train at race tempo with resistance—forced specificity. This is training with purpose. It’s real feedback. It’s repetition with a reason. It eliminates pointless laps and replaces them with meaningful, measurable, physiologically relevant work.

A Destro Machine allow you to apply the principle of overload in the exact movement pattern you race with. Instead of building power in the weight room and hoping it transfers, Destro lets you feel resistance in your catch and pull, so your stroke gets stronger in the pool, under race tempo conditions. This is how real power and speed are developed — specific, progressive, and intentional.

If you are looking for an individual tower or a team discount, contact me at swimcoachjoao@gmail.com and I can help you!

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Want to Learn How to Swim More Efficiently?

I offer private swim lessons designed for all levels — from beginners learning the fundamentals to Olympic-level athletes fine-tuning the smallest details in Oceanside, CA.

Every swimmer has a unique stroke, body type, and goal. That’s why every lesson is tailored individually — whether we’re rebuilding your freestyle from the ground up or optimizing your stroke for speed and efficiency.

📍 Book your session today emailing me at swimcoachjoao@gmail.com and start swimming faster, smoother, and smarter!