How thinking holistically about swimming can enrich your experience
I’ve long believed that swimming outdoors supports my pool swimming. I’m convinced that training backstroke or butterfly – and even breaststroke – helps me swim faster front crawl. Working on endurance has boosted my sprint speed.
This interconnectedness between different types of swimming and their cross-over benefits led me to create the Renaissance Swimmer project. The fundamental idea is that a Renaissance Swimmer is someone who enjoys a wide range of swimming activities, as Renaissance women and men combined art, science and engineering.
But as I explored, I discovered more.
For example, Renaissance scholars revived the ideas of humanism from Classical Greece and Rome. These included a belief in a holistic approach to improvement and the interconnectedness of disciplines, which I’d already experienced in my swimming. Beyond this, humanism values focus, resilience, learning and reflection.
Interestingly, swimming also embodies circularity (another Renaissance concept): applying humanist values boosts your swimming, while swimming itself nurtures those traits.
How to apply Renaissance humanism to your swimming
- Try something new
Experiment boldly. If you’re a pool swimmer, try open water. If you predominantly swim one stroke, try doing more of the others. Mix steady endurance swims with explosive sprints.
Then, observe and reflect. How does trying new things deepen your understanding of swimming and yourself?
- Pursue balance in your swimming
Alternate between swims that challenge and restore. Push boundaries with hard training sessions, then find calm in tranquil open-water dips. This balance is important not only for physical fitness but also for your mental and emotional well-being.
- Accept swimming’s gifts
Swimming cultivates essential and transferable skills such as resilience, patience and determination. It helps you develop a Renaissance growth mindset.
For example, when you struggle to complete a swim, you learn that you can push on when things get tough. When you master a new skill, you prove to yourself that you can change.
These skills are precious gifts. Use them.
If these ideas capture your imagination, sign up for the Renaissance Swimmer project to explore them further.