Top 10 tips to help balance revision and training

As young athletes, it can be hard to strike the right balance between education and training.

Exam season can be a particularly stressful time for many Swim England members, no matter their respective aquatic discipline.

Here, Swim England’s Sport Science Sport Medicine Manager, Diane Elliot, has pulled together her top 10 tips to help manage the time spent between revising and training.

1. Start revision early

If you are starting to panic, it’s better to start planning your revision as this will reduce the stress.

2. Get your exam timetable as soon as you can

This will help you plan your revision schedule.

3. Talk to your coach

Arrange a meeting with your coach as soon as possible to discuss the exams.

Talk about what times you will need to revise and come to an agreement about your revision and training schedule.

The earlier you talk to your coach, the more they can plan your training around your revision.

4. Plan your key training sessions

Make sure you don’t miss key training sessions.

Your coach should be able to move these or set them for you a time when you can get to training so you don’t miss the key sets of the week.

5. Set a timetable and stick to it

The revision timetable should include training times, revision times and social time.

6. Have SMART revision goals

Set your goals for each revision session which are specific, measurable, achievable, realistic and time bound. This will mean you should complete a specific amount of work in each revision session.

7. Sleep

Make sure you are getting enough sleep. This will help you with your revision and make sure you are able to concentrate in the day.

8. Nutrition

Eating a good diet is key to keeping you healthy. You need to make sure your health is good during exam time.

9. Be realistic

Don’t set goals that are not achievable.

10. Find ways to manage stress

Sport is one way to relieve stress, so make sure you are managing to do some training and not stopping your sport all together.

Try relaxation techniques to get to sleep at night and deep breathing can be a good way to reduce stress.

Listening to music, social time and talking to friends will also help to reduce your stress levels.