This week, many of the sport’s top up-and-comers will compete within walking distance of Tampa Bay in the 2019 ISCA TYR International Senior Cup. Featuring three Olympic Trials qualifiers and numerous hopefuls, the Sunshine State presents a season finale-style competition, open to hundreds of swimmers from around the country and beyond.

Here’s our takeaway on how to manage the growing trend of getting inked and your passion for swimming on a regular basis...

Plenty of sports have crossover when it comes to training techniques, theories, and more, but can a powerlifter’s mindset prior to lifting 500kg off of the ground apply to swimming? I think so, and I’ll explain to you why. 

Michael Phelps’ eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics in 2008 is the most iconic performance in Olympic history, arguably one that put the sport of swimming on the map for millions of people across the globe and took the sport to a completely different level. 

Four hours of cardio per day, intense drylands sessions, all with trainers and coaches watching over you making sure you’re in the best shape of your life for years and then—poof!—you’re on your own. It’s easy to let yourself slip into the post-swimming plump phase, but for those of you who want to stay in solid shape, we’ve got a few tips for you.

Officiating has been a growing topic in the sport over the past 10 years as rule changes and advancements in underwater video capabilities have continued. Being disqualified as a kid in a summer league meet is one of the most soul-crushing things a young swimmer can face, but we’re not here to talk about the summer league days… We’re here to talk about the fastest one percent of the sport.

For a long time I’ve wondered why one specific event is not contested at the Olympic Games, or at the international level in general. I’m not a huge fan of comparing swimming events to track events, because I don’t believe they perfectly overlap, but in this case I just cant ignore it. 

If you haven’t realized it by now, swimmers are some of the nerdiest athletes in the world of sports. From the sets we do, the counting, the times we go, etc., etc., there’s a lot that goes into becoming a high-level swimmer, and a good portion of it comes down to being just plain nerdy. We’re going to break down the nerdiness of our sport into three categories, counting, data and more data.

What to know before the 2019 Big Ten Men's Swimming & Diving Championship