Denise Prado Shares Training Routine and Open Water Races
The swim coach explains why instructors must keep swimming and looks back on tackling the 16 km Biza relay.
Denise Prado shares her Tuesday-to-Friday swimming routine and advocates for continuous practice among aquatic educators. The coach also recalls her last-minute participation in the 16 km Biza relay challenge.
Training regularly and experiencing the physical demands of the pool firsthand is an essential part of an instructor's job. For Denise Prado, maintaining her own routine in the water goes beyond physical well-being: it serves as an indispensable pedagogical tool to truly grasp what is asked of students with every stroke.
The importance of experiencing effort in the water
Denise maintains her training sessions from Tuesday to Friday, starting at 6:30 a.m., reserving weekends for recovery. According to the coach, being in the water helps calibrate expectations. When assigning a complex drill, such as breaststroke arm mechanics or a flip turn, instructors need to feel the true level of difficulty so they do not skip essential steps in teaching children and adults.
From pool lanes to open water crossings
In competitions and open water crossings, Denise sets a clear boundary for her comfort zone: races up to 3 km. Longer distances require a training volume that conflicts with the routine of standing poolside all day coaching. However, exceptions happen when unexpected challenges arise.
One such moment was her participation in the 16 km do Biza relay on January 25. The invitation came from swimmer Fernando Mutarelli right after Denise returned from a 40-day vacation without training. Called up on Friday to replace an injured athlete on Sunday, she rescheduled medical appointments and took on the race in 30-minute swimming shifts. Despite her aversion to cold water and lack of recent conditioning, the experience surpassed initial doubts and reaffirmed the strength of her open water background.