Like anyone, I stress and get hard on myself from time to time, but it's minute compared to the pressure I used to put on myself to perform and succeed. To my kids' credit, they've probably helped me the most here: I'm more worried about what they're doing than what I'm doing!

Amanda Beard

Categorized in : Kids Stress Credit

I concentrate on preparing to swim my race and let the other swimmers think about me, not me about them.

Amanda Beard

swimming athlete motivational

Sometimes success is simply being willing to give it your all.

Amanda Beard

give-it-your-all sometimes giving

Almost religiously, I step away from everything and close my eyes and breathe deeply for a few moments. It helps solidify my focus and aligns everything in my body to take care of the task at hand - which is winning, of course.

Amanda Beard

eye winning hands

Life is all about balance: sprinting hard and fast, breathing deep and slow. Working out with my coaches, playing with my kids. Eating whole foods for fuel, enjoying a glass of wine with friends.

Amanda Beard

breathing wine kids

I don't underestimate the power of mental preparation throughout all of my training. I'm in a much better state of mind about competition.

Amanda Beard

training competition preparation

To look good in the water you have to pick the right swimsuit. I own close to 500.

Amanda Beard

swimsuits water looks

If you want me to swim fast, you have to let me enjoy my life.

Amanda Beard

enjoy swim want

I'm a firm believer in slowing down to improve my state of mind when I'm training, and yoga and meditation have been paramount to my success in this way.

Amanda Beard

yoga meditation mind

Malfunctions are inevitable. It's important to push through them during practice - versus stopping to fix and restart - so that you're prepared for one mid-competition.

Amanda Beard

competition important practice

Breaking composure, confidence, and speed in the water makes you lose the race, not the goggles that fell off your head when you dove in.

Amanda Beard

goggles race water

I have kids. Unbeknownst to them, they are quick to snap me back to reality when I start feeling the pressure of being an athlete! It's a breath of fresh air to have two people to focus on; their happiness erases all the pressures I have on myself.

Amanda Beard

athlete kids reality

People wanted to be friends with me for not the right reasons. They'd introduce me to somebody else as the Olympian or the swimmer. I didn't want to stand out. I wanted to blend in.

Amanda Beard

swimmer want people

Some people like to focus on other aspects of my life, but first and foremost I am a dedicated and top swimmer.

Amanda Beard

focus people firsts

I get scared when I approach teachers and tell them that I'll probably be able to attend only half the classes, .. I'm scared that they're going to drop me. In the fall of 2002 I signed up for five classes and had to drop three of them.

Amanda Beard

class teacher fall

In swimming, everyone calls me grandma, because I'm the oldest there. Then with my friends, I'm the youngest and I'm the baby. It's definitely bizarre.

Amanda Beard

swimming grandma baby

My performance has improved dramatically from yoga and meditation. No athlete ever dominated by sticking to one sport all the time.

Amanda Beard

yoga athlete sports

When people say that kids change your life, it's no small feat what they do. I've stressed about competition my whole life, but the minute I held my son Blaise in my arms for the first time, those stresses diminished.

Amanda Beard

stress kids son

My training centered on aerobic development, meaning I'd swim longer with less intensity during the majority of my practices. As I got older, I began more weight training, and my workouts went from long at a lower intensity to shorter and more intense.

Amanda Beard

workout practice long

Id go to swim practice, put my face in the water, and I didnt have to talk to anybody. Swimming was like my escape, but it was also like this huge prison because I felt like I had to swim up to peoples standards.

Amanda Beard

swimming practice water

I protect my skin with sunscreen and am religious about keeping my face moisturized and properly protected all day, so I also use a face lotion with SPF 30.

Amanda Beard

skins use religious