How I keep fit

How I keep fit

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By SETH VICEF CULMINAS SOMOZA


How did you decide to focus on swimming as a sport? What inspired u?

I remember my parents recounting to their friends that I started swimming at age four, and that my first crack at competitive swimming was at the age of seven, in the school year after I joined the Milo Summer Swimming Clinic at the Teves Memorial Pool.

They said I was adjudged as Most Outstanding Novice Swimmer during the Clinic.

My parents would also tell me that when I was a baby or growing up and maybe throwing a tantrum, the only thing that would calm me down was when they would put me on the water in a basin or on the tub.

Swimming now would seem the natural choice for me since I apparently loved the water even as a baby. And as I was growing up, the opportunities to get to swim in the pool, or play in the river, or at sea every single day was just too tempting to resist.

My inspiration for this sport is mainly driven by my desire to make my loved ones (my parents and my grandparents) proud of me. Second, I also get inspiration from the thought of someday competing against (and who knows, beating) my swimming idols. My third inspiration for me to excell in swimming is the possibility of earning an athletic scholarship in college, so that I can help my parents defray expenses for a university degree.

What do you do to be good in your sport? How did you achieve this level?
I do training, training again, and more training. In swimming, one needs to be consistent in training. The strokes, techniques might sometimes become routine for most of us but what separates us from each other is the number of hours one invests training on the water. To achieve this level, I always remind myself to always listen to my coaches. I choose to make some sacrifices for this sport like not sleeping-in, how I spend my weekends, and avoiding the food(s) I love to indulge in.

I have competed in the Palarong Pambansa, Batang Pinoy Nationals, Regionals, and in some Invitation/ local swim meets.

The most recent competition I joined this year was the Thanyapura Swim Meet in Phuket,Thailand, together with my cousins Pauline and JM Alvarico. We competed for the Philippine Unified Team. We did good, getting our fair share of medals.

I would say the sacrifices I have made thus far have paid off.

What is your training day like?
A typical training day during weekdays starts after my classes at 5:00 pm and ends at about 7:30 in the evening. On weekends, I train starting at 2:00 in the afternoon until 5:00 pm.

As competition approaches, my team mates and I sometimes practice twice a day on weekends, like for three hours from dawn at 5:00 until 8:00 in the morning; then again from 3:00 in the afternoon until 6:00 in the evening.

How do you relax after a hard training day or after a competition?

I play online games with friends, chat with friends, listen to good music, spend quality time with my Mom and Dad, play the guitar, and of course, and most especially, I always catch up on my sleep, sleep again, and more sleep.

What favorite/popular foods have you had to give up as part of your healthy diet? What foods are athletes like you encouraged to eat?
Not really that they are my favorite foods, but the popular snacks that we are urged not to have are sodas which have very high sugar content, and junkfoods that are high in sodium.

We are advised to minimize and go slow on sweets (cakes, ice cream, chocolates) and fatty/oily food like fried stuff.

We are encouraged to eat food that are high in protein, high in carbs for energy, and of course, our share of green leafy vegetables (no choice!).

Our recommended diet greatly depends on the timeframe towards the competition. We usually load up on carbs (wheat, pasta, etc.) as competition approaches.

What non-pool-related exercises do you do to help you improve in your swimming skills?
Land drills is an essential part of our training, including jogging, a lot of sit-ups, and stretching.

This summer, I played a lot of basketball with friends.

How do you balance between academics and sports? Do you think it’s a good mix?

As a rule, my parents always remind me that I am a Student-Athlete. They tell me that the only way I can continue do competitive swimming with the team is by keeping my grades high.

I surely consider this a good mix since it provides me with a point of focus. As a student, it gives me a reason for why I must also excel in sports.

I actually consider my fellow student-athletes as special because of the physical and mental sacrifice each and every one of us has to go through to be good in both aspects.

Instead of simply going home and play with friends after school, student-athletes would still need to go the pool, or the gym, or the track to train.

And then at the end of the day when we reach home physically spent and just exhausted, we still have our homework to do, and quizzes and exams to study for the next day. And like most of us normal children, we also have some chores to do to help our parents in our respective homes, like for some, feeding the dogs or doing our turn with the dishes.

These might be categorized as sacrifice but yes, it’s what I want to do to achieve my dreams.

What life lessons has swimming taught you thus far?
Swimming has taught me self-control and discipline in choosing what is good and bad for me.

It has taught me to persevere whenever I feel like giving up.

It has also taught me integrity, like doing the right thing even when no one is looking.

How has this sport improved you as a kid?
I used to be a fat kid back then — which took away a lot of my confidence since I was being bullied.

As years went by, swimming not only developed my physique giving me stamina and strength, but it also made me into a better person and a more conscientious student in school.

The times that my team mates and I brought honor to our school, the City, or the Central Visayas region have been our most humble contribution in our own capacities, but were some of my proudest moments thus far.

And with fellow student-athletes as friends, I think I am just privileged to be able to hang out with them, do quality bonding even during hard training sessions, and share this passion.

What would you tell kids your age about developing a love for a sport?
Having a sport is never easy. You need to hold so much responsibility in balancing it with your studies. Give your studies a bit more time than the sport, probably 40 percent sport, and 60 percent studies. Because I believe that in this stage in our lives, studies is more important as we can’t compete with failing grades.

Love your sport. Put something in your sport that will make you excited about it, even just upon entering the training ground.

Find a hero in your sport, and make him an inspiration for you to beat someday.

It is normal for athletes to feel like giving up. I mean, I’ve been through those times BUT NEVER EVER; give in.

Keep striving, perseverance is key! Always pray and dedicate your game and competitions to God! Ad Majorem Dei Gloriam!

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Seth Vicef Somoza is 14 years old, a Grade IX student this school year. He is an only child of Vic Anton Somoza from Zamboanga City and Iraida Culminas from Pagadian City. He takes his sports-mindedness from his dad Anton who was a soccer varsity player. Mom Iraida is content with being the doting water girl in all of Seth’s competitions.

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