Athletes face many challenges that the average professional does not face. The life of a professional athlete is a very atypical one that most people could not manage. The challenges and hardships that an athlete encounters are the kind that most of us would be far too overwhelmed by to face. The work can be back breaking and demanding, resulting in injuries and exhaustion. The pressure and expectations that are applied to athletes can be brutal, breaking them down to nothing when they do not perform well. Many athletes are pushed so hard that they do not have a proper stress release and go off the rails. Being a professional athlete is not for the faint of heart.

The work that athletes put forward is incredibly taxing. Training can drain every last drop of energy and stamina out of an athlete, leaving them ragged and depleted. The training scheduled by coaches and managers can take up sixty hours of a week, pushing the athlete close to illness for how physically demanding it is. The toll that this kind of work takes on the body and the brain over time is very heavy.

Injuries are a very real possibility to professional athletes. Every athlete lives with the understanding that serious injuries can happen unexpectedly and can be life changing. In fact, as many as a quarter of professional athletes are forced to retire due to injuries; either traumatic injuries or ones that developed slowly through repetition.

Another immense difficulty that athletes face is the weight of pressure and expectations. These may be applied by managers, coaches, fans, family, peers, an athlete’s competition or the athlete themselves. Regardless of where it originates, with all eyes on the athlete, the burden to carry can become overbearing.

The only way of coping with these challenges is by having a stress release, but in actuality, many athletes have no such thing in their lives. The schedules enforced on them and the demands placed on them do not allow for any kind of stress release, which can lead to severe mental health problems for athletes.

Athletes lead extraordinary lives that many people follow with admiration. Athletes are some of our favorites role models and heroes as children and adults. Whether they are taking home Olympic medals or scoring touchdowns in Super Bowl games, they no doubt have a huge fan following. We admire athletes as much as we do because they represent a life of living out one’s dreams, total dedication and focus, and best of all glory. We all imagine what our lives would have been like if we achieved the glory of a famous athlete.

People of Western cultures have a love affair with living out one’s dreams. The realization of our dreams is of high value to us, more so than in other areas of the world. Living out our dreams means we are the masters of our own destinies and that we are free to pursue that which is of the most value to us. The career of professional athletes is a fiercely competitive one and we are aware that those who have made it as professional athletes are most certainly living out their dreams, which they had to fight vigorously to do. This is part of the reason we have undying admiration for them.

Another reason we esteem athletes so highly is because of how they dedicate themselves completely to their professions – another high value of Western culture. We understand the value of professional focus and dedication thoroughly as a competitive, major world power. We have as much incentive as any nation or region to be the best, and though there are those among us who do not value hard work and dedication, the majority of us esteem it very highly. Our athletes model this value in the dedication they have to their sport.

And lastly, every culture idolizes those who come into glory, who have all eyes on them as they achieve victory. Our athletes do this at a celebrity level, winning competitions and taking home trophies in front of tens of thousands of people live, and many millions watching them through television. We love success stories, recognition of talent and personal glory, which is epitomized through professional sportsmanship.

Being a professional swimmer comes with a great deal of reward. The lifestyle is healthy and athletic, the time in the water is enjoyable and competitive and the glory of a won competition is addictive. However, professional swimming does not warrant award and achievement all the time. It comes with its drawbacks as well. There are certain hardships that professional swimmers face that are particular to their lifestyles and the demands that fall upon them. There are very high pressures that fall upon them, they struggle with reoccurring health issues and many of them struggle with a substance abuse. Professional swimmers are remarkable people, but people who struggle with particular issues none-the-less.

The performance pressures that professional swimmers face can be tremendous. Like all athletes, their livelihood depends on their ongoing ability to out perform the competition. Year after year, they push themselves to achieve above and beyond what was previously their personal best. However, everyone comes upon the limits of their personal best at some point and are forced to think about what to do when others surpass their personal best. These thoughts prove to be very stressful for some competitive swimmers. For many of them, all they know is swimming, and the stress of not knowing what to do once they are no longer competitive at swimming can push some professional swimmers into a negative mental state.

The pressure that is placed on professional swimmers to out perform themselves and everyone else can lead to substance abuse problems among many professional swimmers. Many people are unaware that professional swimmers are a particular demographic that struggles with substance abuse problems, but studies do indicate that professional swimmers are particularly vulnerable to this hardship. This may be in the form of performance enhancing drugs that alter the outcome of their swim competitions, or it may be in the form of substances that are used as a coping mechanism for stress and anxiety. Regardless, addiction and substance abuse in professional swimmers is a very serious matter and requires professional intervention. If you or someone you know is a professional swimmer who struggles with substance abuse or addiction, seek professional treatment right away.

Professional swimmers struggle through a great many trials in their careers. Professional swimming is fraught with health issues, performance pressures and opportunities to abuse substances, but professional swimmers love what they do so much that they push through these trials. For them, the reward is the only thing they see. Their eyes are on the prize, so to speak. Professional swimming can offer widespread acclaim, the opportunity to compete and titles and medals that signify glory. Competitive swimming is challenging, but for some, the rewards far exceed the hardships.

Being able to compete in a swimming match is a thrill that some people live for. Some professional swimmers love to be in the water, but the element of thrill is introduced when the sound of the shotgun firing indicates that a match has begun. Competition is one of the driving forces for many professional swimmers, and professional athletes in general. Some of them claim that they cannot reach their full potential unless they know they are in competition with other athletes for the same title. Competition is a major attraction to swimming for professional athletes.

For those who have given everything they have to becoming the strongest swimmer possible and have managed to beat out the competition, the reward is the recognition of being the best. Professional swimmers, such as those competing in the Olympic ceremonies, are recognized and accredited by the level of swimming achievement they attain. Swimmers are often recognized by gold, silver and bronze medals, and are given titles ranking them as first, second and third best competitors in whatever rank their competition presides over. The Olympics obviously honor the best athlete in the world, and the competitions get smaller from there.

The acclaim that comes with the award and title that professional swimmers compete for is enormous. Professional swimmers will be asked to endorse products, appear in commercials and even make celebrity appearances in the media because of the recognition they achieve. These gestures are frequently ways that professional swimmers supplement their income, but to them, the glory of being titled the best at what they do is where the pride comes from. Fame is not what an athlete pursues, but recognition as the best is.

Swimming is a hobby many of us take up when we are young, and many of us carry it on into our adulthood. For most people, swimming is a fun, therapeutic activity, but for professional swimmers, it is life. Professional swimmers cannot afford to be carefree about the time they spend in the water. The level of dedication that swimming requires in order to be one of the best is more than most people can handle. It calls for a grueling schedule, rigorous discipline and incredible time and energy devoted to practice.

A professional swimmer’s schedule revolves around their time in the water. The amount of time they spend in the water is considerable, but even when they are not swimming, the rest of their day revolves around their swimming. Meal times need to be planned around their time in the water. Additional exercise outside of the pool is designed to benefit time in the pool. Other unique considerations are made, such as setting a schedule for when to shave body hair. Body hair is grown out during practice then shaved before a competition to create less resistance of movement in the water.

The discipline it takes to be a professional swimmer is remarkable. Professional swimmers deny themselves foods, free time and less strenuous activities, opting instead for diet foods, as well as constant hard work and dedicated practice. Swim coaches are known to be some of the most strict professional athlete coaches, however, professional swimmers are already well aware of the level of discipline they need to put forward in order to be competitive. Their drive and determination is very intense.

The energy that a professional swimmer puts into their performance is seemingly never ending. Professional swimmers practice their sport racing against a clock and attempt to beat their own times as well as the record times they are attempting to break. All swimming competitions come down to time measurements, which means that professional swimmers put every ounce of energy they have into improving their speed. They push themselves to extreme exhaustion in order to out do time marks.

Being a professional swimmer is a unique calling. Those who make a career for themselves in professional swimming were usually drawn to the water at an early age, and have spent a lifetime honing their aquatic skills. Professional swimming has a great many rewards and an equal number of hardships, like all athletic professions, and those who compete are driven to pursue the lifestyle that professional swimming demands. Pro swimmers can expect a lifetime of dedication, glory and hardships to come their way.

Professional swimmers have a remarkable amount of dedication to their sport. The practice and competition schedule can be gruelling, with training and meets back to back, several times a day. The practice involves speed training, technique in the water and diving practice. Professional swimmers even regulate the amount of body hair they have to give them less resistence in the water. The level of dedication expected in order to remain competitive is very high.

The inspiration for the dedication to the sport is the glory of being acknowledged as the best. Professional swimmers, on average, do not make impressive salaries unless they gain some level of celebrity and endorsements. The glory is the key motivating factor. Achieving medals, awards and athletic acclaim in swim competitions is what every professional swimmer strives for when they are in the water.

However, a lifetime of professional swimming certainly comes with its challenges as well. The pressure to perform well from coaches and sponsors can overwhelm any professional athlete. Stress and anxiety is very common in the world of professional sports, and it is very common for athletes to try to self-medicate with illegal drugs, prescription drugs or alcohol. Addiction and substance abuse problems are not unlikely among professional swimmers. They also frequently face health problems, such as swimmers ear, and can come away from their professional run with damaged ear drums and hearing loss. Devoting one’s self to professional swimming is not for the faint of heart.