Seal The Hatches First!

by Coach Mat | 17 Mar, 2011

I could kick myself… I have this great Sanyo Xacti underwater camera. Last night I was getting ready to jump in the pool with some close friends, the wife and 10 yr old daughter who’s on a swim club, who wanted an introduction to TI. I brought my camera...

I Love Cool Pools

by Coach Mat | 13 Mar, 2011

I can’t complain that the pool we were giving our Portland OR workshop in was a bit cool for the level 1.0 drills we were working on today. 27 C is perfect for swimming laps, but for our short drills today it was giving us all the chills. A few laps however...

Coaching in Portland Oregon USA

by Coach Mat | 13 Mar, 2011

I am back in the Pacific Northwest USA for 3 weeks. I have been joined by TI coaches Shane Eversfield and Ryan Chapman to lead TI 1.0 and 2.0 workshops this weekend at Allstar Fitness in Portland, Oregon. We had two students today, and with such a small group we could...

Swimming With Yeast

by Coach Mat | 22 Feb, 2011

Well, not exactly swimming WITH yeast, but swimming while candida yeast is infesting the internal systems of my body. Yuk. I bet it started back in 2002 when we traveled to Africa the second and final time on the adoption adventure for our twin daughters. The first...

Louganis Got Me Started

by Coach Mat | 21 Feb, 2011

It was the summer of 1988. I was an active, but small, skinny 15-year-old high school boy without a sport I felt a passion for. Greg Louganis was a highlight of the Olympics that year, so I was naturally drawn to watch him during that famous 5 Gold Medal summer of...

Training Strategy Simplified

by Coach Mat | 10 Feb, 2011

I swam 3750m at Akdeniz Univ pool. It was 30.5 C. I started at 10:00. 10x 50m gentle check-in warm-up 3x this set: with open-turns 100m fist 150m   hold per 25- 15, 16, 17, 17, 16, 15 SPL 250m   hold per 50- 15, 16, 17, 16, 15 SPL 500m  hold per 100- 15, 16, 17, 16,...

Pursue Speed Intelligently

by Coach Mat | 8 Feb, 2011

I swam 3500m today at Akdeniz Univ pool. The water was 29.5 C. Started at 9:15. 10x 50m check-in and warm up 6x this cycle with Tempo Trainer, starting on 1.18 and descend -.01 sec per cycle 50m fist 50m, hold 16 SPL 50m fist 100m, hold 16 SPL 50m fist 150m, hold 16...

Building Gears Into My Stroke

by Coach Mat | 3 Feb, 2011

I swam 3750m today at Akdeniz Univ pool. The water was 30.8 C. I started at 9:00. 10x 50m gentle, check-in warm-up Then 3x these sets: 6x 75m – hold SPL 15, 16, 17 per 25’s w/ 4-breath rest between 50m fist ez 3x 150m – hold SPL 15, 16, 17, 17, 16,...

Improving ‘Endurance-Of-Focus”

by Coach Mat | 1 Feb, 2011

I swam 3750m at the Akdeniz University pool. The water was 30 C. Started at 9:00. 10x 50m gentle, ‘check-in’ warm-up 2x this set: 100 fist, 16x 25m FR 100 fist, 8x 50m FR 100 fist, 4x 100m FR Objective was to hold best SPL with fullest catch. Take 4 to 5...

Slow Work Produces Full Catch

by Coach Mat | 29 Jan, 2011

I swam 3250m at the Akdeniz University pool. The water was 31 C. Started at 10:50. 10x 50m gentle, ‘check-in’ warm-up 5x this set: 50 fist, 50 full-hand 50 fist, 100m full-hand 50 fist, 150m full-hand The objective was to maximize the catch, while holding...