by Coach Mat | 9 Nov, 2019
This is an addendum to the post The Tension Behind Relaxation… Some Examples Of Tension And Relaxation In Freestyle There could be hundreds of focal points for building appropriate tension and relaxation throughout the stroke – far too many to discuss in a...
by Coach Mat | 9 Nov, 2019
Understanding Relaxation In Context Often, I hear a swimmer describe how eager they are to find that wonderful relaxation in the stroke that Coach Terry described. For some, adding more relaxation will bring a great breakthrough. However, for others, it could be a...
by Coach Mat | 9 Feb, 2019
For long distance events you need to be strong in terms of muscle endurance. Your body needs to be capable of working at moderate effort level for a long time. For sprint events you need to be strong in terms of muscle power. Your body needs to be capable of...
by Coach Mat | 3 Dec, 2016
A couple weeks ago I participated in a Chi Running workshop led by Master Coach Alice Diffely in Portland, Oregon USA. To prepare for the workshop I was reviewing some chapters in the Chi Running book to refresh my memory of the principles, drills and focal points. I...
by Coach Mat | 12 Dec, 2015
Sometimes it seems like we have a paradox with relaxation in swimming – a dissonance between the understanding that speed requires power and power requires muscle tension, yet speed is restricted unless there is relaxation in the muscles. In Easy Strength the...
by Coach Mat | 28 Mar, 2015
In response to the recent essay Stroke Length Loyalty (and the subsequent essay Intro to Pace Combinations) I’ve entered into an enjoyable email discussion with a retired engineer about judging efficiency of the stroke. He has been asking how we know when a...
