Mental | Mediterra Swim & Run

So Much More Than Swimming At Camp

by Coach Mat | 19 Oct, 2019

If you have been to one of our swim camps before, you may recall that we tend to wander onto topics that go way beyond swimming itself, when interest and opportunity presents itself among our students. We like to think about and work on: mindfulness body awareness...

The Hardships We Face

by Coach Mat | 3 Aug, 2019

I both run and swim year round. In the last year or so I’ve put a lot more emphasis on running, and felt the corresponding motivation for that activity. Back in April, after a week off from illness, I irritated my achilles tendon on the first (allegedly...

The Limitations Of Your Watch

by Coach Mat | 19 Jan, 2019

In order to plan the next cycle of practices for a swimmer working towards a particular performance goal, I need to see various kinds of data from both their objective measurements and their subjective measurements. We are, after all, training the whole person to...

Spend One Kind Of Energy For Another

by Coach Mat | 15 Jul, 2018

Do you know what its like to spend energy of one kind in order to gain energy of another kind? That’s what it usually feels like for me when I go swim. It doesn’t have to be ‘easy’ swimming either. Most often I train quite strenuously,...

Checklist For Staying Ahead Of Depression

by Coach Mat | 5 May, 2018

I realize there are many forms of depression, and each may have a mixture of roots in biology, psychology and sociology. One may not easily parse out the roots, but if we do certain things to care for our body and mind and connection to others, then we stand a much...

The Habit Of Exercise – Part 4

by Coach Mat | 18 Apr, 2018

This post is Part 4, the last of a 4-part series on The Habit Of Exercise. A cheat-sheet and stripped-down version of what I’ve done to develop a robust habit is provided at the bottom. Keep It Skill-Oriented Activities that don’t require much...