Tempo, Stroke Rate (SR) | Mediterra Swim & Run

Some Ways To Measure Baseline Stroke Rate

by Coach Mat | 27 Mar, 2023

In the previous article – When You Go Harder But You Can’t Go Any Faster – I discussed how stroke length and stroke rate are yoked together and suggested as an initial step that you get a baseline measurement of what your current comfortable stroke...

When You Go Harder But You Can’t Go Any Faster…

by Coach Mat | 11 Mar, 2023

The traditional approach to swimming faster is to just go harder and keep at it until something breaks through. For some, that simple instruction might work. But for far too many it hasn’t. Regardless of what approach you take to developing technique or...

Take Your Training Plan To A Higher Level

by Coach Mat | 1 Feb, 2020

Just the other day one of my swimmers was describing his weekly training plan in order to get my input on it. His goal is to build up his capabilities over the next few months in order to prepare for his first Alcatraz Triathlon with a 1.5 mile swim (2.4 km), and a...

How To ‘Lift Weights’ In The Water – Part 2

by Coach Mat | 14 Dec, 2019

This is continuing from How To ‘Lift Weights’ In The Water – Part 1… The Primary Form Of Strength At this point in the essay, the main lesson for everyone is that stroke length is the foundation to speed and the better you are at achieving a...

How To ‘Lift Weights’ In The Water – Part 1

by Coach Mat | 7 Dec, 2019

If you want to swim farther and/or swim faster, you have to be both more skilled, and stronger. Some people focus on just one or the other. But you can develop both of those together if you require both in how you go about your training. I trust you are already sold...

Can You Trick Yourself Into A Longer Stroke?

by Coach Mat | 8 Jun, 2019

When you are working on improving your stroke length (stroke count) or stroke rate (tempo) there are neural tricks you can perform to get your body to make a fairly quick improvement in a single practice. But, in many cases, those improvements hold up for only a few...