Practice Design | Mediterra Swim & Run

Comfort Needs Discomfort

by Coach Mat | 21 Aug, 2016

Here is a challenging statement to ponder: You cannot secure your comfort by avoiding discomfort. You have to enter and work within a zone of discomfort in order to learn how to be comfortable in it. Before we get into that, let’s point out that there is a...

Self-Limiting Practice Sets

by Coach Mat | 16 Aug, 2016

I want to keep confronting the false notion that fitness training and technical training are two separate activities in the pool. Fitness and Technique are truly inseparable, and should be regarded as such in every practice activity. All repetitive movement is...

Time For Auto-Pilot

by Coach Mat | 23 Jul, 2016

I am continuing some more with thoughts related to the previous post Thinking Or Feeling? If you already agree that mindful practice, deep concentration on feeling with the nervous system is a good way to ensure quality during practice time, the question may come up...

Remain In This Moment

by Coach Mat | 9 Jul, 2016

One nice thing about being back in USA is that we have pools that open at 05:00 in the morning, and I love early morning swims (and runs). Upon returning from Turkey last week, I went to my fitness club early one morning to find the pool was closed for repairs. They...

The Root Cause Of Failure

by Coach Mat | 25 Jun, 2016

This could be considered Part 3 in a series following Practice As A Puzzle To Solve and Using Failure To Solve The Puzzle. Failure is a key ingredient in progress – it is something you actually want to provoke because it reveals more clearly where you need to...

Using Failure To Solve the Puzzle

by Coach Mat | 18 Jun, 2016

This is meant to be Part 2 of Practice As A Puzzle To Solve. A Practice Example Here is an an example of how I applied this puzzle approach… At a certain range of distance-swimming tempos (1.15 to 0.95) I have tapped into this full-body synchronized rhythm which...