Test Swims | Mediterra Swim & Run

Swimming Past Your Perceived Limits

by Coach Mat | 25 Mar, 2017

I’ve had some version of this conversation with a few different swimmers recently and the scenario is something like this: a swimmer is wondering how to work through the strong discomfort she encounters when swimming up to a certain distance in set – say...

Build Your Speed Skills

by Coach Mat | 24 Oct, 2016

If you have been taking time to absorb Total Immersion methods and coaching, you may have (or I hope, you should have) encountered our argument that Speed Is A Skill. Many of my posts are dedicated to explaining some facet of that concept. If you are wondering what...

Failure Leads To Speed

by Coach Mat | 24 Sep, 2016

This is a continuation from the previous post The Speed You Must Earn. Race day (if you like racing) is the great test of your abilities – this is the event most competitive athletes are focused upon. On that day you want to succeed in everything you have...

The Speed You Must Earn

by Coach Mat | 17 Sep, 2016

This is a continuation of thoughts from Going Beyond Easy Speed. There are some ‘easy’ breakthroughs in speed which come from that initial – and usually radical – improvement in body shape and movement control. But the other way to appreciate...

Your Potential At Other Distances

by Coach Mat | 27 Feb, 2016

This post is related to my 100 yard Sprint Improvement Project I discussed in the previous post. It is not common for swimmers – elite or regular citizen athletes – to train on both ends of the event spectrum – short sprints (like 50, 100) to long...

Test For The Weakest System

by Coach Mat | 19 Dec, 2015

Experienced and accomplished swimmers (still practicing) tend to have well-developed swimming-specific fitness from their years of training, even after taking time off. When they begin retraining their stroke technique a challenge in that process is that they can get...