Energy Management | Mediterra Swim & Run

Swimmer Speed Curve – Part 4

by Coach Mat | 24 Oct, 2015

This is a continuation of Swimmer Speed Curve Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3… Maintaining best form when energy is abundant is a great Level 1 accomplishment. That is really a good functional goal for recreational swimming, and that may be as far as some want to go...

Swimmer Speed Curve – Part 1

by Coach Mat | 3 Oct, 2015

I have been working on a presentation to improve understanding of ‘Easy Speed’ and ‘Smart Speed’ concepts in the Total Immersion swimming framework, as I see it. I will break this presentation down into 4 parts. Let me post some diagrams to...

Two Essential Measurements

by Coach Mat | 26 Sep, 2015

I want to describe two essential measurements we must include in every performance training set. If one is looking for genuinely efficient speed then there are two essential measurements to make in every swimming action: How does it feel? What does it produce? The...

Judging An Efficient Stroke

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...

Stroke Length Loyalty

by Coach Mat | 21 Mar, 2015

When you start feeling fatigue in your race (or while ‘just swimming’) you are urged to slow down. At some point you finally must give in. But when you do what is changing in your stroke to slow you down? SPL x Tempo = Pace (the inverse of the Speed...

Swimming Past Exhaustion Point

by Coach Mat | 21 Dec, 2014

Have you swam past your exhaustion point? Why, or why not? ** There is a difference between a difficult swimming situation that produces struggle and a difficult situation that presents challenge. Swimming as Struggle = swimming in a situation where I have lost...