Overcoming Fear | Mediterra Swim & Run

Why Some Swimmers Struggle With Swimming Better

by Coach Mat | 13 Feb, 2023

I’ve observed some differences between how one person can arrange their body to execute a skill in the water and create the desired effect – like forming the frame with their whole body and sliding it along the surface for meters – and another...

Removing Fear And Tension From Your Experience In Water

by Coach Mat | 10 Nov, 2018

The Polyvagal Theory developed by Stephen Porges, describes the way the internal body states influences the brain and perception of the environment, and the environment (especially the social environment) influences internal body states. In my own words, there are...

Checklist For Easier Breathing – Part 2

by Coach Mat | 21 Oct, 2017

This is continued from Part 1… Improve Your Understanding Of Exertion Likely, some of you have been working earnestly on your stroke and your breathing, but it is still not coming as easy as you think it should be. You are getting to air, but it still...

Get Curious About Your Fear

by Coach Mat | 28 Mar, 2017

Coincidentally, just after I published the previous article Swimming Past Your Perceived Limits, I happen to listen to a particular podcast called Habits, Mindfulness, Addiction from Michael Gervais’s Finding Mastery podcast series. On this episode page the...

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...

Perceived Danger Zone

by Coach Mat | 8 Aug, 2015

This is a diagram I made to supplement my thoughts in the previous essay on Overcoming Swimming Fears. I just want to outline the subject in this post, while I can see the opportunity to expand a lot on each section of this diagram. Zone A – Personal Comfort...