Competitive/Performance Training | Mediterra Swim & Run

Can You Increase Speed Without Increasing Power?

by Coach Mat | 22 Dec, 2018

Can you increase speed without increasing power? Yes, and no. Or rather, it depends. To explain why the answer could be yes and it could be no, let’s look at the speed equation: Stroke Length x Stroke Rate = Speed (Velocity) In terms of training in the pool,...

One Stroke Technique For Everyone? Part 1

by Coach Mat | 6 Oct, 2018

Let me give you a short answer to the question in the title of this post: Yes, there is a technical ideal we are aiming for, for every standard-equipped human swimmer. And, yet we recognize that there is so much variety in bodies that some compromise is often...

What You Can Learn About Speed From Butterfly

by Coach Mat | 2 Sep, 2018

Even if you do not practice the butterfly stroke, you may appreciate this approach to solving the not-getting-any-faster problem… Coach Jamee and I have been working with a mother and three kids (10, 12 and 16) on a swim team who came to us to work on freestyle...

How To Make Your Stroke Longer

by Coach Mat | 7 Jul, 2018

The universal speed equation is… Speed = Stroke Length x Stroke Rate If you want to go faster in the water you need to make stroke length (SL) longer without losing more than a calculated amount of stroke rate, or you need to make stroke rate (SR) higher without...

If You Want To Move Forward Quickly

by Coach Mat | 26 May, 2018

We most often think of water as a whole body or continuous substance. But really, from another viewpoint in physics, it is a soup of individual water molecules, or little electrical balls all jumbled, bumping and swirling together. And if you want to swim forward in...

What’s More Important That Speed?

by Coach Mat | 12 May, 2018

Do you know what’s more important than being faster? Feeling wonderful when you move. This is not really a personal preference thing. This is about universal physiology and psychology. Think about it. If you want an athletic movement art that you will want to...