by Coach Mat | 25 Nov, 2018 | About Coach Mat, Coaching Ethics, Cold Water Adaptation, Cool Water Training, Getting Chilled, Metabolic Training, Open Water Challenges, Wetsuit Training, Wetsuits
Comfort Barrier If the water is cooler than you are comfortable with, or even really cold, should you wear a wetsuit? Well, my short answer to this question is, if the cold will keep you from swimming, but otherwise you are fit, capable and eager to go, then wear a...
by Coach Mat | 4 Nov, 2017 | Cool Water Training, Getting Chilled, Wetsuits
I want to lay out some thoughts about buying a wetsuit to address the many questions and concerns I receive. Much of the following is an excerpt from my forthcoming ebook A Better Triathlon Swim that is just days away from being published. Wetsuits are desirable for...
by Coach Mat | 21 Jun, 2014 | Cool Water Training, Distance Training, External Feedback, HR, Effort & Ease, Internal Feedback, Mental Training, Motivating Swimmers, Open Water Challenges, Open Water Training, Pacing, Rough Conditions, Self-Coaching, Speed and Pace, SPL, Stroke Length (SL), Tempo, Stroke Rate (SR)
When training in open-water how do I measure improvement? The best arrangement is to set up two fixed points (as described in the previous post), and then measure 2 of the 3 variables in the Pace equation: Pace = SPL x Tempo More specifically, for calculating Pace at...
by Coach Mat | 6 Oct, 2013 | Cool Water Training, Getting Chilled, Motivating Swimmers, Open Water Challenges, Open Water Training
Autumn has its grip on most of the northern hemisphere and our wild waterways are cooling down fast. I have heard the usual chatter about the ‘last open water swim of the season’ and I fully sympathize. However, I want to raise the challenge to hold onto...
by Coach Mat | 7 Jun, 2013 | Common Problems/Solutions, Cool Water Training, Danger Management in OW, Distance Training, Mastery Process, Mental Training, Open Water Challenges, Open Water Training, Overcoming Fear, Rough Conditions, Self-Coaching, Student Stories, Survival Instincts
We can divide the teaching we give in our private lessons, camps, and workshops in two categories: 1) Stroke and Swimming Skills 2) Problem-Solving Skills “Problem-Solving?” you might ask. (The sunset view from the veranda of our hotel here in Kaş where we...
by Coach Mat | 23 Feb, 2013 | Cool Water Training, Neuromuscular Training, Pool Training, Relaxation, Stroke Analysis
I want to share a few observations from my cool water swimming experiment this winter. You might appreciate some of this for your own swim training journey… If you’ve been following me this winter you know I have set out to swim in the Mediterranean Sea on...
