Fitness Training | Mediterra Swim & Run

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...

Faster Tempo = Easier Swimming?

by Coach Mat | 29 Nov, 2014

Could it actually be easier to swim at a faster tempo? Yes. This could be the case for some of you. To swim fast or swim far you are not looking for longest stroke or the fastest tempo – you’re looking for optimal combination of stroke length and tempo for...

Measuring Improvement

by Coach Mat | 5 Jul, 2014

In the Kaizen value system of TI we are devoted to continual personal improvement. In each practice we are inspired to pursue some piece of improvement in our swimming, and in our self. But, you and I live a real life in a real world. So often circumstances come up...

Getting Enough Breath?

by Coach Mat | 2 Jun, 2014

Q: I have read your articles on Metrics-Tempo, Pace, etc with a lot of interest. What I was wondering, if you increase your DPS [distance per stroke], that means your SPL [strokes per length of pool] goes down. If SPL goes down, doesn’t that mean you will take...

Metrics 102: Fast Tempo

by Coach Mat | 8 Apr, 2014

Why swim at faster tempos? Here are three reasons (among more we might think of): 1. To Improve Speed In order for increased Tempo to result in increased Speed, the swimmer must maintain a certain amount of Stroke Length, or he will end up going slower while...

Metrics 102: Slow Tempo

by Coach Mat | 30 Mar, 2014

Why swim at slower than normal tempos? Practicing at slower-than-normal Tempos exposes your weaknesses in balance, stability – which make up the greatest portion of a swimmer’s excessive drag and energy waste. And that is the first crux in the...