Training | Mediterra Swim & Run

Delightful Swimming In The Dominican Republic

by Coach Mat | 17 Feb, 2019

We just completed a week of delightful open water swimming in Las Terrenas, Dominican Republic, in the Caribbean Sea. The sea water was 79 F (26 C), with mostly sunny skies in the 80’s, a little wind, a little swell, a little rain all mixing in for an enjoyable...

Your Diet Of Strength, Endurance and Power

by Coach Mat | 2 Feb, 2019

Why Be Strong? You certainly want your shape and movement patterns to be streamline and efficient to reduce internal and external resistance to moving forward. But even then, you still need strength, because it defines your body’s ability to do work. Even when...

What Is The Difference Between Strength, Endurance And Power?

by Coach Mat | 26 Jan, 2019

As you may have noticed from my style of writing on this blog, I try to be careful with definitions of words and use them in technically accurate ways. I appreciate when someone sends me a kind note pointing out where I may have misused or misunderstood a term in its...

The Limitations Of Your Watch

by Coach Mat | 19 Jan, 2019

In order to plan the next cycle of practices for a swimmer working towards a particular performance goal, I need to see various kinds of data from both their objective measurements and their subjective measurements. We are, after all, training the whole person to...

Moving From Novice To Expert – Part 3

by Coach Mat | 12 Jan, 2019

Continued from Part 2… I’ve mentioned before that my wife, Gail, is an ‘occupational therapist’. Occupational therapists, as they are called in the US, help people learn (or relearn) how to accomplish daily tasks that their damaged brain lost...

Surviving or Comfortable or Competitive? Part 2

by Coach Mat | 5 Jan, 2019

Continued from Part 1. How Much Is Enough To Be Comfortable? When someone asks me a version of this question, I need to know a few things to help guide them toward an answer that is more suitable to their personal situation: How do you want to finish this event:...