Sprint Training | Mediterra Swim & Run

Kick For Sprinting

by Coach Mat | 27 Jan, 2012

It is interesting to note that Sun Yang, when he set the 1500 meter world record in July, did so holding an average of 58 seconds per 100m for the entire race, using a 2-beat kick for all of it except the last 50 meters or so. 15 consecutive 58 second 100 sprints! We...

Sprint Training Strategy

by Coach Mat | 27 Jan, 2012

Here is some of my understanding and the considerations I design sprint training around: There are two ways to work on the solution for speed in water- increase power to overcome water resistance, and/or decrease water resistance. It is my conviction that as a smart...

Slide, Don’t Hammer

by Coach Mat | 27 Dec, 2011

I had a great practice set in the pool early this morning- 1600 yards broken into 16 x (4x 25 yard sprints), with a rest interval based on my heart rate*. The objective- holding SPL (at 16) while increasing tempo from 0.95 to 0.83 seconds, using a Tempo Trainer. In...

Overlap For Length

by Coach Mat | 19 Dec, 2011

I was inspired to write a few essays on this topic of stroke length because of my open-water swims last week. I was working with a Tempo Trainer, concentrating on my stroke-lengthening skill over 3km distance- increasing tempo, while holding stroke length. Stroke...

How To Swim Like Phelps…

by Coach Mat | 27 Sep, 2011

Or Popov, or Thorpe, or Torres, or [insert your favorite elite swimmer here]. Now that anyone can access video clips of elite swimmers in the middle of their winning races, there is a often a false assumption made when trying to extract technique ideas from those...

Using A Tempo Trainer- SPEED IT UP!

by Coach Mat | 25 Apr, 2011

Using A Tempo Trainer – SPEED IT UP! If you’ve read the previous two lessons then great. Let’s procede. If not, I suggest you take a moment to go back to the Intro and see how those two lessons set the stage for this one. Speed = Stroke Length (SL) x...