Are You Ready?
I think I have exhausted the number of times I can gift a pair of novelty socks. But as for alternatives, I don’t have a clue.
Or do I?
Ready, re-set...go
Never be afraid to return to basics. Remind yourself that skills you now take for granted were once huge challenges to be overcome..and don’t forget that, no matter how accomplished a swimmer you are currently, there are still places to go and aspects to explore to make you even better.
The battle of the sexes
Men and women can often learn much from each other in their basic approach to swim coaching and teaching mixed groups or couples can often be very beneficial. Men may learn that, maybe they don't know it all after all, whilst women may find that a little bit of belief in their abilities rubs off on them from the men.
Finding your Batman T-shirt
Wouldn't it be great to approach life knowing that anything was possible and anything was achievable?
Setting goals
Our goals should serve as motivation and inspiration for us. Set the wrong ones and they will either be too easy to achieve or too hard and actually act to de-motivate rather than to drive us forward.
Triathletes: A special breed of swimmer
It is not unusual for a strong runner and cyclist to be a relatively poor swimmer. Often they are looking for a “quick fix” to their problems.
Taking responsibility for safety
Most people have very little idea which movements are likely to be harmful and which aren't.
Muscle memory: myth or mastery?
It is vital to remember that muscle memory is a two-edged sword. It can help you become very good at something but equally can train you to be absolutely terrible at something.
A Question (of life and death)
Whenever we enter the water, particularly open water we should do so with at least some rudimentary assessment of the likely dangers.
Summoning The Genie of Fluidity
If you concentrate too hard on achieving the seemingly impossible, it will remain just that; impossible
Curing the winter blues
With a single masterstroke I have devised a plan which will cheer everyone up and resolve the January Blues forever.
Are you having a Dry January? Not likely!
If you want to achieve something or improve something, you don't need to wait until a particular day to start working towards it. Just go for it!
Oi you! Why don’t you push off? I mean, properly push off?
If you’re not practising your push-offs your training is only ever targeted on 80% of the length. For one-fifth of the time you’re mentally and often physically, just drifting.
Can a frog on a bicycle help you swim better?
In order for a cue to be effective, it must be clear, achievable and measurable. If it isn’t, the effects on the stroke will be at best negligible and at worst detrimental.
The battle for the title of greatest Channel swimmer: the latest contender.
Chloë McCardel has recently broken the world record for the most number of Channel swims by a female swimmer racking up an incredible 44 crossings.
Coach Profile - Claire Sutton, Swimfinity
I love video analysis, 30minute lessons showing the progress people make is really motivating. Taking a splashy, panicky front crawl swimmer to a calm relaxed smooth swimmer is the favourite part for me.
Swimming - what really matters...
SwimMastery is all about making connections. Connections in the body when we're in the water to ensure that we are moving as one coordinated unit. But connections are equally important out of the water.
Why failing can be more important than success
There will always be DNF's for any significant endurance event and we should remember that they represent an extremely important group for everyone taking part...for any challenge there has to be a risk of failure