Terry Laughlin, who was the creator of Total Immersion, a swim training methodology, sadly passed away from prostate cancer. I didn’t know Terry very well personally, but throughout the years gave him a lot of credit for being one of the pioneers in simplifying difficult swimming principles and distilling them down for the non-swimmers out […]

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I was listening to an audio book on the subject of productivity, something I’m working on getting better at. The last chapter I read was about actually not working harder, or doing more, to be more productive. In fact, the author recommends spending hours away from your work in order to come up with ideas […]

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It’s a rainy, cloudy, gloomy day here in Southern California. And if you thought this message was going to just be about the weather, you’re wrong! There is a helpful metaphor with dark clouds. When you start getting wrapped up in a particular thought process, it’s easy to get caught in and endless cycle of […]

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Back in 1997, I read the book “The Zone” by Barry Sears. It was an eye opener to me. I grew up in the 80s where carbohydrates were thought of as the best source of energy. Protein was good in limited quantities. Fat was the devil. The Zone was a diet that recommended eating 40% […]

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I mentioned the idea of perfectionism in a previous message, and wanted to expand on that a bit. I’m not suggesting that you have this to an extreme degree… I likely don’t know you! However, I know that as a subscriber or customer of Tri Swim Coach, you are someone who values achievement. By itself, […]

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Thanks for all the responses to our last 2 messages! Lots of positive support from the community and a couple of corrections I was made aware of; 1) The quote I attributed to Chrissy Wellington was actually uttered by the late, inspiring, Jon Blaise (Blazeman) 2) What I called “Kona Ironman” is actually “Ironman World […]

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Yesterday, Coach Chris sent out a message about the famed Kona Ironman that’s coming up this October in Kona, Hawaii USA. This race is what kicked off the popularity of triathlons worldwide. (In case you were wondering, the race was “invented” in 1978 in Hawaii). And the NBC presentation of the Ironman was where I […]

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Water comes in so many forms. It can be calm, warm, and inviting. And it can be rough, cold, and mean! Christopher from Wisconsin joined Tri Swim Success over 6 months ago and has had many successes this year. He recently emailed me a summary of his season, which turned out amazing, on many accounts, […]

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We hear the word “perfect” all the time, every day. “It’s a perfect day!” “You did that job perfectly!” “They’re perfect for each other!” The word is thrown around a lot. And sometimes, it’s not meant to be taken literally. You could have the “perfect race”, but still have some areas where you could have […]

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I woke up today and for the first time in a long time, there was a slight chill in the air! 56 degrees F to start the day here in Southern California. Although we are expecting warm weather again over the next week, seasons are changing, days are getting shorter, and things are shifting. What […]

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Rules will be broken. Whether it comes to swimming, training, diet, or something else in your life, typically, traditional hard-nosed discipline can only get you so far. Your brain is wired to do things in a certain way. If you try forcing yourself to do or not do something, this can be an effective approach […]

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Do you have a list of goals that you keep track of? Some people like to keep track of every minute of their day and have so many goals and sub goals and mini-goals that it makes my head spin. Since I’m not one of those people who have endless lists of goals, I wanted […]

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The most important skill a swimmer can develop is body awareness in the water. Swimming is not natural for humans. When we dive into a pool we lose all sense of coordination and balance. Then we are asked “not to breathe,” which goes against everything we have done since we came out of the womb. […]

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Are you the competitive type? Do you want to beat your friends in races? Beat your fellow swimmers in the water, even in practice? Or are you mostly just competitive with yourself? One thing I’ve struggled with most of my life is being overly-competitive and overly-critical of myself. I believe competition IS healthy. But the […]

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Do you ever get the feeling you know how something is going to turn out, so you decide not to do it? For example, you hear about a new way of eating. And you instantly think “Oh just another diet fad, would never work for me!” Or anything where it may be hard at first, […]

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These are the most common questions we get, in order, here at Tri Swim Coach: 1. How can I get faster? 2. How can I stop my legs from sinking? 3. How can I breathe more easily when swimming? I want to focus on #1 today. The answer is “it depends”, of course. First it […]

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It’s a lovely Tuesday morning here in Southern California, and I just got done planning out some goals for the day, and for the next month. I was thinking more about this idea of confidence that I discussed yesterday. One thing I want to emphasize is that confidence never comes before action. You can only […]

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I recently received a testimonial from another happy Tri Swim Success customer: “Super helpful. I am just a VERY concrete person 🙂 I am loving your drills and workouts. I feel so much stronger and more confident in the water. I had a tri coach for over a year and learned a lot, but I’ve […]

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Want to know a way to eliminate the need for motivation to get things accomplished? I just finished this book called The 5 Second Rule by Mel Robbins. The idea is, most of us hesitate right when we’re about to do something courageous…then the excuses and justifications come into our brains as to why we […]

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No matter what goals you’re working towards, momentum is the key to accomplishment. Continuing your momentum means progress is a natural thing. Losing momentum means you have an uphill battle ahead. The analogy with swimming is, taking a few days off. Sometimes, it’s important to take time off. But if you are mid-season, even a […]

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I’m writing from a coffee shop in Copenhagen today, on a 24-hour layover on my way to Munich. While traveling and seeing new places in the world is fun and inspiring, I usually like to have a purpose involved. This time, one of the purposes was to hike to the top of Trolltunga in Norway. […]

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There was a coach I used to follow a while back who emphasized “perfect practice” when it comes to swimming. I totally got where he is going. Do the drills exactly right as opposed to 99% right, and your freestyle will thrive. But I disagree. Whether it’s swimming or other parts of life, when you […]

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Do you have anxiety when it comes to racing? Or does even the thought of an open water triathlon start send your heart racing? Well… this could be a GOOD thing for your performances. Let me explain. I’m in the middle of this book by Kelly McGonigal called “The Upside of Stress: Why Stress Is […]

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Over half of our customers and followers say that breathing is the thing they struggle with the most in freestyle. And in our Tri Swim Success course, we teach how to successfully breathe in freestyle, starting with the basics. But the “secret” to breathing is… The purpose to taking a breath is to get oxygen. […]

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I’m back in California after a little trip to Tennessee and Kentucky for a wedding. I managed to get one open water swim in, in a lake right outside of Nashville. Beautiful conditions, and felt great! There’s a lot of emphasis on drills when it comes to getting better at swimming. And rightly so- drill […]

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“What is necessary to change a person is to change his awareness of himself.” –Abraham Maslow The most important skill a swimmer can develop is body awareness in the water. Swimming is not natural for humans. When we dive into a pool we lose all sense of coordination and balance. Then we are asked “not […]

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Our motto at Tri Swim Coach is “Befriend the Water”. When you go about swimming improvement, doubt will creep in at some point. There’s no doubt about it! Perhaps you’re experiencing some doubt these days. It could be, doubt that you could ever get faster, that you can succeed in an open water swim, or […]

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…do everything! I learned this many years ago at a T. Harv Eker “Millionaire Mind” event. Then a few years ago, I took it seriously and started making my bed everyday, for the first time since I was forced to as a kid. Haha. So what does “how you do anything is how you do […]

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Last week, we sent out a survey to everyone here, and got hundreds of responses. First, thanks to all of you who took the time to respond! One thing that came up again and again was the issue of open water anxiety. Some of this comes from fear of the unknown- mostly being in deep […]

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You may have recently heard of the idea of “minimalism”- where the idea is to pair down your possessions to just what you need, so you can focus on the more important things in life- like the people around you, and the experiences you can have. This idea applies so well to swimming and training! […]

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Many of our subscribers and customers train either solo or in small groups. Some swim in masters groups (18 and over coached workouts). And we get questions and observations around the different forms of training for triathlons regularly. Which is better? Training solo, training with a group, or taking on a masters swim class? Let’s […]

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Just a quick message today, it’s a beautiful Sunday in Southern California and I need to experience the Great Outdoors at some point very soon! I received a message from a happy Tri Swim Coach customer on Friday, and it reminded me of the importance of concrete goals, both in training and racing. Here’s the […]

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On Wednesday this week, I did 4 all-out, 20 second sprints on the beach. That doesn’t sound like a lot, but even 4 sprints can do a lot to help with anaerobic (without oxygen) conditioning, fat burning, and overall health and fitness levels. Back in the paleolithic days, it is likely that all out sprinting […]

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There was a movie out a few years ago called “Limitless”, about a guy who was down and out who discovered a pill that turned his life around, allowed him to have unlimited energy, focus, clarity, memory, empathy, etc. The first 30 minutes or so of the movie are quite moving! And they recently made […]

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And another week begins! When I was a teenager, I had a really rough time in high school. Most of my teachers weren’t actually doing much teaching, and didn’t care about the students. In some classes, I would just put my head down on my desk and sleep, since that seemed like a better use […]

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Sometimes, a sport like swimming can be overwhelming. I’m not much of a golfer, but the times I’ve played, it seems like if I do one thing slightly wrong, everything gets thrown off and I miss the ball, or it doesn’t go where I want it to go. Swimming is very similar, with a little […]

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Even though we are really about having fun around here, we do have our set of “rules”. I put that in quotes because if you don’t follow all of them, there is no Tri Swim Police Force that will come and get you! I wanted to focus on Rule #7 today. That is “We Take […]

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After a 6-day flu, I woke up this morning feeling 10% better than I did yesterday. Just 10%, but this is all it took to feel happier and more excited about everything! It reminded me of a great book I read last year called “10% Happier” by Dan Harris. It’s about just going for 10% […]

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“Awareness is Curative” I read about this idea in a psychology book I read a few years ago. It means, we have the most trouble with the things we are not aware of. For example, perhaps your finances are not where you would like them to be. You stress about it every day. You feel […]

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It’s Fast Friday! What does that mean? Well it’s different for everyone. But we usually provide a workout that focuses on speed. Which I will (don’t dare skip to the end!) But first… some inner game reminders. The majority of people who come to Tri Swim Coach tell us their goal is to “get faster” […]

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It’s time for some inspiration. Not just for you. For all of us! I’m just getting over a wicked flu. I’ve been horizontal for the majority of the last 48 hours! Now I’m feeling better and energy is starting to come back a little. But I want to whine. I want to complain and talk […]

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Thanks to everyone who responded to yesterday’s message about self talk! So many positive comments that were all very nice to read. I wanted to highlight one of them. Sometimes triathletes and struggling swimmers feel like they are all alone in their quest to get a better freestyle. Not so much! *** “Great post and […]

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Do you dislike, or even hate swim workouts? This needs to change if you want success in swimming! Even if swim workouts are a mild discomfort, or you consider them “boring”, this message is for you. The key to enjoyment in your workout is to do things that you actually enjoy. Duh, right? “But I […]

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In the past, we have asked new subscribers to tell us why they subscribed to Tri Swim Coach. Because of a glitch in our email system, and because of the overwhelming number of responses, we have not been able to get back to all of them. However, I wanted to bring up a few important […]

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I noticed an email in my inbox from a popular fitness blogger who I follow, with a subject line that read: “5 Natural Ways To Fight Chronic Stress” Now, on the surface, that seems reasonable. If I have chronic stress, I want to FIGHT it with all I’ve got, so I can be calm again. […]

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When I was young, and training like crazy in swimming, I thought, who cares what I’m eating? I’m training so much that I “burn it all off” anyway. Double workouts plus dryland training, and long Saturday morning wokouts, pizza & donuts were often my fuel. In one instance, I had a coach that made us […]

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So yesterday, I realized for the past 5-6 months, I have not been receiving email replies to this address. There was a miscommunication and… well it doesn’t matter, but I apologize to you if you have sent me a message and not heard back for a long time! I’m working through replying to all of […]

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Have you ever felt really good, and come of a series of productive workouts, and then you wake up one day and everything is just… off? Like your body is creaky and tight and you feel crappy all the way down to your bones? I had one of these yesterday. Ended up doing a short […]

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Do you wake up on Monday Morning with a feeling of dread, or one of excitement? Training for a triathlon and working a job or business can compliment one another- or it can be a dysfunctional, destructive combination! The way I start most days, especially Mondays, is this: Wake up at 6am Shower Do Wim […]

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Here at Tri Swim Coach, we talk a lot about your WHY. Why are you training? Why do you want to compete in triathlon? Why do you want to get to that finish line? Usually the answer to these questions goes deeper than you may think at first. What I think the greatest thing about […]

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Most people join Tri Swim Coach to get FASTER at freestyle for their next triathlon. And then we give them all these stroke tips, followed by drills to improve their stroke. And the ones who practice this for a while are like, okay, now what? I wanted to go fast, you helped me improve my […]

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I recorded a podcast last night with Coach Chris on the idea of adding play into your weekly workout routines, why it’s important and when and how often to do it. It got me thinking even more about this topic. There are important things about adding play (fun) into all your workouts, like keeping motivation […]

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At Tri Swim Coach, we get questions all the time like: “How many strokes should I be taking per length?” “What’s a good Swim Golf (SWOLF) score?” “How do I know if I’m going a proper high elbow catch?” “How many days per week should I swim?” “Why am I not getting faster/better?” With triathlon, […]

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Hello from New York City! I’m in the city for the next 10 days, I just felt the need for a change in pace and scenery from sunny Southern California. First day here, the high was 26F degrees. Brrrr! Definitely got that change I wanted! Along the lines of change, I was thinking of ways […]

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Can you think of a time in your life when you were filled with awe, wonder, and infinite possibilities? Perhaps it was when you were a child, and “life” hadn’t gotten in the way of your dreams and imagination. Everything seemed magical- the sky, the trees, even the air. Or it could be when you […]

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Have you heard people described this way? “Tom always gives it 110%!” It sounds great! What a compliment. This guy doesn’t just go all out, he goes ABOVE all out! More than the maximum effort. Maybe he’s sub-human! While people mean well, this “110%” depitcion of someone’s performance I believe is not only FALSE (literally […]

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If you think about people that have become great, or even good, at something in life, the amount of adversity and struggle they had to overcome at one point was tremendous. Nobody’s success was a straight line up to mastery! Let’s take learning guitar. Many people get inspired to learn how to play guitar after […]

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Triathlon is a great metaphor for life in many ways. I’m sure you’ve heard this before. You make a suggestion to someone that you think will help them, and they respond “I don’t have time for that!” Well if you take just the actual time in the day these people have, they DO have time […]

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I was having coffee with a friend yesterday, and the subject of “purpose” came up. As in, what is your purpose? To me, “purpose” can be kind of a loaded word. But there are other ways of saying this. What are you most interested in? Why do you do what you do? Who are you? […]

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Triathletes are notorious for being inflexible and on the precipice of injury. Maybe it is the fact that we are doing three sports all of which have repetitive movements and where poor form can have season ending consequences after doing the same move for the billionth time. I myself visit my chiropractor once a week […]

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I went for a walk last night and was mulling over some of the things I want to change my life, and thought of some ways I’ve worked through this kind of thing in the past. I thought about running some of this by my dad, but then thought “Nah, he wouldn’t really be able […]

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I’ve talked a lot about a swimming problem a lot of people have, especially triathletes- sinking while they swim. This is a major problem because it creates lots of drag, and just flat makes it annoying to swim! So do some people just float and others sink? No…. although extra body fat does make you […]

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There was a coach I used to follow a while back who emphasized “perfect practice” when it comes to swimming. I totally got where he is going. Do the drills exactly right as opposed to 99% right, and your freestyle will thrive. But I disagree. Whether it’s swimming or other parts of life, when you […]

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Yesterday, I wrote about the ways we lie to ourselves. Today, I want to talk about being guided by better information as opposed to being married to ideas. Perhaps you have always believed something to be true. Maybe even for decades. When conflicting information comes along that puts what you believed into question, are you […]

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Swimming is 90% mental. That’s why we (at Tri Swim Coach) focus a lot on the psychological aspects of getting better at it. Did you ever stop to consider how much you lie to yourself, and how this might be getting in the way of your progress? In our The Fit Triathlete Transformation program, we […]

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If you are reading this, it means you likely either are doing triathlons, or are planning to a triathlon. With triathlon, as with open water swimming, as with life, there will be a level of fear that you will have to deal with. By purposely putting yourself in a situation that for many people raises […]

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Throughout my life, I’ve often liked to think of myself as an underdog. I’m fighting the odds, proving the critics wrong, accomplishing the unexpected. I want people to say “Where did that guy come from?” This fueled my college swimming performances, at each level. And I’m pretty sure this attitude started when I was 7 […]

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The latest podcast took us a while to publish, but it’s an instant classic! I had the opportunity to chat with Dominic Latella, an awesome swim coach in Virginia, USA with tons of knowledge of what it takes to succeed in triathlon swimming. Here’s what we covered: How Dominic developed his passion for swimming Correcting […]

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What do you think it is that separates a good swimmer from a poor one? Or to be more specific, since “good” and “poor” are subjective, what is it that separates where you are now from where you want to be in your swim and/or triathlon? Let’s take a look at the reasons that aren’t […]

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Don’t worry, I’m not about to go political here. I’m currently working on a redesign and a rebrand of the Tri Swim Coach website. One of the areas that I’m updating is our general theme and tagline. We have used the line, “Laugh at the Water!” to describe a feeling that one may get after […]

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Last night in our The Fit Triathlete webinar, we did a poll. What is the reason you do triathlon? By a long shot, the answer most chose was “For the challenge, to overcome adversity”. This was also the topic in a recent podcast that we just released with Emilia Lahti. And this quote from her […]

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Despite the myth, the Chinese characters, 危机 do not mean crisis=opportunity. However, there is an expression/saying 危机与机会并存/机遇与挑战并存, which means “opportunity accompanies crisis/challenge”. “Opportunity” is an explicit part of the phrase. This phrase is often used to describe a time of change. Change is something that is happening to you on a daily basis, even if […]

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I attended a lecture last night, the main focus was on why things in the world are actually getting better, not worse as most people think, or as the news would have you believe. There’s all kinds of reasons for this, but the take away message was that the best time to be alive is […]

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“Every passing minute is a chance to turn it all around” This is a quote from one of my favorite movies of all time, Vanilla Sky from 2001. I love this quote, as it speaks to the idea of remaining present with whatever you are doing. You may feel overwhelmed and anxious about the challenges […]

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There’s a concept that Buddhism teaches called “impermanence”. Accepting that nothing is permanent can go a long way in getting past obstacles, and not being attached to outcomes. How many times have you had a less-than-good workout, or a sub-par swim, and it feels discouraging, to the point that it carries over into the next […]

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I heard this expression a while back, I think it was a subtitle for a book. It mentioned “How to punch fear in the face!” Now, on the surface, that sounds like a positive thing, right? I want to accomplish something, therefore I need to get rid of my fears around that thing, therefore giving […]

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Did you know that ‘play’ is a human need? Our health suffers when we don’t get enough time to play in our lives. Now of course, this means different things to different people. For some, training with buddies can be play. For others, games and competition are needed to fulfill that play need. If you’ve […]

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I came across a story on reddit today of this woman who lost a lot of weight after committing to finishing a triathlon within 1 year. Here’s her before and after photos: Here’s the quote from her husband who posted this: “It’s funny, I remember she’s always admired the ironman competition – but I thought […]

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One of the areas of self improvement I have been practicing lately is opening up and actually embracing the struggles of life. It’s been helpful to reframe things that normally would irritate, annoy, or depress me in the past. For example, it was cold outside the other night and raining most of the day. I […]

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Have you ever felt like you need to constantly have momentum going forward, or you’re falling behind in life, or in your athletic endeavors? I was very much looking forward to the new year, 2017. I had a lot of momentum in all areas of my life in December. Things were going well fitness-wise, business-wise, […]

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Since you are here reading this email, you likely are one of those few people who will actually carry out your plans to improve yourself this year in some way. If it is swimming, I’d like you to consider something. Here’s what I’m giving you permission to let go of this year as you pursue […]

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