Swim Smooth

Today, after a 2 month hiatus owing to Paul dealing with a  very bad back injury and some firm reflections and adjustments to his day-2-day schedule, the boys are back with a podcast recorded some 2 months ago on sunny Mallorca, Spain. This show was meant to go out immediately and was at the 4 week mark of Paul's injury sustained over the Easter period. Sadly, a big relapse immediately after this episode was recorded has seen Paul out of action for a further 2 months. It's a little ironic, as the aim of this show was to talk about some of the insights and research Paul and Adam had gleaned over the years with respect to sleep, HRV, over-training, injury and illness which has further spilled out into everyday life for Paul in particular. Given that the show includes some snippets and insights from Paul's first dip back in the water and what that felt like with the view to showing you how you might also return to activity after a hiatus (for whatever reason), it felt prudent to hold this episode (and the next 2 back) until this blip was properly overcome. But we're now there (fingers crossed and thanks for your patience!), so on with the show!We strongly recommend this episode primarily for those of you struggling with work / life / training balance as well as those of you currently dealing with injury and illness whom are maybe in a reflective state themselves. If you're going great guns at the moment, you might want to skip this one and / or flick it over to a mate who might benefit from our musings.Thanks for listening!Paul & AdamOura Ring - https://ouraring.comPeter Attia / Matt Walker (Why We Sleep) - https://peterattiamd.com/matthewwalker1/Dan Plews - https://www.plewsandprof.com/our-story This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.swimsmooth.com/subscribe

Wow! What an interview we have lined up for you today! Paul and Adam chat with Stephanie Dixon, 19-time Paralympic swimming champion and world record holder from Canada, who recently attended our 3-day Swim Smooth Coach Education Course in Portland, OR, USA at the Nike World HQ.Stephanie talks candidly about being born missing her right leg and how her body has adapted to deliver a perfectly balanced, streamlined and symmetrical swimming stroke which in Steph's words, allows her to "swim like a mermaid".This wonderfully open, warm and charismatic athlete will teach us all more than a few things about living a life of balance, acceptance and making the absolute most with what you've got. Stephanie's motto is to recognise that we are all "enough" with whatever we've been born with, to whomever our parents and environment might be, it's what you make of that that really counts!The first 2 minute intro is well worth re-listening to at any time you're feeling a little low and need a little lift and perspective in your life! We hope you really enjoy this cracking interview!Paul & Adam This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.swimsmooth.com/subscribe

Today, enjoy an awesome interview with David Davies from Wales who is Britain's only swimmer to have achieved an Olympic medal in both the pool (1500m in Athens, 2004) and the open water (10km in Beijing, 2008).Paul first met David in a cocktail lounge (of all places!) after the men's triathlon in Hyde Park at the 2012 Olympic Games in London, 2012. After spying Dave propping up the bar, Paul plucked up the courage to say hello to his hero in open water swimming and proceeded to then blubber on about how inspiring Dave's swimming performances have been and most importantly how his stroke epitomised the "Swinger" swim type (see www.swimtypes.com). Despite Dave appearing to swim with a "spider" like stroke (high cadence and seemingly short, scrappy strokes), his childhood coach Dave Haller recognised that this was the way that Dave was meant to swim - changing this (Haller said), would be detrimental to his performance. It's only when faced with his 3rd Olympic Games in his home country and the prospect of going from Bronze to Silver to (hopefully) Gold was Dave tempted to alter his stroke and approach, and as history will show, sadly he didn't qualify to swim in the 10km open water event nor final in the 1500m pool event. Dave discusses this in a very candid manner which you will find super interesting.Dave also shares his tips on transitioning from the pool to open water - sage words indeed!Dave is one of the nicest blokes you're ever likely to speak to, so it was a great privilege to speak with him on this show - we hope you enjoy! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.swimsmooth.com/subscribe

Today, the boys chat with Sam Bradley (née Warriner), former world #1 triathlete and Commonwealth Games Gold Medallist for New Zealand, after a nine week hiatus following a whirlwind world coaching tour with Nike in Portland, OR and Sydney, Australia.Sam discusses explicitly how she utilises a mental "switch" to move between her athletic / coaching self and her family life (which both Paul and Adam discuss is something they're very poor at doing). This, we believe, is something which everyone can learn to be better at, especially in this digitally connected age.We discuss Sam's athletic career which peaked very late at the age of 37 when she won the ITU World Cup Series in 2008. Sam turned to triathlon very late in life and didn't actually turn PRO until 2005, so had a meteoric rise to fame following that.Sam recently attended the 3-day Swim Smooth Coach Education Course in Sydney, Australia and found that despite having spent her entire career breathing only to her right - through our recognition that "if something's going to go wrong in your stroke, it'll go wrong when you breathe" - we found that she's actually faster by 3-4s per 100m breathing to her left. The interesting thing here is that most of the ITU events Sam raced were on LEFT hand turn courses where it's a significant advantage to breathe to the LEFT (for navigation purposes etc) and not the RIGHT. This proved to be quite an eye-opener for Sam despite how accomplished she's obviously already been in the sport, giving way to the notion that sometimes it's the simple things that can make all the difference.You can read a lot more about Sam's coaching work at www.sweat7.com and on Instagram @sweat7sam  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.swimsmooth.com/subscribe

Today we sit down with 4 of our soon-to-be Swim Smooth Certified Coaches at the end of their 2 week certification course here in sunny Perth and hear all about the training they've received to become one of our 52 international coaches. If you're a coach thinking of taking your swim coaching further, or are a swimmer who's pondered exactly what level of service you're likely to receive with your local Swim Smooth Coach, then this podcast will be very enlightening indeed. And if neither of these scenarios is you, and you're just interested in what values a small business has when it comes to ensuring quality and sustainability for the long-game, well then this might just float your boat too!The training is long and arduous - featuring many 16 hour days all starting with a 4am wake-up call - but the results have been super transformative. We discuss in fine detail what it takes to reach this highest level of premium coaching service that we offer, and don't hide away from the parts each coach found hard (and why) and equally where they felt they excelled. We commence the  podcast with a frank discussion with our coach's mentor, Emma Brunning of Active Blu, who tutors for British Triathlon and the International Triathlon Union literally all over the planet. Emma has a strong passion for ensuring that coaches are able to manage their energy output for a sustainable coaching career and her insights and tutelage alongside Adam Young is what really sets this course apart.We discuss exactly why we hold this final stage of certification only in Perth (despite it's isolation and expense to get to) and why we insist that even the most experienced of coaches who are invited to sit the certification process must complete all stages to ensure a consistency of delivery of our methods in the way they have always been intended. To coin a well versed phrase, "there are no short-cuts". This limits the speed of growth of our coaching program of course, and whilst we fully acknowledge that the easiest way to make a quick buck would be to invite every coach who's ever expressed an interest in our program and certify them all within 4-5 days (especially given the sheer volume of interest), this wouldn't be true to our values as a program, nor as people.We then speak with: Chris Bagg from Portland, OR, USA - a former professional Ironman athlete turned triathlon coach and Head Swim Coach on campus at Nike World HQ where we will be next running our 3-day Coach Education Course Mandi Kowal from Iowa City, Iowa, USA - the former head coach of the University of Iowa's rowing team who turned her back on the sport to follow a passion for triathlon and to regain balance in her life Pam Nichol from Irvine, CA, USA - a passionate triathlon coach from Newport Beach who gave up the corporate life in 2012 to pursue her love for swim coaching, particularly for the over 40s (and often 60s, 70s and 80s!) Toni Saunders from Brentwood, Essex, UK - a very successful triathlete in her own right who goes by the nickname "The Fish" and whom is an experienced swim coach wanting to transform her coaching with more advanced level video analysis and stroke correction and assimilation of the Swim Smooth methodology in her developing programsWe hope you love listening to our host of passionate coaches as we chew the swim coaching fat with them. To learn more about the full process and to sign up for the coaches network, please visit:http://www.swimsmooth.com/coaches/become-a-coachEnjoy!Paul, Adam and Emma This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.swimsmooth.com/subscribe

Is there anyone more synonymous with the sport of triathlon, the Ironman distance, and performance at the very highest level than Dave Scott? If he were British, he'd be a "Sir" for sure...in fact, I think we should simply refer to him as Sir Dave Scott, what do you think? Maybe even "Lord"?Winner of a record six Hawaii Ironman World Championship titles between 1980 and 1987 and still to this date some 30 years after his epic "Ironwar" with fellow six time winner, Mark Allen, one of the fastest ever runners off the bike, Dave Scott is simply "The Man" when it comes to Ironman. In fact, even though 2018 was arguably the fastest year on record (weather-wise) in Kona's 40th outing, if Dave put his 2nd place time in 1989 (8:10:13) up against last year's winners, he'd still have finished 9th place, beating the now bike course record holder Cameron Wurf's 2018 time by some 18 seconds. Incredible! 30 years later and he's still a legend of the sport. Think about the times that athletes in other sports were doing 30 years ago...these times and performances have been totally obliterated into the past through the enhancement of sport through technology. Given how technology driven triathlon is and how far it's come in 30 years, this is a real testament to where Dave Scott sits in the history books, being the first athlete ever to be inducted into the Ironman Hall of Fame in 1983. OK, we think you get the idea - he's a god to many of us!Paul and Adam first met up with Dave in 2013 in Boulder, CO as they took a bromance car trip from the east to west coast of the USA after Paul won the prestigious Manhattan Island Marathon Swim. Dave openly welcomed Paul and Adam into his squad and during coffee afterwards, both agreed it felt like they'd known Dave forever. In fact, this is what you always hear about the great man - despite his obvious standing in the sport, Dave always seems to have time for you, recalling important individual features about you and simply taking an interest in what you do. It's a very commendable quality above and beyond all the sporting accolades.So now, sit back, relax and enjoy hearing from one of the very best ever in this open, honest and candid discussion with The Man! This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.swimsmooth.com/subscribe

Today we speak with Coach Matt Koorey about all things swim and triathlon coaching, starting with a deep-dive into the anxieties and phobias many of us have around swimming in the open water but are often too embarrassed to admit to and talk about.Recorded on Australia Day, this is the perfect discussion with the perfect Australian coach who was inspired by his own father, John Koorey - the first Australian male to swim across the English Channel in 1969 in a brilliant time of 10h32m - to follow his passion for sport. And let me tell you, there is no one more passionate about this sport of triathlon than Matt (please excuse the odd expletive - it's the passion bubbling to the surface!).Matt has completed both the 3-day Swim Smooth Coach Education Course (2013) and also spent 2 weeks in Perth with Head Coach, Paul Newsome (2015) completing our Certified Coaches program. Whilst not currently operating a swim squad or 1-2-1 sessions, Matt's philosophies and experience very much echo Paul's and the rest of the Swim Smooth coaching team, and to that end, they are very good mates.Matt spent several years being mentored by coach Brett Sutton (arguably the most decorated coach in triathlon history with athletes such as Chrissie Wellington, Nicola Spirig and Daniela Ryf to his coaching credentials). Matt's first for knowledge and improving himself as a coach, athlete, Dad and husband come pouring out of this interview, so we really hope you enjoy!From Matt's website:"Matt Koorey has thirty-five years’ experience as an elite level triathlete. Nineteen years as a professional triathlon coach. Dozens of IRONMAN 70.3 and IRONMAN age group victories to his name. Coach to pro triathlete’s Michael Fox (8h11m IRONMAN) and Alex Polizzi, plus multiple age-group Kona qualifiers.Triathlon isn’t just a sport for Matt. Triathlon coaching isn’t just a job. This is what he was born to do. He’s more passionate about this sport than anyone else on the planet. Working with Matt Koorey isn’t a quick fix, it’s about consistency and commitment for long-term gain.It won’t be easy. He demands focus. He demands excellence. There is no hand-holding. No sugar coating. He tells you what you need to hear because he is as invested in your success as you are. While you don’t need to be a rock-star triathlete with extensive experience, you do need to be dedicated, with a winner mindset, driven to achieve your new personal benchmarks.Matt Koorey’s triathlon coaching programs aren’t open to just anyone. Places are exceptionally limited and he takes on only those who are 100% committed to his philosophy and 100% committed to achieving success. If you’re ready to take your triathlon and/or IRONMAN training to the next level – and experience world class coaching – Matt Koorey is the secret weapon you’ve been looking for."We couldn't agree more!Find out more about Matt at https://www.mattkoorey.com  This is a public episode. If you'd like to discuss this with other subscribers or get access to bonus episodes, visit blog.swimsmooth.com/subscribe

In this engaging discussion, Simon Lessing, a five-time ITU World Triathlon Champion and a dedicated coach based in Boulder, shares his remarkable journey from growing up in apartheid South Africa to dominating the triathlon world. He reflects on his early swimming experiences, his "Swinger" stroke technique, and the harsh realities of competing with minimal support. Simon also dives into the evolution of triathlon, the significance of community in sports, and the challenges of injury management, all while maintaining a heartfelt connection to his passion for the sport.

In this insightful chat, professional triathlete Joe Skipper shares his journey from casual competitor to Ironman winner, highlighting his experience with technology in training. He discusses the balance of racing and recovery, their impact on performance, and how innovative training methods like parachute sessions enhance swimming efficiency. Joe offers a candid look at pacing strategies, the importance of personalized coaching, and the complexities of heat training, making it a must-listen for aspiring endurance athletes.

In this engaging talk, Professor Greg Whyte OBE shares his remarkable insights as a leader in Sports and Exercise Science. He discusses inspiring endurance feats, including how four everyday women conquered the English Channel, showcasing resilience against adversity. Greg delves into the mental strength required for extreme challenges and the importance of setting achievable goals. Listeners will find motivational gems, including anecdotes about celebrities like David Walliams and the necessary preparation for cold-water swimming, emphasizing the transformative power of perseverance.