Author: Mike

Me, my tech suit, and I

My junior club swimming was all done in the 90s, and in Ireland back in those days it was hard to come by decent swimwear (and forget about apparel from the top brands). Most swim hats were latex and the fanciest swim suits were lycra. This typically meant you would have your “good” suit for... Continue Reading →

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Making a Master Swimmer – The Rome Challenge

  While Jia and myself were sitting in the stands of the World Masters in Budapest surrounded by vibrant energy, by swimmers of all ages, and the general party atmosphere we started to wonder. Could someone that was in good shape, but had never trained or competed in swimming, or any sport, take part in... Continue Reading →

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Tough to get going

There are a few times throughout a season when training can get tough for a swimmer. I don’t mean physically tough, training is generally tough if you are doing it right. I’m talking about those times when you get that “wonderful” combination of training being physically and mentally tough. These times are usually, in my... Continue Reading →

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Aqua Sphere Alpha Fins – Review

I’ve seen a lot of swimmers use these in recent years so I picked up a pair to try them out. The first things that struck me about them was how buoyant they are and their shape. Every time I put them on I need to give myself a second or two to check which... Continue Reading →

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FINIS Agility Padles – Review

I’ll be honest, the first time I saw a few non-traditional paddles from FINIS I thought they were just gimmicks. Thankfully, at a pop-up FINIS store a former Olympian was singing the praises of the Agility paddles and I took a chance and bought a pair. The theory behind these paddles is that they encourage... Continue Reading →

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FINA World Masters – Recap of Day 3

My third day started very early, the men’s 50m free was the first event and my heat was the 8th in my pool, so I would be up 4 minutes after the event started. While I wasn’t at all worried about the race, it’s a splash and dash, I was determined to make it in... Continue Reading →

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FINA World Masters – Recap of Day 2

I was still a little down on my second day of competing, but also eager to get back in the water. I was determined to leave nothing to chance and myself and Jia left for the pool very early. I should mention how lucky I was to have Jia with me for the trip. She... Continue Reading →

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World Juniors & World University Games

It's been a great week for Ireland, in the World University Games in Taipei Shane Ryan won gold in the 50m Back, and Daragh Greene has been placed 6th in the 50m Breaststroke final. In the Junior World Championships in Indianapolis Conor Ferguson battled back from fourth place at the turn to win silver in... Continue Reading →

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Maru Pro T Jammer – Review

This was the first racing suit I’d bought since my time as a club swimmer, I’ll be honest not a lot of thought went into picking it. I had decided to enter the European Masters and needed a FINA approved suit, but didn’t want to break the bank. Boy did I luck out, this turned... Continue Reading →

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The Nauseator

A good warm-up is especially imporant for this session. I will have anywhere between 800-900m done before I start. Some recommend doing up to 1000m as a warm-up, but unfortunately I usually don't have that kind of time. This session is meant to be flat out speed wise. The first 100 is to be the... Continue Reading →

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Build up that Fly

I usually take this as a handy A1 session, of course a bit of intensity can be added to get more of a work out. This can be adapted for all four strokes by substituting the one armed fly with another drill.   warm-up 150m Fc, 150m Bc, 100m pull, 100m kick, 100m swim main... Continue Reading →

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Pyramid Down, Build Up

This is a nice main set that gets in a bit of mileage in without being boring. The times given are for my A2 or 80% days, sometimes I'll make this an AT by reducing the rests by 5 seconds on both the 50s and 100s. Before this main set I would normally have about... Continue Reading →

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