Sports Psychology: 10 Mental Skills To Enhance Your Performance Part 1

Many people believe that excelling in sports is a purely physical journey, but elite athletes know that mental prowess is every bit as important as having a physical edge when it comes to performing at peak levels. Here at Endurance Swimming, we strive to bring you all sorts of different information to help you improve both in and out of the water. It is for that reason that we teamed up with sports psychologist, Dr. Dave McIntyre , to bring you this two part series on mental skills to enhance your performance no matter your sport! Get ready to reach your maximum potential by incorporating Dr. McIntyre’s mental skills into your training! Here we go:

Breathe Easy: 3 Tips To Help You Breathe While Swimming

Breathing is one of the most important elements of swimming but for many new swimmers and triathletes it can also be the hardest. New swimmers and triathletes tend to struggle with their breathing which makes learning to swim freestyle incredibly frustrating! Swimming comfortably and faster relies heavily on breathing. Keep reading to learn 3 tips that will help make breathing easier to master no matter what level swimmer or triathlete you are!

Best Advice For Endurance Athletes

We have all hit walls before in our training, long swims and triathlons. They are miserable experiences but there are two pieces of advice that I have received that has helped me and several of my athletes over the years with this. Now I want to share them with you to help you reach your life long goals!

scubaCraig LewinJune 22, 2021swimming, scuba, scuba diving, padi, naui, ssi, sdi, scuba diving swim test, scuba diving swim, learn to swimComment

Prepping For A Long Swim

If you are newer to marathon swimming, then you are also new to long training swims. There are a handful of things that you need to do before you long swim to set yourself up for success. This checklist will help you have everything in order and put you in the right mindset to crush your next long swim!

scubaCraig LewinJune 3, 2021swimming, scuba, scuba diving, padi, naui, ssi, sdi, scuba diving swim test, scuba diving swim, learn to swimComment

3 Tips To A Faster Swim

Swimming fast for triathlon or open water doesn’t need to be a huge complicated process. In fact there are only 3 main elements to help you become a better swimmer. The best part is, you can start making progress today! Here are my 3 high level tips to help you become a faster and more well rounded swimmer!

scubaCraig LewinMay 27, 2021swimming, scuba, scuba diving, padi, naui, ssi, sdi, scuba diving swim test, scuba diving swim, learn to swimComment

Don't Make This Common Race Day Mistake!

Whether you are about to compete in your first triathlon, your 100th triathlon or a big marathon swim there is one mistake that is almost guaranteed to prevent it from going the way you want. What is that mistake made by so many?

scubaCraig LewinMay 10, 2021swimming, scuba, scuba diving, padi, naui, ssi, sdi, scuba diving swim test, scuba diving swim, learn to swimComment

Learning To Swim To Scuba Dive

Did you know that Coach Craig is a Padi Divemaster? He has assisted in countless classes and found that there is one thing that always shocks him! This really shouldn’t be a surprise but keep reading to find out exactly what that one thing is!

The Best Dryland Activity For Swimming

Over the years I have experimented with many different dry land routines to help supplement my swimming and triathlon endeavors. I have found one particular form of exercise that has produced more favorable results than any of the others. Read on to find out which routine has helped me overcome injuries while making me a faster and stronger open water swimmer.

What All Fast Swimmers Have In Common

There is no such thing as the perfect swim stroke but there is a perfect stroke for your body. No matter how good of a swimmer one is, there is always going to be room for improvement. We are going to explore the top 3 commonalities that elite swimmers share!

Winter Swimmers: A Day In The Life

While the pandemic continues to rage on, our squad has found some peace and sense of routine in our Saturday Winter Swimming sessions. We wanted to showcase Helen Cogan Photography’s video work in this post. We hope it gets you motivated to try something new or even join the team!

How To Improve Your Swim Technique

There is no such thing as the perfect swim stroke but there is a perfect stroke for your body. No matter how good of a swimmer one is, there is always going to be room for improvement. We are going to explore the top 3 mistakes athletes make when trying to fix their freestyle stroke and then we will give you the method we use to train our athletes!

How To Write Your Own Swim Workout

No matter what level of swimmer or triathlete you are, at some point you will want or need to start writing your own swim workouts. This can be very overwhelming if you don’t know what you are doing. In this post we are going to break down the structure of a swim workout, explain the different pieces and teach you how to write your own. Let’s write some swim sets!

How Hard is the English Channel Swim? English Channel FAQ!

Coach Craig took some time to answer the questions that he gets asked the most often about swimming the English Channel. If you are interested in an English Channel solo, then this article is for you!

5 Pool Swim Workouts For All Levels

Pool time is tight these days and you really need to make the most of the time you get. You may only have 45 to 60 minutes so you want to make sure not a minute goes wasted! We have put together 5 of our go to swim sessions that you can use to help you get faster in a short amount of time! Perfect for triathletes and swimmers of all abilities!

swim workoutsCraig LewinDecember 10, 2020swimming, free swim workouts, swim workouts, pool workoutsComment

Beginner's Guide To Open Water Swimming

So you want to hit the open waters but you aren’t sure where to start…Don’t worry we have put together a few tips to help you get your feet wet. The open water can be daunting when you are coming from the safety of a nice controlled environment like the pool. Whether you are a budding triathlete or a swimmer looking for something new, this guide to open water swimming will certainly help you get started!

swim tipsCraig LewinNovember 29, 2020swimming, swim, open water swimming, beginner, guide to open water swimmingComment

The YogiTriathlete Podcast: Coach Craig On Taking Risks, Failure and Swimming!

Recently I had the pleasure of talking to Jess and BJ from YogiTriathlete on their podcast. We had an awesome conversation and talked about many different topics from swimming the English Channel to being totally zen while swimming. Come join the fun and listen to the podcast here!

Surviving The Chill: Cold Water Swim Gear

Covid-19 continues to cause our pools to close or have limited hours. Many people are looking to extend the open water season into the cold winter months. Learn about all the gear available to make your winter swimming an enjoyable and safer experience!

Coach Craig Tells a Pumpkinman Worthy Tale

Recently Coach Craig had the pleasure of talking to Rachel Martin , CEO of Forward Motion Events and Race Director for The Pumpkinman Triathlon Festival. It was an incredibly light and fun conversation and we discussed many different topics. Listen in now!

Swim AdventuresCraig LewinSeptember 24, 2020swimming, swim, open water swimming, marathon swimming, English Channel, triple crownComment

5 Lessons From Open Water Swimming To Make You Successful At Life

It has been about a month since I swam the English Channel and finished my Triple Crown journey. I have had some time to reflect and write about this pursuit. There are a few key lessons that I have learned from open water swimming that can applied to life to help make you more successful. Keep reading for the 5 revelations that will help you be a success!

Crazy Craig Swims The English Channel: The Swim

On July 30th, 2020 I successfully swam across the English Channel. This is part III of my English Channel adventure! This post is all about the actual swim from Samphire Hoe, England to Calais, France. Read about the mental and physical challenges that I encountered. Learn how I overcame these obstacles during the swim and eventually made it across the English Channel!

Swim AdventuresCraig LewinAugust 7, 2020swimming, swim, open water swimming, marathon swimming, English Channel, triple crownComment

Successful swims are built with Endurance!