Today I swam individually in a long course meet for the first time in 8 years. I swam 28,57 (PB 28,16 from 2016) in the 50 fly and 1.05,27 (PB 1.02,97 from 2016) in the 100. My goal was to qualify for Bergen Swim Festival and I missed the cuts by 0,52 seconds in the 50 and 2,97 seconds in the 100. I was unsure whether to attend this meet because of sickness prior, but finally chose to go, even though I still have problems with my sinuses. Glad I went. I will now train and compete at a long course meet in Oslo in the end of March to try to qualify. Too bad I have to travel quite far to compete in long course, because I absolutely love to swim in the big pool!

It's 2012. London Olympics. 🕰️ I'm in the call room about to swim the 200 IM. And Michael Phelps is right there. 🏟️ And everyone's waiting for the famous arm swing thing, right? Yeah he did that. But before that... he was doing this super boring breathing thing. Just standing there. Breathing. In a pattern. And I was like "huh... that's interesting." Because I got the EXACT same breathing technique from the SAME sports psych who worked with Phelps for over a decade. Here's the thing: Your body doesn't know the difference between "I'm about to race" and "I'm about to get eaten by a bear." 🐻 Same panic button. So when someone says "just relax!" to a nervous swimmer? That's like telling someone who's shivering to "just be warm!" It. Does. Not. Work. But this breathing pattern? 16 seconds. One cycle behind the blocks. Reset button = pressed. I break down the exact pattern in my new video (link below). Plus the 4 body language signs you can spot from the stands when your swimmer is getting tense. ANDDDD... Phelps won 4 gold medals in those Olympics. Just saying. 🏊‍♂️🥇 Are you already familiar with this "Michael Phelps breathing technique"? Vote below! 👇

You don’t change beliefs directly. You change behavior → experience shifts → belief updates automatically. Trying to convince yourself is backwards. Here’s the Swimpros Belief Upgrade Protocol (short + actually usable!!!): 1) Find the belief by the RESULT. Ask: - “What keeps happening that I don’t want?” - “What emotion repeats?” Example: Result: freeze under pressure Belief: “Pressure is dangerous” / “If I fail, I lose approval” 2) Create the opposite belief (make it plausible, not magical) ❌ “Pressure makes me perfect.” ✅ “Pressure is energy I can use.” (plausible, right? True for Summer McIntosh, Leon Marchand etc.) 3) Ask the key question “If I already believed the new belief… what would I do differently RIGHT NOW?” Not someday. Not after confidence arrives. Now. Example: I would breathe slower. I would stop over-preparing. I would say less before races. I would take action without waiting to feel ready. 4) Do the action with no attachment to outcome. This is the part most people skip. Fear doesn’t mean don't do it. It means "you're doing something new." 5) Repeat until it feels normal (let reality do the convincing) Once you act: Reality gives feedback → small confirmations appear → emotional charge reduces → belief loosens and updates. You don’t argue with the old belief. You outgrow it. That's how beliefs change. 👇 Copy paste these 3 lines below and answer them right NOW in the comments: RESULT you don't want anymore: NEW BELIEF: RIGHT NOW ACTION:

On Monday evening, @Chloé Krebs & @Julian Middelmann got their first real taste of what it’s like to move through the water anchored by DragSox… and somehow still go fast. After a warm‑up we hit a little “fun” UW set: 8x (2x fins, 2x fins + Sox, 2x Sox, 2x no mat) 4x 15" vertical ez 2x 15 fish drill 2x 10" vertical all out 4x kick to turn (no wall) to UW kick → sprint 2x 15 dead‑start UW sprint 2x 15 UW sprint 50 ez No video (coach fail), but the times tell the story: before the set, 15 m UW all‑out was 8.0" for Julian and 9.0" for Chloé.On the first round without mat they popped a sub‑7" for Julian and 7.5" for Chloé. Underwaters woke up real quick. First feedback – ask them yourselves:“With the Sox it’s basically impossible to kick… and when you take them off it feels INSANE.” I asked: “If you did this for a full year, do you think your underwaters would be faster?” Both: 100% yes. That’s pretty much what Gretchen Walsh is doing on the daily. Super pumped to see all of you hammering sets with the Sox at camp – got a whole toolbox of nasty - I mean fun - ideas to squeeze every meter out of your underwaters. See y’all at the pool soon!!!

Something I've noticed is that I like to use some equipment during my meet warmups to feel the best (especially snorkel and fins for doing the butterfly body wave). And if it's a 50m pool, you would quickly exhaust yourself if you swim too long without fins (especially if you're a sprinter). On the other side of the equation is that it can be a pain to bring your gear, especially if you have to take a plane to the competition. Any thoughts/preferences?