Van Mathias on Sprint Swimming, Heavy Lifting & Balancing a Full-Time Job | Episode 301
6/5/20261 hr 1 min
How does a 200 Butterfly and IM swimmer completely reinvent himself to become the American Record holder in the 50 Breaststroke? In this episode of Social Kick, we sit down with sprint powerhouse Van Mathias to discuss his incredible and unconventional swimming journey.
Van breaks down how stepping away from the pool to focus on heavy lifting (and bulking up to 235 lbs!) ultimately laid the foundation for his explosive sprint speed. We discuss his current training regimen at Indiana University, which defies traditional swimming volume.
Van reveals how he hits career-best times on just 8,000 to 10,000 yards a week, utilizing intense resistance pulley training, high-lactate bursts, and almost zero "easy" swimming. He also opens up about the reality of balancing life as a professional swimmer with a full-time job, why changing his mindset was the real secret to dropping times, and exactly how he trims his iconic mustache for maximum hydrodynamics.
If you're a swimmer wanting to transition into the sprint group or looking for fresh insights into high-intensity training, this episode is a must-listen!
Clips
Transcript preview
First 90 secondsLuke Paddington· Host0:00
[upbeat music] Who is Van Mathias? Where'd he come from? Like, that's what I wanna find out, and I really enjoy getting to know him a little bit A guy from the Pacific Northwest that was a 2 fly or 2 IM or now American record holder in the 50 breast.
Brian Lundquist· Host0:13
I feel like every swimmer who's not in the sprint group is living vicariously through him coming from 100, 200 fly, 200 IM background to now be, you know, among the world's elite best, the American record holder, 50 breast, you know, a sub 22 50 free long course, a sub 23 50 fly long course, uh, knocking on the door of the American record in the 100 breast too. This guy is on, like, a completely different career trajectory than even he was before, and every other swimmer who's dreamed of being in the sprint group is going, "Hey, coach, let me sprint. Let me sprint. Let me sprint." [water splashing] Welcome to Social Kick. I'm Brian Lundquist. We got the full crew, Dr. John Mullen, Luke Paddington, and a sprint powerhouse, a, a reimagined swimmer who's now [laughs] throwing down career best times in his, uh, in his pro journey. Van Mathias. Good, good to meet you, Van. Good to chat. We're excited to have you. What's going on?
Van Mathias· Guest1:05
Not much. Thanks. Uh, excited to be here, talk with you guys, uh, spill some beans.
Luke Paddington· Host1:11
Nice.
Brian Lundquist· Host1:11
Dude, so, um, well, so we'll start every show with some audience questions before we get into your story. Uh, @socialkickswim on Instagram, on YouTube, on TikTok, wherever you follow us, you can submit some questions for our guests. Um, let's start, Van, with this one from b_harris08