Today's guest first dipped his toe into the swimming pool when he enlisted in the Marines and completed his swim test with survival backstroke. And if you can't tell by the name alone, survival backstroke isn't really what we would call a stroke...rewind a few years to when Dexter Braithwaite, today's guest, saw a triathlon on TV and thought it was so crazy and made it a goal to compete in one some day. Now Dexter trains for triathlons year round and he's definitely not swimming survival backstroke anymore. Sit back and take a listen as we get to know Dexter and his story a bit more and learn how he got to where is in his triathlon journey today.

Today we’re lucky enough to get to talk to Jamie Bennett, a local physical therapist who specializes in internal work, specifically the pelvic floor. We chat all about what parts of the body make up your pelvic floor, what signs to look for in case you’re concerned your pelvic floor needs a tune up - hint hint, it most likely doessss - a simple way to strengthen the muscles of your pelvic floor, and more. I’m a little bit of third wheel on this one, I’m not gonna lie! But you know what, I did my best. Think I should say pelvic floor one more time? Pelvic floor?

No, we’re not trying to make your swim times slower - although wouldn’t it be funny if for some reason people get so fast over the next few years that the new challenge turns into seeing who can be the slowest swimmer to get across the pool? Then the first person to finish the race would get the pity clap while we waited for the real talent in the water to continue taking their time while we ate our nachos and hot dogs as they finished up. Sigh, to dream. BUT the real meat of today’s podcast is learning how to control your pace in the water! Differentiating between paces while you’re swimming, without the aid of a clock, can be a super difficult concept to grasp. So let’s chat about it!

Slow and steady wins the race, but not when it comes to the connected movements of your freestyle! Dominic’s been noticing some sloth like movements on the left side of a lot of his clients, let’s see what he’s been having them work on to fix this!

2021 calls for some fancy technology and a great new guest! Today we talk with Sheera Goren, co-owner and CEO of Zygo, a tool used to stream audio underwater using bone conduction technology. You can even use a walkie talkie (of sorts) to talk to your swimmer while they’re swimming, and they can hear you without stopping! Who am I kidding, I can’t explain this nearly as well as Sheera, so let’s take a listen!

COVID took the wind out of our sails in terms of competing, but that doesn't mean your training should be cast aside like that pair of shoes you hate but for some reason never get rid of! Your technique and problem areas take the most time to break down and rebuild properly, so no racing means it’s more important than ever to ramp up your training.

The time has come to put the cherry on top of the Mario sundae! Today we talk with Mario and Will of Hearts of Empowerment about how Ironman Cozumel went! We can’t be grateful enough to have been given the opportunity to work with these two, let alone become friends and a part of something so special. No more here, you’ll have to listen to get all the juicy tidbits and find out how the race/trip went!

Wait, you mean there's more to swimming than freestyle? Talking breaststroke drills, some history of breaststroke, and of course a tangent or five on today's episode of Swim Out of the Box! We take one of my favorite breaststroke drills, Accordion Drill, and break it down to go over the movements and benefits of focusing on this drill and how it has a huge positive impact on the timing of your stroke.

Ola Alghazzouli joins us as the first SwimBox instructor to be featured on Swim Out of the Box! Ola’s journey is multi-faceted and comes from a deep passion to bring swimming & fitness to the women of the Muslim community. Also certified as a personal trainer Ola not only teaches lessons for us but also runs her own platform titled Befit4akhirah, which translates to Be Fit for the Afterlife. Listen as we get to know Ola a bit more and debate some swimming techniques at the same time!

Video chatting in allllll the way from North Carolina is swimmer, physical therapist, and triathlon coach Sam Ray! Currently working as a physical therapist for Upright Athlete in North Carolina, Sam also just launched Volt, an online coaching platform for performance and biomechanic analysis. Think she has enough on her plate?