About Askēsis
Your body is trained by what you repeat.
Askēsis is a modern practice inspired by an old idea: discipline is not punishment. It is the path back to freedom in the body.
The idea
Aging well is not accidental.
If you repeat sitting, stiffness becomes normal. If you repeat intelligent movement, capability becomes normal.
Most people wait until pain, fatigue, or loss of range forces them to pay attention. Askēsis exists before that point. It gives members a simple weekly rhythm for motion, strength, recovery, swimming when relevant, and honest reflection.
The practice blends athletic principles with longevity science. It is calm, specific, and repeatable: train hard when it makes sense, train smart always, and protect the body you want to keep using for decades.
Founder and coach
Vaggelis Makrygiannis
- Two-time Olympic swimmer, Tokyo 2020 and Paris 2024 (backstroke)
- Greek national record holder
- MSc Gerontology, University of Southern California
- Two decades inside high-performance swimming
Vaggelis competed at the Tokyo and Paris Olympic Games in backstroke and has spent two decades inside high-performance swimming environments. That world teaches a clear lesson: longevity is built on what athletes do when nobody is watching.
Mobility, recovery, joint health, pacing, breath, and consistency are not extras. They are the reason performance lasts. Askēsis brings those principles to swimmers, former athletes, and adults who want to feel capable again.
"Why should only elite athletes learn how to preserve the body they depend on?"
- 2020TokyoOlympic Games, backstroke
- 2024ParisOlympic Games, backstroke
- NowLos Angeles · AthensMSc Gerontology, USC. Founding Askēsis.
What he coaches
Four disciplines, one practice.
- Swimming
- Technique, aerobic control and shoulder care, in and out of the pool.
- Strength
- Tissue capacity and stability that make the body more durable.
- Mobility
- Joint range, posture, breath and balance, trained a little every day.
- Longevity
- Training planned for the decades ahead, informed by gerontology.
Members write to Vaggelis from the Coach space in the app and send a check-in each Sunday. The coaching happens in the replies.
How a reply reads
An illustration written for this page, not a real member's message. The check-in it answers: “Hips tight on Friday, and the deep squat felt forced.”
Thank you for the honest check-in. Tight hips at the end of a long week are common, and forcing the depth will not open them.
In Practice B this week, hold the Deep Squat Hold only as low as your breath stays slow, and stop before your lower back rounds. If that is halfway, halfway is the work. Control before range.
Keep Sunday easy: walk, breathe, and tell me how the week felt.
— Vaggelis
Principles
Three rules the practice never breaks.
Capability is trained
The body adapts to what it repeats. Range, strength, breath, and recovery all need regular inputs.
Intensity is earned
Hard work matters, but only when the foundation can support it. The practice starts with control.
Recovery is part of training
Sleep, decompression, pacing, and reflection are treated as performance tools, not afterthoughts.
Return to motion. Keep it for life.
Applications are read by Vaggelis. Founding membership terms are shared with every accepted applicant.