I’ve tried to learn to swim almost a dozen times, and each time, my heart jumps to 180+ beats-per-minute after one or two pool lengths. It’s indescribably exhausting and unpleasant. We had four pool sessions where we worked through a series of drills that broke down the freestyle stroke into component parts. The idea was to create muscle memory for a good position in the water and to increase our mindfulness of each element of the stroke by practising it in bits.

I have barely begun to scratch the surface of my swimming skills, but the basic philosophies I have utilized from Terry’s book have invigorated me and stoked my hunger for more. I was already an ok recreational swimmer before buying this book, but had always found that front crawl seemed harder than it ought to be and never understood how some people made it look so effortless. If there was a storm the day before, be very careful. Ocean floors can be loose and unstable, thus causing rip-currents. Oceans, rivers and lakes tend to have more debris after storms.

The Total Immersion drills have been teaching me balance and form. The TI instruction breaks down the process into three basic swim positions in which you must achieve balance; face down, right side, and left side. You do drills swimming in each position until you have achieved balance in all three positions. You also do drills that help you maintain your balance as you shift from one position to the next. I have done these drills so many times now that they are almost second nature. As several other have pointed out the “Swedes” are a cheap yet phenomenal pair of goggles. I used them swimming competitively for almost ten years. For open water I would suggest the darkest pair you can find. Even the slightly more expensive metallic pairs would be a good investment to help with the sun. I’m sending this because I just heard your swiming Ted talk and you asked for ideas for schools and education)

The one big issue is that I’m a horrible swimmer — I never learned properly. Earlier tonight my wife and I were at the bookstore and I started looking through books on triathlons to get a sense of what I’m in for. On the way home I was describing the whole thing to my wife and we began talking about my biggest weakness — the swimming part. Imagine my surprise to discover your post on exactly this issue. Thanks for the pointers. I’ve already requested Terry’s book from our local library and, if it’s helpful, will buy a copy of it and the DVD. For me, it started when I read a total immersion swim blog that told me to “press my head” down into the water. This is a tip taken from the Total Immersion Method. For many of us, swimming takes a massive amount of energy. With this method, you can learn to do long distant pool lengths and not be out of breath. 3. Fast Swimming Technique This book works, at every level. Best of all, it takes the struggle out of swimming, and you get better and better simply because you become curious about moving in the water. Total Immersion Swimming is a unique swim technique that allows any level of swimmer from beginner to advanced, to improve their swimming by moving efficiently through the water. As a result, you will move more gracefully and conserve energy, allowing you to swim better and for longer.

Tips to Master Total Immersion

Surprisingly (seriously - as in, wow, I didn't expect that) gratifying and effective, with the Goodreads caveat that this is a how-to, instructional book (again, to be clear, it's not literature and there's no real story going on here), and I wouldn't recommend for anyone who isn't looking for some help with their (duh) swimming. Conversely, I can't remember ever having read a how-to book that generated such immediate results (which, frankly, is kind of cool). At the beginning I could only just swim a length of front crawl, coming up and gasping for air, moving my arms and legs in a movement that I hoped desperately would propel me forward. I'd get to the end of the pool exhausted and knowing that what I'd just done was nothing like the elegant and effortless swimming I admire. I don't want to be an elite swimthlete, but I would like to make it a length or two without being exhausted, and having splashed out half the pool en route.

Total Immersion: The Revolutionary Way to Swim Better, Faster, and Easier" is an excellent guide to freestyle swimming. Terry Laughlin is obviously a very experienced swimmer and coach, and is generally good at explaining things. I was a total nonswimmer until last year, and now would say I am a beginning swimmer. I have had excellent instruction that uses similar techniques to those found here, though some of the TI-like methodology is used for somewhat more advanced students at my school. The point is that I found this book helpful even as a neophyte in the water, though I think the people who will profit most from it will be people who can already swim adequately but want to improve, although Laughlin stresses that anyone from beginners through competitive athletes can benefit. I like that the book clearly explains the objectives, e.g. reducing drag, "swimming tall," and the importance of balancing in the water and swimming on your side (among many others.) As a novice the thing that has helped me most is the concept of keeping one hand in the front quadrant at all times; that along with the mantra of "enter, extend, pause, pull" really opened my eyes to drastically more efficient arm movement. Second, by leaving it there in front of you, you can focus on extending it, helping to lengthen your stroke. 5. Roll Your Body If you are serious about doing a triathlon and a bit terrified of the swim part, then the Total Immersion Swimming method could be the answer.swanson_scott @tferriss get a good rhythm going. notice how phelps has a little ‘hop’ to his freestyle? leverage your breath to ‘hop’ w/ each stroke w … If you self-teach, it can be a very inexpensive way to learn to swim. However, you can hire coaches that are dedicated to teaching the total immersion swimming method. As someone who had a fear of water, pressing my head into the water did not seem logical, but I did what they recommended and here is what happened.

Focus on increasing stroke length (SL) instead of stroke rate (SR). Attempt to glide further on each downstroke and decrease the number of strokes per lap.From novice swimmers to experts, so many of us seem to be obsessed with swimming fast, myself included.