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Last week I bought myself the teach yourself 'Total Immersion' swimming technique book and the results have been remarkable.
I've knocked over 3 minutes off my mile time by adopting the body roll approach advocated in the book.
It's amazing really.
If you swim I highly recommend this book :cool:
If you're keen, there's a guy who teaches it as part of the masters session in New Mills. Nice bloke too.
Quote:
Originally Posted by noel
New Mills is a bit of a treck for me Noel, but just by attempting to coach myself from the book i've completely `revolutionised` my own swimming in the space of just two weeks. I'm now Swimming a lot quicker, but it seems almost effortless. :cool:
Whos the author?
http://www.totalimmersion.co.uk/01About_Us.html
the book & dvd has re-surfaced at home this week, must make use of it!
I think about his stuff when I'm swimming and made some ok progress on my own, but suspect you can get some really good benefits from proper coaching.
Got the book from Amazon yesterday.
Read the first 2 chapters and the theory seems to make a lot of sense.
Will try it in practice this weekend.
Has anyone ever been to one of the workshop / trainign weekends?
Is this only about front-crawl?
I only ever do breast stroke because i cannot seem to be able to get enough oxygen when i do front-crawl.:o
Al
The book focusses on Front Crawl.
I'm the same as you and can plod along doing Breast Storke 'til the cows come home, but find I'm short of breath after a dozen legths of crawl no matter what pace I swim at.
Hopefully the book will help to solve this but also just found this on Amazon...from the same author Terry Laughlan...
http://www.amazon.co.uk/02-H20-Self-...5805613&sr=8-2
Might give it a go.
AF and KS. I was the same as you guys - rubbish at crawl and reasonable at breast stroke. The problem is that if you're going to do triathlons or aquathlons, you need to save your legs for the bike and/or the run. Breast stroke generates a lot of the force through using your leg muscles, so your legs are knackered by the end of the swim.
In contrast, in crawl your legs only generate about 10% of the total force, so you only need to use them to counterbalance the force of your arms and to stop your legs from sinking.
Most training classes will teach you how to sort your breathing out. It takes time, but I think I'm now getting the hang of it. That reminds me - I need to do some more swimming.
I think i just need to try it....i go swimming every monday and usually tuesday but just do breast-stroke. I think i need to throw in a few lengths of crawl and just try and build up....any buy that book.:rolleyes:
Struggling with your breathing is often a symptom of trying too hard! Have a go at slowing your stroke down and gliding more (I breath every 3 arms, on alternate sides). Breath out underwater and in when your head's to the side. Relax. Give it a go.
if learning the crawl, you're probably going to be a really inefficient at first...
i know I was
thus you need huge amounts of oxygen to the ( usually poorly developed/trained ) muscles for very little forward movement...so you need to breath after every stroke or at max after every two....breath to one side only at first as this is more efficient....only bi lateral breathing for open water/ proficient swimmers
it's a bit like running...totally knackering when you first start....after a while though you can go for miles and miles....as fitter, better technique and more efficient:)
Good way to just practice swimming is 1 length breast stroke then 1 crawl, really worked with me. Other one is use a pull buoy between your legs, this allows you to float and glide much easier. Really frees up your arms to be able to practice. Good luck with the training.....
Managed to get down the pool and put some of the theory into practise last night.
The difference was unbelievable. It felt effortless.
Didn't look at the clock or count how many lengths I did but just focussed on 'pushing the bouy', looking down and 'swimming in the front quadrant'.
Did most of the swim with a pull buoy so I could focuss on body position without needing to worry about legs.
I feel cheated that I've be tharshing up and down the pool with a 'traditional' swimming stroke getting nowhere when I could have been doing this all along.
Why don't all swim teachers use this method?
KS - A total immersion convert.
:cool:Quote:
Originally Posted by kevspider
It was the hip rotation that did it for me Kev.
If you get it right, it transfers through to your upper body and causes it to rock in the way described in the book.
It doesn't come naturally to me Kev. Like you i'd been swimming in a fixed style for years and I really do have to concentrate on the Total Immersion 'Body Rock' style, but bloody hell the results are astonishing. :)
I know loads about the theory, but I just can't think about more than one thing at once in the pool (or anywhere else).Quote:
Originally Posted by kevspider
As soon as I start thinking about elbows, the hands and fee and breathing go all wobbly. And vice versa, ad drowneum.
I'm crap at dancing too. Might they be connected?
Had never heard of this technique but have been so impressed by some of these comments that I went and bought the book on amazon, now eagerly awaiting delivery. Been stuck at about 7m45s for 400m in sprint tris for ages, would love to get faster!!
I am still aiming for 7m45s. I think you probably won't get faster - you'll just be less tired when you get out of the pool, and having taken fewer strokes.Quote:
Originally Posted by biara
I took another minute off my mile time this afternoon and I took it really easy :eek:
Up until finding the Total Immersion technique I'd been ‘thrashing’ through a mile, three times a week, each time coming out of the pool feeling absolutely bloody exhausted.
I really wish i'd learnt to swim this way years ago. I even think I might have a go at a triathlon now. :cool:
Triathlons rule!!:)Quote:
Originally Posted by Danbert Nocurry
Book arrived yesterday along with 'Going Long' Ironman training book. Mmmmm, lots of reading for me!
Just ordered the Chi Running book that he recommends.
Hopefuly it will do the same for my running:rolleyes: or at least reduce injury.:o
Total immersion is great but i get fed up of lane hogs in pools.
You should try going to Knutsford pool. I think it's on Thursdays, during the adults only laned swimming session. There are some blokes there who are obviously there under duress (somehow??) and they get told to do a few lengths by the guy who seems to be in charge of them. So instead of doing lengths properly, some of them walk up and down the pool pretending to swim. :mad: I can't tell what they're doing there. I suppose I should ask them. Any ideas?? It's bizarre. :confused:
Some blokes will do anything to get out of the house.
Lent the book to 2 people already so my plan to spread the TI word is working.
Still need to get down the pool more often as I've entered the Great North Swim this year (1 mile in Windermere) in the sub 30 minutes category :eek:
Do they hold a Triathlon at the Knutsford pool?
Have a look at the British tri website they will have an events section.
Quote:
Originally Posted by biara
7 m 45 is very quick time. I doubt you will knock much time off this. Just checked skipton tri results and the winner only did 7 15 or something!
Where do you train Biara and who with?
Well?Quote:
Originally Posted by sunnysideup
Sorry KS, I'm a bit slow at answering that one.Quote:
Originally Posted by kevspider
No. There's a triathlon in Knutsford, but it's an open air one that's held in Tatton Park.
Good luck training for the Great North Swim. :)
I have been having occasional coaching from Ian Smith at Loughborough, who has something to do with this I think.
www.swimshack.co.uk
www.totalimmersion.co.uk
It took me ages to get out of my bad habits (ie kicking from the knee and balance etc) but now I find crawl fairly effortless, although my pulling has loads of room for improvement. Guess the reason most people are out of breath is cos of technique. If you're kicking to try to stay afloat because you kick from the knee, you're sinking anyway and energy will be used up before there's any left to move fwd, if that makes sense. I do notice that most of us fell runners kick from the knees to start with. We even have a good cyclist in our club who tries to cycle in the pool, madness! Might have a peak at the book.
Used some of the methods this morning. Went from taking 25 strokes for a length to only 20 with little extra effort physically but found I really had to think hard to concentrate on what I was doing. Will definitely persevere, feels like I'm going in the right direction, just slowly.:)
Quote:
Originally Posted by biara
I think you're right biara. I think you've got to really focus on form and just try to relax when doing so.
After making massive leaps forward with total immersion techniques this last month or so i now seem to have steadied out. I guess that was bound to happen though.
I'm just chuffed, as i'm now on average swimming my mile, 5 minutes quicker than before Christmas.:cool:
Just got back form half terms hols in Ibiza. Not been in pool for at least 8 weeks previous but still managed to do a couple of longish swims (.5 to .75 miles) in the sea without too much problem. Also using the 'head dwon; technique allowed me to see more of the underwater flora and fauna.
Fatastic technique, made all the difference to my enjoyment of swimming.
Took a few swimming lessons at my local baths about 6 years ago as I was sick of not being able to do more than one length front craw withouth feeling like I was drowning.
A few lessons and my front crawl had come on loads - they taught the same sort of technique as Total Immersion Swimmming, which I also bought a few years back when I was doing some triathlons.
The trick is definatelly to relax, it shouldn't feel like hard work, it really should feel effortless like you're gliding through the water BUT you definately need to think about it until it becomes habit. I used to swim a mile a day and that helped. You'll find once you've got the basics of the technique then you can really start to concentrate on improving the indivdiual elements.
I would say though that having a couple of lessons is really worth it (local pools don't cost much) as you may think you're not crossing your arms over or may think you're kicking properly but in fact you're not.
Good luck with it.