Total Immersion

trinewbie

Re: Total Immersion

Just bought book and DVD.
Has anybody else tried the total immersion technique - books or DVD with improved results?

Killgore Trout

A few of the guys I swim with metioned it and said it's good. Let us know how you get on

cunnins4

Got the book, but i gave up after a while as I needed to be doing more endurance swims rather than drills. Definitely pointed out a lot of the basics to me (longer reach, balance etc...) but after that I haven't used it much. Definitely gonna try doing the drills as described in the book for the next few months and see how I get on.

BTW, when I bought the book i was doing 32 strokes per length, within a week of reading the book and trying to lengthen my stroke more and balance better I had it down to 21. Now i'm at a healthy 17-18 but slow as hell and still a bit all over the place.

swimmingdurd

I have found this method great. More efficient stroke, better body position, longer stroke so fewer strokes per length. It all contributes to much easier swimming. With practice you can use less energy yet swim faster. Just practise the different drills and you'll be amazed at the end results. Give it time. Enjoy! Pure genius really but makes so much more sense.

Killgore Trout

Getting interested in this now i'm in off season. I see the website which book/dvd did ye go for?

cunnins4

Killgore Trout wrote:

Getting interested in this now i'm in off season. I see the website which book/dvd did ye go for?

I got the "Triathlon Swimming Made Easy" book, but I probably should have bought the DVD too.

I found this site for helpful instructional videos on freestyle though:

http://www.triathlonplace.com/flash/swimfreevideogallery.html

cunnins4

Oh, and the book didn't turn up after about 4 weeks waiting. I emailed them and they sent out a new one-it arrived about 3 days later, so I recommend them for customer service!

swimmingdurd

The book I have is Total Immersion - The Revolutionary Way to Swim Better, Faster, and Easier by Terry Laughlin and John Delves. Published in 1996. No doubt there is a more up-to-date edition.

Couldn't recommend this technique more - definitely helps to make it all easier.

trinewbie

http://www.play.com/Books/Books/4-/449987/Total-Immersion/Product.html

works out at 12 quid..Havnt really had a chance to try the drills yet as havnt been in the pool for over a week.

One thing tho - the first few lessons will make you look like a fecking lemon in the pool

swimmingdurd

But what a cool lemon!! Cruising up and down the pool effortlessly - never out of breath, even when you do a hard set!
Go for it and start playing 'Swimming Golf' [see the book!] to help you reduce the number of strokes per length while at the same time improving your time.

Enjoy!

cunnins4

just ordered the freestyle dvd there to go with the book. Should probably go to the pool sometime soon to actually practice this stuff!:rolleyes:

boomdocker

you really need the dvd with the book, its much easier when you can see what you are supposed to be doing.....

a bit like cunnins4, i started doing the drills, then lost my way a bit after a couple of months, and just went back swimming.

HOWEVER, it was only after a couple of months that i realised that it was all starting to make sense and the stuff I had been doing in the drills weeks previously started to sink in and I started to improve rapidly. I would at least do the first half dozen drills or so, it will really help you in the long run.

Like all these things though, you have to put in the time. Pool time at the end of the day is what will make you a better swimmer. The good thing about TI is that it will make you think about/concentrate on your technique instead of thrashing aimlessly up and down the pool.