Product Description

Even though swimming is the closest thing to a perfect exercise you can name, too few people experience its full benefits. That's because most find themselves fighting to stay afloat, struggling for air, and feeling exhausted after just a lap or two, all of which makes this perfect exercise frustrating, laborious, and complicated. For the past fifteen years, veteran swim coach Terry Laughlin has been teaching adults how to swim better - and enjoy it more - by using his simple and original techniques. Laughlin turns traditional swimming beliefs inside out as he explains that it's technique - not athletic ability - that makes a strong swimmer. Laughlin teaches 'Fishlike Swimming,' focusing on slipping through the water rather than using muscle to overpower it. The key is working with the water, not against it - learning to swim ever faster and farther without losing a sense of flow, grace, economy, and balance.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #2156 in Books
• Published on: 2004-06-21
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 320 pages

Review
Eddie Reese1992, 1996, 2000, and 2004 United States Olympic Coach and Head Coach, University of Texas (six-time NCAA champions)The most valuable service a good coach provides is to sharpen your technique, not make you work harder. Terry Laughlin has done an outstanding job of simplifying that complex job, providing practical tools that will work for any coach or teacher.

From the Author
Master swimming as an art before training for it as a sport.
I've been swimming (in training and competition) for 32 years, since the age of 15, and coaching for 26 years. In particular, I've spent the last 10 years intensively teaching improvement-minded adult swimmers in weekend workshops. I've distilled all those experiences into the guidance included in this book. If I had one goal in mind in writing this it was to make Total Immersion the most immediately useful how-to book available for swimmers. My promise to my readers is that I'll provide real, practical, detailed, complete and -- most of all -- clear and simple how-to information. I've been delighted to hear from so many readers that this book has been their favorite road map to achieving greater satisfaction with their swimming than they had thought possible. Happy laps, Terry Laughlin

Customer Reviews

Superceded by another book & DVD by same author
Following the advice of another Amazon reviewer, I took a look at this in my local bookshop before buying. I was intrigued enough to buy it - but have since discovered that there is a more recent book that supercedes this one. That book is called "Extraordinary Swimming for Every Body". I wish I had known before I bought this one!
There is also more than one TI DVD, likewise some more recent than others. I believe the latest is "Easy Freestyle: 21st Century Techniques"

As for this book -
What all the other reviews say is true: there are a hell of a lot of pages containing relatively little information.

Chapters 1-7 are full of personal anecdotes about how 'amazed' Terry was to discover he had spent years thinking all wrong about swimming. There is some important background information, but it could be covered much more concisely. The key point is that because water is so much denser than air, the key to fast swimming is efficient swimming rather than more effort. We all know this intellectually; but only serious swimmers actually act upon it.
There are some interesting scientific facts along the way. Plus some nonsense - eg dolphins only use a fraction of the energy that the laws of physics say they should. (If that was true, Einstein would have needed to explain dolphins rather than atoms etc)

Chapters 9-16 are about training for races, fitness etc. Most of this was of little interest to me - I just want to learn efficient technique.

Which just leaves Chapter 8. This is a series of deceptively simple drills that are designed to teach efficient swimming starting from scratch. And this is what intrigued me enough to buy the book. I want to be one of those guys cruising past with no effort and no splashes. (My crawl is not bad, but you know the people I mean - they are in a different league). So I am willing to accept going back to first principles, rather than just tweaking my current style.

But after I bought it I found out from the TI website that some of the techniques in this book are no longer recommended by TI! So, even by TI's own standards, this book is out of date.

So here are my conclusions -
I agree with the concept that good swimming is all about efficiency, balance, reduced drag etc. But that is not unique to TI.
I think the idea of going back to the drawing board is good. This seems to be TI's strength - it is NOT a unique way to swim (how could it be?), but a special set of drills to help you learn correct technique 'from the inside out'.
If that appeals to you, I would NOT recommend buying this book - I would suggest getting the latest TI book instead (although I have not read it).

UPDATE - I have bought the TI DVD "Easy Frestyle:21st Century Techniques" - Have watched about half & looks good. Knocks the spots off the book! BUY THE DVD INSTEAD!

Better Technique = Better Swimming
I'm not a big swimmer, but I heard so much about this book that I had to check it out- and I'm glad I did. This book will save a lot of people who are trying to learn to swim better a lot of time. Here's why:

-the book concentrates on swimming technique, correct position, and how you're suppose to feel in the water
-the book gives you drills to reinforce the most efficient way to swim
-the book is very scientific and the info is based on hydrodynamics

The book covers a lot of ground, but the authors writing style makes is go by quickly (at least it did for me). The pictures were good and I thought the explanations of the techniques and the "why" behind them was very understandable. Not sure about the rotator cuff routine in Chapter 16 though- it's kinda long and I'm not sure if some of the exercises like the reverse biceps curl is really necessary (rec. Treat Your Own Rotator Cuff for swimmers who have shoulder issues).

In conclusion, I found the book very enlightening and recommend it to anyone (young OR old) who wants to learn how to swim more efficiently by learning the correct swimming techniques. The author obviously loves swimming and has brought all his years of experience and research into one handy resource.

I cut 4 strokes of my front crawl upon the first day
I have been training for about 2 years now, and although getting fitter, I just was not getting any faster lately. I noticed that certain people managed to swim a lot faster while putting in what appeared to be a lot less effort. This book confirmed EXACTLY what I had been doing wrong and how I should correct my stroke. It is ideal for the keen (intermediate) swimmer, who wants to develop their technique and enjoy their swimming a lot more.