Since I became a Total Immersion Coach in August of 2010, I have seen many forms of TI criticism. The number one concern I have heard is that TI teaches slow swimming. These comments are often from people that haven’t actually tried TI techniques or they have simply done a few drills and they feel it hasn’t helped them to get to the other end of the pool faster. My experience has been a very

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NOTE:  This blog was originally written HERE on my personal blog but I thought I would repost it here on the TI site.  Terry has written extensively on this subject so it will likely be old info for a lot of you but maybe there are some newer people here or some that haven't read Terry's info on the speed equation.  I hope you enjoy. 

It is not terribly uncommon to see a swimmer’s speed increase

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I have been using a Finis Tempo Trainer in my swimming for about a year now and I absolutely love it. It is the #1 training tool in my swim bag without a doubt. In fact it is almost the only one...no pull bouy, no kickboard, no paddles...just short swim fins and a tempo trainer and a stop watch for those times when the pace clock just doesn't cut it. However, I have always had a few issues

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Hello All,

 I just posted the story of a triathlon client of mine on my other blog (see the link below to the entire post).

Brian Whelan was diagnosed with MS in 2004 but has always had the dream of completing an Ironman.  He made his first attempt at Cozumel in late 2010.  He barely made the swim cutoff (cutoff is 2:20 and he finished around 2:16).  Because of the energy he expended on the swim,

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So, I am certainly not an expert on how to use a tempo trainer to maximize your training (I have only been using one for about a year), but I would like to share with you the success that I have had over the past few months working with a tempo trainer in the pool and in open water (and even in a couple of races).

First, let's talk about why you would want to use a tempo trainer:

The most common

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Ok, so it is not necessarily "hip" in the sense that it is "cool" or "fashionable"...although it is certainly quickly becoming more and more "fashionable" to be a triathlete. What this post is really about, however, is how your success in each discipline in triathlon is highly dependent on how effectively you use your hips. I know....what a clever post title! What?...you are not impressed? Well,

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I just put up a new post on my website about looking back on your victories over the last year or so and then moving forward into 2011.  While the post is not centered around swimming or Total Immersion, the idea defenitely applies to your Total Immersion swimming practice.  Below is the beginning of the post.  Click here to go to my website and read the entire post.

 

So, this morning while on the

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So, in the last few weeks, I have been using an analogy with all of my Total Immersion clients that seems to work well.

 The background: Once we get past basic balance drills like Superman Glide, Laser Lead Flutter, skating position, and some of the initial two-beat kick drills (see my other post on two-beat kick), we begin doing a couple of different types of switches (spear switches...formerly

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Most of you that are into Total Immersion are aware that having underwater video of your swim stroke is invaluable for improving your swimming. All the TI coaches that I know offer underwater video as part of their lessons to show students what they look like when they are swimming and to point out the things that they talk about in the lessons. It truly is an excellent tool for any swimmer that

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This subject really goes hand in hand with the recent guest post on my site from Dave Cameron entitled “Looking Fast vs. Being Fast”. Dave talked about how being fast doesn’t always look fast and showed a before and after video of Shinji. 

I want to dive into this subject a little deeper and from a slightly different angle and talk about how much you should focus on improving your efficiency or

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