Newbie Introduction

Hi All,

I am new here, and thought I'd drop a line of introduction. I don't see a specific subforum for this, so, if I am posting in the wrong place, please move this post or let me know, thanks.

I'm a very late bloomer at swimming technique. Oh, I have swum a lot, on vacations, in neighbors' back yard pools, and so on. Last summer, I joined a local community pool and was in the water a lot with my 2 young grandsons and daughter-in-law and my son. I noticed that most of the adults did not really swim, but my grandsons took some swim lessons. And I felt like I'd like to really know how to swim for some distance.

I am almost finished with a beginners' swim lesson program at a local parks & recreation aquatic center now. It was a revelation to me, how nose breathing makes a difference. I still have a lot to learn, but I'm enjoying the journey. I can swim easily if I swim sidestroke, but I notice nobody ever mentions that stroke nowadays. I can't recall how I learned that - maybe my late Dad taught me? Anyway, it's always been breathing that tripped me up when I tried to swim a crawl. So I'm learning that.

My lessons are not TI particularly, but I'm reading Terry's book, and will probably get some of the DVDs soon, to work on my own, after this session of lessons is over. I don't think I'm yet ready for the next level of the parks & rec lessons -- I want to be able to swim 25y nonstop in a crawl, I think, before that. I'm still very close to my kickboard haha!

As you can guess from the above, I'm in my early sixties. I don't think I'm afraid of the water, as I know many people are. But, RELAXED breathing in and out, is another thing! I do find bobbing a while before beginning to swim, really helps, but there is a lot to focus on so I'm slowly working on that. In my class, thankfully, the other (2) students are also older, like me.

Odd thing: I tried to get into swim classes nearer to where I live (in my own county) but all of the adult sessions were "full." But in the very next county over, there are just 3 students in a class with 2 instructors in the adult beginner session. I've also noticed that the pools in my home county don't seem to have masters programs, and don't seem to do much to welcome or encourage adult swimming. Isn't that odd? I am tempted to drop in on one of those "full" classes, to see who is taking up the slots! Meanwhile, I love the instructors and the lessons I'm in now.

Oh, and I live in Maryland with my dear husband, and a couple of cats. My husband has become a devotee of theater. He plays and is building a digital organ (company called Hauptwerk I believe) in our rec room and he plays some great pieces. We also like going on "organ crawls" occasionally - this means you visit a site with a pipe organ and you can choose to 'crawl' inside the pipe chambers, or sit and play the console, or just visit and enjoy the music.

Anyway, while I swim, often my husband practices!

Best,
Linda

[CoachDavidShen]

Originally Posted by aswimmerINmaryland

Hi All,

I am new here, and thought I'd drop a line of introduction. I don't see a specific subforum for this, so, if I am posting in the wrong place, please move this post or let me know, thanks.

I'm a very late bloomer at swimming technique. Oh, I have swum a lot, on vacations, in neighbors' back yard pools, and so on. Last summer, I joined a local community pool and was in the water a lot with my 2 young grandsons and daughter-in-law and my son. I noticed that most of the adults did not really swim, but my grandsons took some swim lessons. And I felt like I'd like to really know how to swim for some distance.

I am almost finished with a beginners' swim lesson program at a local parks & recreation aquatic center now. It was a revelation to me, how nose breathing makes a difference. I still have a lot to learn, but I'm enjoying the journey. I can swim easily if I swim sidestroke, but I notice nobody ever mentions that stroke nowadays. I can't recall how I learned that - maybe my late Dad taught me? Anyway, it's always been breathing that tripped me up when I tried to swim a crawl. So I'm learning that.

My lessons are not TI particularly, but I'm reading Terry's book, and will probably get some of the DVDs soon, to work on my own, after this session of lessons is over. I don't think I'm yet ready for the next level of the parks & rec lessons -- I want to be able to swim 25y nonstop in a crawl, I think, before that. I'm still very close to my kickboard haha!

As you can guess from the above, I'm in my early sixties. I don't think I'm afraid of the water, as I know many people are. But, RELAXED breathing in and out, is another thing! I do find bobbing a while before beginning to swim, really helps, but there is a lot to focus on so I'm slowly working on that. In my class, thankfully, the other (2) students are also older, like me.

Odd thing: I tried to get into swim classes nearer to where I live (in my own county) but all of the adult sessions were "full." But in the very next county over, there are just 3 students in a class with 2 instructors in the adult beginner session. I've also noticed that the pools in my home county don't seem to have masters programs, and don't seem to do much to welcome or encourage adult swimming. Isn't that odd? I am tempted to drop in on one of those "full" classes, to see who is taking up the slots! Meanwhile, I love the instructors and the lessons I'm in now.

Oh, and I live in Maryland with my dear husband, and a couple of cats. My husband has become a devotee of theater. He plays and is building a digital organ (company called Hauptwerk I believe) in our rec room and he plays some great pieces. We also like going on "organ crawls" occasionally - this means you visit a site with a pipe organ and you can choose to 'crawl' inside the pipe chambers, or sit and play the console, or just visit and enjoy the music.

Anyway, while I swim, often my husband practices!

Best,
Linda

Great to have here in the forum! The old yellow and blue book is still out there, but there are new ebooks and videos available at http://www.totalimmersion.net. I would encourage you to check those out Effortless Endurance 1.0 and Freestyle Mastery Self Coaching Course 2.0.

Don't hesitate to post a question here in the forums! Please do post your progress!

Hi Coach David, thank you for your reply! I don't have it to hand but I think the book that I have is an edition of the old one you mention. And I for sure will grab the Effortless Endurance DVD quite soon.

[CoachStuartMcDougal]

Hi Linda,

Welcome to the forum and swimming with ease! Here's a quick view from Tim Ferriss (the Four Hour Chef) succinctly summarizing his experience with Terry Laughlin and Total Immersion swimming that took him from a non-swimmer to swimming his first mile in open water without struggle: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1AQA-ofcdrU

Enjoy your journey!

Stuart

Thank you, Coach Stewart. Funny that you mention Tim Ferriss; I think his blog post about TI was one of my first exposures to the approach. I enjoyed watching the video. (And now I'm curious to check out Ferriss' books, none of which I have read).

I had another swim lesson last night, and am enjoying them a lot. The instructors are very encouraging and although they are teaching conventional swimming concepts, they've also been welcoming about TI ideas I've been reading about.

I have 2 more class sessions, and then I am hoping to have the DVD or downloads, so that I can start doing some drills and applying more TI to my pool time.

[WFEGb]

Hello aswimmerINmaryland,

I had another swim lesson last night, and am enjoying them a lot. The instructors are very encouraging and although they are teaching conventional swimming concepts, they've also been welcoming about TI ideas I've been reading about.

Such instructors seem to be extremely rare outside TI. Most I know don't know anything about TI, but are rough to declare TI's views as rubbish, because they think they are coaching best possible way too worthy to even talk about others. (We as TI-coaches are convinced we are coaching a better/best :-) way, and we are always curious to improve and learn more from everyone...) So stay in contact and discuss every different point of view you found on your (hopefully TI-)way. That's what Terry did his whole live. Always kind, always patient, always ready to question everything with everyone and always curious to learn and improve. You'll find what's best for you and TI will take large parts of this individual best, surely.

Enjoy your way!

Best regards,
Werner

[CoachStuartMcDougal]

Hi Linda,

I'm afraid what Coach Werner notes is all too common. Conventional training starts with using arms and legs to stabilize the body in water, primal terrestrial movement patterns to solve imbalance. My OCD always goes off when I see swim instructors break out the kickboards and have the a new swimmer try a single arm stroke while the other arm holds the kickboard in front, then repeat on the other side. In TI you learn to sink into weightlessness, balance over your lungs in a level streamlined position *without* using turning arms and legs as stabilizers.

Here's another Tim Ferris experiment a TI Coach colleague just posted on facebook. Both Terry and Tim take Sarah from a non-swimming human (with some water phobia) to swimming a 1/2 mile in open water off the Kona coast in Hawaii in just a few days. The principles of balance, core stability as priority, then streamline left-streamline right - the propulsive part of the stroke is more consequential to balance and streamline with whole body coordinated movement. Select this link: https://www.facebook.com/47170074652...2049779826522/

Enjoy!

Stuart

Thank you Coaches Werner and Stuart!

I had been messing around in water, on my own, most of the summer. I have to admit that I found out about TI around the time when I was finding roadblocks on formal swim lessons, so when I first showed up for a class I was feeling a little bit wary, that I'd find just what Werner alluded to. Maybe it's because this is adult swim classes, maybe it is just the nature of my particular instructors. Neither is a swimming competitor from what I can tell. One is quite young - 24 yo! -- and neither seems to be only about swimming. I suspect that might help. They both seem to be encouraging that what works for an individual, is what's right -- so that sure is encouraging to me. I did have one session where I was kicking the whole time using a kickboard, came away feeling that was a relative low point in the lessons.

I am hoping to keep in touch some with the instructors, too, although, it's not my "home" pool. You don't get a lot of time to chat during these short lessons, but, I will probably run into them from time to time, if I sometimes swim at "their" pool. I hope I can avoid the tribal stuff, wanting to show any one "way" is "best!"

[CoachStuartMcDougal]

You'er welcome - hope this helps. I always admire the young instructors, enthusiasm high, intentions are great - and they are just trying to teach novices to swim as they were once taught. This is the only context they often have.

Coaching, like swimming, requires a very high skill and always refining the process, learning something new with every swimmer we encounter and have the opportunity to teach. The good news whether a novice and expert or competitive swimmer, the same principles and laws of physics apply :-)

Here's a free eBook written by Terry, one that we give to students prior to workshop to prepare them to make the most of their experience and I recommend to everyone, novice and very experienced swimmers too: http://www.totalimmersion.net/store/...l#.WgYGarynH9Y

Keep us posted on your developments and experiences!

Stuart

Originally Posted by CoachStuartMcDougal

Here's a free eBook written by Terry, one that we give to students prior to workshop to prepare them to make the most of their experience and I recommend to everyone, novice and very experienced swimmers too: http://www.totalimmersion.net/store/...l#.WgYGarynH9Y

I just downloaded it and began reading, thanks again!

I am a little confused on one basic point: the kicks. There are references to a "scissors kick," and a "up-down kick" and a "flutter kick." I know flutter kick, from my lessons - that's what the instructors are trying to help me learn to do (a straight leg kick, initiated from the hips, with feet pointed and kept close together as you kick). So, what are those other two kinds of kicks? A scissors kick certainly seems as though it would be "up-down."