Which Video do I Start With?

Hi everyone.

I'm a newbie excited about learning TI. My goal is to swim long distances.

I would love to learn with a coach, however I don't believe there are any certified coaches in Nicaragua.

This leads to my question . . .

Which self-coaching video should I begin with? And after that?

[CoachBobM]

I'd suggest you start with the "1.0 Effortless Endurance Self-Coaching Course" (which is available if you click on "Store"). It's a downloadable product, so you should be able to start with it right away! And if you have any problems, you can get advice from TI coaches here.

The 2.0 course progresses to more advanced skills.

The "Outside the Box" DVD is designed for swimmers who have been through the basic Total Immersion program but who are specifically interested in applying it to open water swimming (the "Box" is the swimming pool).


Bob

Hi, I am also completely new to TI and I have much the same question, although I would like to broaden it out a bit. There are so many different products in the TI store, books, DVDs, complete self-study courses, as well as all the other videos around on Youtube and other places, it is really confusing as a newbie to know where to start. Similar questions have been asked in this forum before but does not always get the same answer, sometimes the answer refers to products, techniques or videos that I am not sure where to find possibly because they are old and have been superseded.

I think my current "conventional" freestyle stroke isn't too bad, at least I am making a conscious effort to try and adopt good form and I even had a lesson with a swimming instructor who, to my surprise, did not identify any major flaws. The problem is that despite my best efforts after 25m I am gasping for air as though I have been sprinting but I don't actually go very fast. I think the TI approach is just what I need to go further with less effort and fix my sinky legs!

I am happy to buy the "1.0 Effortless Endurance Self-Coaching Course" if that is the best way to go but I noticed the most popular TI book on Amazon, which many other people have referred to, is "Total Immersion: The Revolutionary Way To Swim Better, Faster, and Easier" which seems to be different to the "Ultra Efficient Freestyle" book included with the above mentioned course.

Probably a combination of written and video material is the best to understand the lessons and see them in practice, with a step-by-step explanation of how to learn TI, but equally I don't want to get overwhelmed with so much material that I don't have time to follow it all.

So, where do I start? Book, DVD, online videos, self-coaching course..? Too many options!

Thanks :-)

[IngeA]

The newest course ist the "1.0 Effortless Endurance Self-Coaching Course".
The courses are updated regularly so that of course people who asked for advice two years ago got another advice.

All self coaching courses are not only video but also a textbook to download with theoretical issues as well practical advices.

I started myself with the book you mentioned. It is - someone who knows the TI-"history" better then me may correct me - the first book/ course. The courses have developed a lot since then. The book and the newest course differ a lot so I think it could be rather confusing than helpful.

Best regards
Inge

Originally Posted by fatbob

Hi, I am also completely new to TI and I have much the same question, although I would like to broaden it out a bit. There are so many different products in the TI store, books, DVDs, complete self-study courses, as well as all the other videos around on Youtube and other places, it is really confusing as a newbie to know where to start. Similar questions have been asked in this forum before but does not always get the same answer, sometimes the answer refers to products, techniques or videos that I am not sure where to find possibly because they are old and have been superseded.

I think my current "conventional" freestyle stroke isn't too bad, at least I am making a conscious effort to try and adopt good form and I even had a lesson with a swimming instructor who, to my surprise, did not identify any major flaws. The problem is that despite my best efforts after 25m I am gasping for air as though I have been sprinting but I don't actually go very fast. I think the TI approach is just what I need to go further with less effort and fix my sinky legs!

I am happy to buy the "1.0 Effortless Endurance Self-Coaching Course" if that is the best way to go but I noticed the most popular TI book on Amazon, which many other people have referred to, is "Total Immersion: The Revolutionary Way To Swim Better, Faster, and Easier" which seems to be different to the "Ultra Efficient Freestyle" book included with the above mentioned course.

Probably a combination of written and video material is the best to understand the lessons and see them in practice, with a step-by-step explanation of how to learn TI, but equally I don't want to get overwhelmed with so much material that I don't have time to follow it all.

So, where do I start? Book, DVD, online videos, self-coaching course..? Too many options!

Thanks :-)

If you want to fix your sinky legs get a pull buoy
(a small one with just 3 bars of floatation not 5, Arena type C I use)

Stick it between your upper thighs and swim 2 lengths

You will be amazed at how correct posture and body position makes swimming fast and easy.

Ditch the pull buoy and swim 2 lengths without it trying to replicate the feeling (muscle memory will make this relatively easy once your realise how to keep taughtness of the lower abdominal.

This will also teach you hip drive (driving each hip towards the far end of the pool in time with your arm extentions)

Flaws to note:

If you feel your legs swinging and wiggling about behind you whilst using the pull buoy your head will be swinging around off the centre line

look striaght down at the black line and keep your head rock still, when you want to breath turn head in time with the body rotation and look slightly backwards as if the is an apple on your shoulder and you try to take a bite out of it (the bite is your breath in)

Do all the above and be sure to report back.

Remeber, "bring POSTURE LINE & BALANCE to the power of freestyle"
-Richard Quick (RIP)

"Bring RYTHMN to the power of freestyle"

https://youtu.be/xxKK7Wed9jg

[CoachDavidShen]

Originally Posted by fatbob

Hi, I am also completely new to TI and I have much the same question, although I would like to broaden it out a bit. There are so many different products in the TI store, books, DVDs, complete self-study courses, as well as all the other videos around on Youtube and other places, it is really confusing as a newbie to know where to start. Similar questions have been asked in this forum before but does not always get the same answer, sometimes the answer refers to products, techniques or videos that I am not sure where to find possibly because they are old and have been superseded.

I think my current "conventional" freestyle stroke isn't too bad, at least I am making a conscious effort to try and adopt good form and I even had a lesson with a swimming instructor who, to my surprise, did not identify any major flaws. The problem is that despite my best efforts after 25m I am gasping for air as though I have been sprinting but I don't actually go very fast. I think the TI approach is just what I need to go further with less effort and fix my sinky legs!

I am happy to buy the "1.0 Effortless Endurance Self-Coaching Course" if that is the best way to go but I noticed the most popular TI book on Amazon, which many other people have referred to, is "Total Immersion: The Revolutionary Way To Swim Better, Faster, and Easier" which seems to be different to the "Ultra Efficient Freestyle" book included with the above mentioned course.

Probably a combination of written and video material is the best to understand the lessons and see them in practice, with a step-by-step explanation of how to learn TI, but equally I don't want to get overwhelmed with so much material that I don't have time to follow it all.

So, where do I start? Book, DVD, online videos, self-coaching course..? Too many options!

Thanks :-)

Yes 1.0 Effortless Endurance would be a great place to start. Note that the TI book that you find on Amazon was written quite a while ago. While many of the techniques will work, TI has evolved greatly since then and we have stopped using some of the drills in that book while developed newer, more effective ones. You will see the latest system if you get 1.0 Effortless Endurance, and 2.0 Freestyle Mastery, and the ebook Ultra Efficient Freestyle, or if you attend a recent workshop.

Wrong video link above it is this one:

https://youtu.be/Cb1Supmb2TQ

[CoachBobM]

Originally Posted by IngeA

I started myself with the book you mentioned. It is - someone who knows the TI-"history" better then me may correct me - the first book/ course. The courses have developed a lot since then. The book and the newest course differ a lot so I think it could be rather confusing than helpful.

There were actually two versions of the blue and yellow book. Terry at one point revised the book to update the drills and make them more in line with what was then the current TI drill sequence.

But Terry was never satisfied with the drill sequence. He was always looking for ways to improve it. His lifelong goal was always to find the training method that worked best and fastest with the largest number of swimmers.

Some products (like the "Outside the Box" DVD and the "Turn the TI Way" DVD) were designed to meet the needs of people who were doing particular kinds of swimming, while others (like "O2 in H2O" or the "Happy Laps" DVD) were designed to meet the needs of swimmers with particular problems. But for perfecting your freestyle, you are most likely to get the best and fastest results with the most current training materials, but are likely to achieve success even with the older materials.


Bob

Originally Posted by Mushroomfloat

If you want to fix your sinky legs get a pull buoy
(a small one with just 3 bars of floatation not 5, Arena type C I use)

Stick it between your upper thighs and swim 2 lengths

You will be amazed at how correct posture and body position makes swimming fast and easy.

Ditch the pull buoy and swim 2 lengths without it trying to replicate the feeling (muscle memory will make this relatively easy once your realise how to keep taughtness of the lower abdominal.

Thanks for the suggestions. I have tried swimming with a pull buoy already, which was a revelation in that for the first time I was able to get the feeling of gliding through the water and actually having some momentum to keep moving when I stopped stroking, instead of always feeling like I was towing a sack of bricks! This is what led me to the conclusion that I have sinky legs and/or poor position in the water. I still find it quite hard work even with the float and I get out of breath quickly. Unfortunately when I take the float away the position doesn't stick and I am back to sinking like a brick!

Anyway I am trying out the TI methods instead, which is going quite well except for a few issues. I found the set of 10 videos from the Self Coached Workshop on Youtube so I started with that. It don't know how up to date it is but at least the lessons are short, I am concerned that if I buy the Effortless Endurance course I will never have time to read the book, watch the video, follow the workbook etc and end up shelving it and making no progress at all.

I got up to lesson 3 of the self coached workshop, "breathe easier". In summary you glide, pull your arms back and rotate (almost) onto your back, then roll onto your side, then the same drills with one arm extended, progress to skate-breathe-skate and so on. You are supposed to exhale gently through the nose all the time. I found 2 difficulties with this. First, when I roll over to breathe, often my face is still under water so I have to consciously lift my head to breathe. This seems to happen when I rotate to one side more than to the other side so it is probably something I am doing wrong! The other issue is that all the water goes up my nose and when I roll to face up the water runs down the back of my nose into my throat and makes me cough and splutter. Strangely this seems to happen more when I exhale through my nose and I cough less if I exhale through my mouth.

Any suggestions please?