The following guest post by TI Master Coach Gary Fahey was originally published on Mar. 16, 2014. 

A blog post discussing kick strategies landed in my inbox a couple of weeks ago, much of it advocating a six-beat kick (6BK) for all but the most skilled of swimmers.

While I disagree with this premise and the example presented through the .gif in that blog post, I agree with the writer that long distance and open water swimmers should use their legs primarily for stability rather than propulsion. The energy cost of propulsive kicking is simply unsustainable.

Total Immersion advocates for increasing speed through smarter choices rather than greater effort. Among the most fundamental of those choices is to improve core stabilization—which is a critical foundation for a mastering 2-Beat Kick (2BK) skill.

One adjustment, I suggest to my swimmers is to experiment with the depth of the extended arm.  When they do, they learn that a very shallow extension causes the legs to sink.  But so does reaching too deep.

Reaching too deep breaks the body line where arm and torso connect. Picture a see-saw plank with a collapsible hinge: applying pressure at one end would not exert any influence at the other end.  But when you open that hinge to establish a single, structurally sound plank, then adjustments at one end affect what happens at the other.

Sinking legs can be counter balanced by finding the optimal angle or depth at which to ‘spear’ your arm forward. Spearing 12 to 15 inches below the surface tends to shape the body into a balanced, stable and sleek line. Adding a moderate forward stretch (eliminating laxity) will bring tone to the core, strengthening the connection between front and rear.

In the blog post, the coach suggested the swimmer had improperly matched a 2-beat kick to his overall mechanics, which explains the dropped legs. His suggested fix was a 6BK.

This misdiagnoses the problem and offers an energy-wasting solution.

My view: By extending too deep, the swimmer breaks the connection from extended hand in front through legs at the rear. Like the plank with a broken-hinge, balancing forces in front cannot act upon the rear.

If he ‘speared’ a few inches shallower (which would also direct more energy forward) he would increase structural integrity in his aquatic posture and bring his legs into balance.

Once he corrects his balance problem, the 2BK would not only be an appropriate match for his swimming style, he could likely scale back on his current degree of knee bend and further reduce drag. More stability = lower energy cost.

Compare the red lines in the still frame image at top (taken from the other writer’s post) to the  image from TI Coach Shinji Takeuchi’s top-ranked YouTube video.  Shinji extends to a shallower end point, which draws his body into a sleek line. His legs draft cleanly behind him and the energy cost of his 2BK approaches zero.

This illustrates a simple solution to sinking legs—one which results in kicking less, not more.

Besides this misdiagnosis, this blog post also drew a distinction between two styles of 2BK.  TI advocates the Shinji 2-beat kick  which connects the kick downbeat to the spearing arm.

The other writer advocates a style used by very high tempo swimmers like Brooke Bennett in this clip  in which the downbeat of the kick connects to the catch phase of the stroke.

The high tempo 2BK style is an extremely challenging configuration that can be done successfully by high-mileage, experienced swimmers, but is too exhausting and difficult for the vast majority.

The blog writer rejects the efficacy of the TI 2BK, which he calls a “kick-start” that compensates for what he calls “over-gliding.” I think the “kick-start” 2-beat kick is just fine for most purposes, certainly at tempos of 1 stroke per second and up.

There are legitimate pros and cons to selecting any kicking pattern, and not room here to discuss them all.  My primary goal is to show improvement-minded swimmers that they can opt for efficiency rather than effort.

If you want a more effective kick, you can achieve it through balance and stability—a choice that conserves energy rather than wastes it. Most swimmers already do far too much of the latter.

Editorial Note– For a step-by-step breakdown of the mechanics of the 2-beat kick, see this related post:

DEMO: Master the 2-Beat Kick– Connect Your Legs to the Power of Core Rotation for Maximal Speed and Efficiency

Gary Fahey has been a Total Immersion Certified Coach since 1998.  He teaches swimming full time through his Fort Lauderdale-based company, Stroke Doctor Swimming. In 25 years coaching competitive swimmers, he has qualified athletes up to the US Olympic Trials level. Contact Gary at gary@strokedocswim.com

The post Which Kick Is Best for YOU… 2-Beat or 6-Beat? appeared first on Total Immersion.

“Before Terry Laughlin, it was just a matter of getting in the water and getting it done. When I was in BUD/S training, my instructors taught us the way they learned it from their instructors. Now, that’s all changed; technique is everything. If they can master these techniques in the water, we can dramatically get their swim times down. The staff here at BUD/S can be a very skeptical bunch. We tend to resist anything from the outside. But when our personal swim times came down using Laughlin’s methods, well, we knew this was good information. We try to do as much teaching as possible here in Indoc—help them improve their technique. For some of them, this training will make the difference between making it to graduation or washing out. We’ve been able to cut swim drops by twenty-five percent– this stuff really works.” — Navy SEAL Instructor Tim King in Dick Couch’s “The Warrior Elite: The Forging of SEAL Class 228″

It’s a little-known fact about Total Immersion–  it’s not even listed in founder Terry Laughlin’s bio — that our methodology was adopted as part of official Navy SEAL swim curriculum after Terry trained their instructors in the late 90’s and re-designed the way the combat stroke was taught, in order to be more efficient. And it’s also true that even 30 years after T.I.’s founding, there are still many detractors in the competitive swim world who remain skeptical of our methods and prefer to stick with “traditional” training methods (i.e. just kick harder, pull harder), claiming that “T.I. doesn’t work for fast swimming.” Or T.I. is “only for beginners.” Or “better suited for triathletes.” Certainly, no one can argue that the U.S. military isn’t also deeply bound by tradition and the most rigorous training in the world– even more so than the world of competitive swimming– and yet, the Navy has recognized the value of changing their swim training with a method that is effective and proven. To reiterate Instructor King’s point: This stuff really works. The SEALs wouldn’t use it if it didn’t. The U.S. Navy completely changed the way they taught combat sidestroke based on our sound principles of efficient technique– and T.I. ‘s influence is embedded in the updated stroke training that the SEALs have taught for the last 20 years. Navy SEALs need to swim fast and efficiently under grueling conditions not to win a race, but because it’s their job. Speed matters to them– not to make a PR, or win a medal, or even break a world record. Speed is a matter of life and death. 

During the same era that Terry was training SEAL instructors to teach swimming differently, he was also coaching sprinters at West Point, who achieved extraordinary success at the Patriot Leagues. Terry’s group of sprinters included Joe Novak (Army West Point 1995-99) , the only three-time winner of the Patriot League Swimmer of the Meet award, who captured the honor in consecutive seasons from 1997-99. Novak also helped Army West Point capture the Patriot League title in his first three seasons from 1996-98, and was named to the first-team All-League squad three times. Novak earned a spot on the Patriot League All-Decade Team. He won the 50 free, 100 free and 100 fly in each of his seasons as Swimmer of the Meet. Joe has attributed much of his success in swimming to training with Terry using T.I. methods.

                                                            Terry coaching in 2016

So there’s ample evidence that:

1) T.I. technique is effective for long distances, when efficiency and speed matter tremendously.

2) T.I. technique also produces fast times for highly competitive and accomplished swimmers– yes, even sprinters.

Another interesting fact: if you click on Wikipedia’s entry for combat sidestroke, you’ll clearly see the foundational technique principles of T.I. highlighted– Balance, Length, Rotation. 

At this point, some of you may be wondering… “Well, I’m not a SEAL, nor am I aspiring to that– why the heck should I care about the combat sidestroke??” And it’s a reasonable question, given that most T.I. swimmers are primarily interested in improving their freestyle. But here’s why it matters:

1) The combat sidestroke is a hybrid of sidestroke, freestyle, and breaststroke and demonstrates that the principles of biomechanical and hydrodynamic speed and efficiency are universal to swimming any stroke well. Technique matters, whether it’s freestyle or the combat stroke. 

2) The combat sidestroke offers an excellent adaptive stroke option for swimmers who are limited in mobility or range of movement, either from age, injury, or disability. Freestyle is notoriously the most technically challenging stroke to master, particularly because of bilateral breathing and complex, asynchronous timing of the arms (and the 2-beat kick, for non-sprinters). Some might argue this point– however, fly and breast have a front-facing breath and stable head position, as well as a stroke where both arms move synchronously with the same timing. (Breaststroke is the first stroke many beginners learn, simply because it’s easier to breathe.) The combat sidestroke incorporates an easier style of breathing and stroking, making it an ideal option for swimmers who are looking for an adaptive swim stroke. [See DEMO of the stroke at the bottom of this post.]

Wikipedia’s entry for “combat sidestroke” reads:

Combat sidestroke or CSS is a variation of the side stroke that was developed by and taught to the United States Navy SEALs.

The combat sidestroke is a relaxing and very efficient swim stroke that is an updated version of the traditional sidestroke. The CSS is a mix of sidestroke, front crawl, and breaststroke. The combat side stroke allows the swimmer to swim more efficiently and reduce the body’s profile in the water in order to be less likely to be seen during combat operations if surface swimming is required. The concept of CSS has been that it can be used with or without wearing swim fins (flippers), the only difference being that when wearing swim fins the swimmer’s legs will always be kicking in the regular flutter kick motion without the scissor kick. This stroke is one of the strokes that can be used for prospective SEAL candidates in the SEAL physical screening test (PST), which includes a 500-yard swim in 12 minutes 30 seconds to determine if the candidate is suitable to go to the Basic Underwater Demolitions/SEAL school.

The entry even mentions a term Terry used in the early years of T.I. (and in his popular first book in ’96) to describe poor balance: “swimming uphill.” While Wikipedia has no citation for the influence of T.I. methodology on the combat stroke, we fortunately have a documented account of Terry’s primary role in revolutionizing SEAL swim training in the book, “The Warrior Elite: The Forging of SEAL Class 228″, by NY Times bestselling author and former Navy SEAL Platoon Commander Dick Couch. It is this book which features commentary from SEAL Instructor Tim King on the effectiveness of T.I. methods. The book’s description reads:

“‘The Warrior Elite’ takes you into the toughest, longest, and most relentless military training in the world. What does it take to become a Navy SEAL? What makes talented, intelligent young men volunteer for physical punishment, cold water, and days without sleep? In ‘The Warrior Elite,’ former Navy SEAL Dick Couch documents the process that transforms young men into warriors. SEAL training is the distillation of the human spirit, a tradition-bound ordeal that seeks to find men with character, courage, and the burning desire to win at all costs, men who would rather die than quit.”

The article below is a brief excerpt from Chapter 1 of “The Warrior Elite,” which details Terry’s influence on SEAL swim training. Enjoy… and Happy Laps!

The teaching begins in the pool. “You have to be good in the water,” Instructor Tim King tells Class 228. Like Reno, King is a short, powerful man. And like many enlisted SEALs, he has a college degree; Tim King’s is in criminal justice. “This is what separates us from all other special operations forces. For them, water is an obstacle; for us, it’s sanctuary.” I noted many changes at BUD/S [Basic Underwater Demolition/SEAL Training] since Class 45 graduated, but the most dramatic are in the swimming curriculum. In the past, it was simply a matter of showing the trainees a basic stroke and making them swim laps; kick, stroke, and glide. Now it’s all about technique. The instructors begin with teaching buoyancy control and body position in the water. The basic stroke is a modified sidestroke that the trainees will later adapt to the use of fins. Much of what is taught is taken from the work of Terry Laughlin and his “Total Immersion” training technique. Laughlin is a noted civilian instructor who developed innovative long-distance swimming techniques for competitive and recreational swimmers. A few in Class 228 were competition swimmers before coming to BUD/S, but most are not. All will learn the Laughlin method. According to Laughlin, it’s all about swimming more like a fish and less like a human. The instructors say it’s like swimming downhill. It has to do with making one’s body physically longer in the water and reducing drag.

The post Swim Like a SEAL: How T.I. Revolutionized Navy SEAL Swim Training appeared first on Total Immersion.

The following post is adapted from a 2006 article written by Terry Laughlin.

Richard Quick, the six-time U.S. Olympic team coach who directed 12 teams to NCAA titles, once said while giving a butterfly stroke clinic: “Don’t hide your breathing mistakes by not breathing; fix them instead.” That’s good advice, not only for butterfly, but for freestyle as well.

About 30 years ago, “hypoxic training” came into vogue. The idea was that by restricting breathing frequency—breathing every five, seven or nine freestyle strokes—swimmers might simulate the effects of high-altitude training at sea level.

Researchers long ago debunked the idea that breath-holding produces any physiological adaptation, but “hypoxic” sets are still popular, in part to help swimmers adjust to the discomfort produced when you reduce breathing frequency.

One reason for making that adjustment is the very real concern that in a sprint race, breathing can slow a swimmer down. If each breath might cost you slightly in stroke efficiency, the less of them you take, the faster you might go.

Holding your breath—perhaps breathing only twice or less—in a 50-yard freestyle undoubtedly helps your speed, particularly because that race is short enough that your muscles mainly consume oxygen already in your bloodstream.

But when racing for, say, 45 seconds to over a minute, you need to get fresh oxygen to your muscles. Because of this, holding your breath could restrict your ability to finish such races strongly. The ideal would be to be able to breathe as often as you want, without sacrificing any speed.

The key to maximizing both air and speed is to breathe as seamlessly as possible. Let’s start with the mechanics of getting air into your lungs:

• Inhale through your mouth; exhale through your mouth 70 percent and nose 30 percent. Are these figures exact? No, just keep enough air pressure coming from your nose to keep the water out, especially as you roll to the surface and then return face-down.

• Never hold your breath—even if you’ll swim three to five strokes between breaths. To avoid an uncomfortable build-up of CO2, begin exhaling as soon as you finish inhaling—just exhale in a more steady, controlled way if you’ll take more strokes before your next breath. You’ll need to manage your release of air with slow bubbles to sustain you comfortably until your next inhale.

• As you roll to air, exhale the final 20 percent of air more forcefully than the first 80 percent. This should make the inhale which follows almost effortless by creating a vacuum in your lungs. It also helps clear the water away from your mouth for the next breath. Also, the force of your exhale should be proportionate to your effort. The next time you swim a descending set, experiment with consciously adding some force to your exhale as you go faster.

Breathe Efficiently

The second key to breathing with high frequency and high efficiency lies in how you roll to the side to take that breath. Poor breathing mechanics can increase drag and reduce the effectiveness of your stroke, during the breath. Here are several ways to remain efficient while breathing:

• Roll your whole body to the air. Rather than breathing with a head turn—which is awkward and can cause muscle tension—think of rolling your body to the air, as if you were going to breathe with your belly button. This will also help encourage core-body rotation, which is the source of your stroking power.

• Stay balanced as you roll to the air. Lifting your head as you breathe will cause your hips and legs to sink, increasing drag and slowing you down. Consciously keep the crown of your head and forehead pressed to the surface as you roll to breathe.

• Stay aligned as you roll to the air. Picture a line that runs from your toes, along your spine and out the top of your head as a laser beam. Keep that laser cutting straight ahead through the water as you breathe—or think of slicing through the water like an arrow through the air, at all times but especially while breathing.

• Stay tall as you roll to the air. Many swimmers lose the front end of their stroke on each breath. During each breath, focus on keeping the opposite hand stretched forward—with fingertips angled down to hold an “armful of water”—for just a moment longer during the breath. This timing will help connect that armstroke to the powerful rotation of your body in the other direction following the breath.

• Drive the top hip down. After breathing, focus on driving that hip (i.e. the right hip after a right side breath and vice versa) down strongly. That will help you get all the power out of the extra rotation that occurs when you roll to breathe. If you do all of the above right, you can make each breath an asset to your stroke, not an interruption.

To learn more in-depth detail about the breathing mechanics of efficient swimming, check out our video “O2 in H2O: A Self Help Course on Breathing in Swimming”– available as a digital download or on dvd.
Nothing is more essential to a swimmer than air. Yet, few swimmers truly understand how to breathe efficiently…not just to get air, but to integrate breathing seamlessly with the stroke. Breathing is sometimes viewed as a liability or inconvenience, but when you do it right, breathing can actually make your stroke better. This video shows you how, using water bowl exercises, shallow water exercises, skills in drills, and whole stroke breathing skills. Detailed studies with focal points for practice cover these three major strokes: Freestyle, Breaststroke, and Butterfly.

The post Freestyle Breathing 101: Master the Mechanics appeared first on Total Immersion.

Mark Fromberg coaching an open water swim clinic at Okanagan Lake, Jun. 2012

Guest blogger and T.I. Swimmer Dr. Mark Fromberg lives in the Okanagan Valley of British Columbia and first learned to swim in 2004 at the age of 49, through practicing exercises in the learn-to-swim sequence in Total Immersion’s “Happy Laps” video. Since then, he has swum in many long-distance open water events and raced in triathlons, including some world championship events. Most notably, Mark has become the longest term director of Kelowna’s “Across The Lake Swim,” Canada’s largest open water swim event, and recognized in 2015 as one of the “World’s Top 100 Open Water Swims” by openwaterpedia.com. As a retired physician, he has also provided medical support for dozens of triathlons, including the Kona Ironman World Championships. From October to May, he swims with his local triathlon club twice a week and enjoys trying to keep up with club members half his age. From May to September, he swims in the Okanagan Lake 2-3 times a week, mostly for fitness and relaxation, and often accompanies novice swimmers who need to build their open water swim confidence. He’s recently started to kiteboard and hopes to get good enough to travel to some fantastic kiteboarding meccas—in addition, he also plans to pursue scuba diving certification, something he could never have considered when he was younger!

Mark pausing during a swim at at Gellatly Bay, Okanagan Lake, Sept. 2016

I just read the T.I. blog posted today regarding the common theme of how swimming changes people’s lives, so I thought I would respond to share the story of how swimming changed my life. For me, it was one of Terry Laughlin’s older T.I. DVDs—“Happy Laps”—that changed everything for me. In early September of 2004, I was playing an extended game of squash with a younger and fitter opponent, when I had an awkward twisting injury to my back as I lunged into a corner to try to return a ball. Fatigued and dehydrated by that point, I had to stop due to the acute spasms and my sudden inability to even walk normally, or get into and out of my car. For 3 weeks I couldn’t do anything physical at all—even walking, sitting, and rolling over in bed caused sharp back spasms. After just a week of this, with no ability to exercise, I was going into some kind of exercise withdrawal—I had to do something. So, even though I didn’t swim, I thought I would find some rehab value in just walking chest deep in a pool, since I used to work in a rehab center where this was a common strategy. I discovered I could walk easily in the pool and both floating and doing basic breast strokes were pain-free, as well. So learning to swim became my salvation to recovering from my back injury.

But even before I had started lessons, I found myself asking what it was about me that kept me a non-swimmer all this time. I recalled having a couple of YMCA-sponsored free swimming lessons when I was 7 or 8 years old, in a public, unheated outdoor pool in Vancouver, in a group situation that really didn’t allow for much individual coaching.  Needless to say, I didn’t get far, and only remember how afraid I was of being asked to go into the deep end. The one time I was asked to tread water there for just a minute, I was all but exhausted as a result of how frantically I was moving, afraid I would sink to the bottom if I didn’t. Although nothing bad happened, I never learned to relax in the water and, as a skinny kid, I never enjoyed the coldness of the water either. And deep water? Not me! When I decided to learn to swim as an adult, I remember thinking how embarrassed I often felt about my non-ability to swim, and since my own kids were both in early adolescence then, about to start their Bronze Cross training to become pool lifeguards, I wondered how it was possible that they could be such naturals in the water, while I was not. Since I have always prided myself on being able to learn anything I put my mind to, I decided to take on this challenge to learn to swim: for rehab for my back pain, to end my chronic embarrassment, and to not be the “weak link” of the family in the water.

  [Click HERE to check out this video Mark used to learn to swim– click HERE to download the free user’s manual]

So before I showed up for the first day of lessons at the local community center, I resolved to find some kind of easy-to-understand study guide for beginners like me. That is how I came across Total Immersion’s learn-to-swim DVD called “Happy Laps”—I actually no longer have it because I lent it out to other beginners a few times too many and lost track of it years ago! However, what I still remember in the video was a sequence with a middle-aged, non-athletic-looking African-American woman who followed a very simple and logical progression over what appeared to be only a single session in the pool, and then she was swimming by the end. Seeing that was very inspiring for me– despite my 49 years of age at the time, and despite my successes in health and fitness in a variety of milieus, I was still completely stumped by swimming. It was a sport that I just had not been able to master, or even feel comfortable with, for no explicable reason I could discern. I thought I was smart enough, fit enough, competent enough, and still young enough to learn something that kids could do, and yet… something was missing.

Mark enjoying a midsummer swim in Okanagan Lake, Jul. 2016

When I watched the practice sequence in the “Happy Laps” video over and over again, I recall saying to myself, with each progressive drill, “I can do that”… “I can do that”… “I can do that…” and “I can do that”… all the way to the end of the sequence. When I signed up for some local learn-to-swim lessons at the community center, armed with what I had learned from Terry’s instructional video, I became a swimmer very quickly! I went from maxing out after a gasping, frantic, anxiety-provoking 25 meters to 400 meters of calm stroking just a half hour later.  I was a swimmer!!  Something I could never have said for the previous 5 decades of my life. I did my first sustained, relaxed swim around my 49th birthday, but in the year following, by joining the local masters swim club, I really learned the finer details of swim strokes to the point that I could do a triathlon just a few months shy of my 50th birthday.

Thinking back to my university years in an undergraduate kinesiology program, there were a couple of occasions where I did ask swimmer-classmates to teach me how to swim. And although they were happy to oblige, they would focus just on the arm strokes, without any discussion of how to integrate breathing—so my frustrations continued back then. I find that adult swimmers who learned to swim as kids do not recall what they learned way back when— for example, forcefully and completely exhaling in the water eventually feels natural as a kid, but it sure doesn’t for an adult swimmer. Thanks to the exercise hiatus that was forced upon me when I strained my back, I finally wanted to get to the bottom of what I was not understanding about swimming, so I decided to read about it, and then watch instructional videos about it, both courtesy of Terry’s T.I. teachings.

I must say that, for me anyway, successfully learning how to swim has first and foremost been a conceptual exercise, much of which can be done as a thought exercise without being anywhere near water. In fact, in recent years, I have conceptually “taught” swimming to people who were interested in learning, even while chatting with them socially—by simply telling them the sequence that appeared in “Happy Laps,” combined with what wound up being a similar process in my community pool lessons. I would ask them, “Do you think you could blow bubbles into water, for 5 minutes, while standing in chest deep water and holding on to the edge of a pool? Where the only rule is, every exhalation has to be in water?”  Then I’d ask, “Okay, if you can do that, can you do the same, but not hanging on to the edge of the pool?”  “Can you do it while walking in the shallow end of the pool?” “Can you do it while floating on your side/back with flippers on for easy propulsion, with one arm extended, in the shallow end of the pool?”  And so on.  Most beginners, like I did when I saw the video, would embrace the baby steps of progression, responding “Yes, I can do that.” Prior to even getting in the pool, I had watched the steps on the DVD again and again, and then, while in the pool, the consistent instruction made it easier to believe in it as the right way of doing it—so I progressed very quickly.

  Mark savoring the open water near Tulum, Mexico, Jan. 2016

A major epiphany I had when first learning to swim was realizing that my breathing rate and pattern would dictate my arm stroke frequency, and not the other way around—a simple lesson that took 4 decades to understand! Once again, learning to swim was actually conceptual for me, much more so than physical, although I did need to get comfortable with being more forceful in breath exhalation when my face was in the water than when it was in the air. In my experience, once you shore up and believe in a principle that makes sense, it is easy to progress, even rapidly. My first “aha!” moments were:

• that breathing control is of paramount importance—these days, I teach that it is the only thing that matters—if you do not have breath control, you can’t swim

• that breath control can be quickly lost if you are not fully committed to full and complete, forceful exhalations (lest you build up CO2, which quickly gets you short of breath)

• that breath control can be quickly lost with the shock of cold water, so ease into it, and do some easy strokes to get used to the cold and establish your breathing

• that swimming is probably the only sport where breathing matters—a lot—and cannot be taken for granted

• to manage a sustained (especially open water) swim, you must stay relaxed, so that your breathing stays under control

Learn about breathing in our video “O2 in H2O: A Self-Help Course on Breathing in Swimming” 

After learning to swim, I went on to tackle things that I had previously thought would be impossible for me–swimming in distance open water swim events (I have swum across Okanagan Lake in B.C. about 20 times, and I swim along its shores for exercise every summer), and racing in triathlons, including some world championship events. Learning to swim, and feel comfortable swimming in open water has been one of the most liberating experiences I have ever had—swimming was once a challenge that for so long seemed insurmountable, and now it is a part of my life, a great exercise, and a great reminder of what you can attain if you believe you can succeed.

Mark at the finish of Beijing ITU Aquathon World Championships, Sept. 2011

When I swim in the lake now, even when I am with others, I am really swimming by myself—I feel embraced by the water, one with the water. I do not feel it is my enemy, or that it is out to get me; instead, I feel for what it wants to show me, what it is doing that day, whether with waves, swells, or currents. I give myself to it freely, since I have confidence in my abilities now that I never had before. Just like the Japanese concept of “shinrin-yoku,” [which means “forest-bathing” — see link here: http://www.shinrin-yoku.org/] I think swimming in open water has a remarkably meditative quality, allowing you to connect with the primordial soup from which we all evolved. Just like the intangible, calming experience of communing with nature within a forest canopy, regular open water swimming has a profound effect on people that is hard to describe in words. But I am sure every one of the T.I. instructors, and certainly Terry himself, would have been intimately acquainted with this experience.

Since my transcendent experience 15 years ago, I have become deeply involved in nurturing Kelowna’s “Across the Lake Swim,” becoming its longest term director, while growing it from about 250 swimmers, to now over 1200 per year–and becoming Canada’s largest open water swim in the process.  Because of the many unique attributes we have incorporated into the event, most especially our obsession with safety, a de-emphasis on racing (we call it an event, not a race), a 6 week training period in open water, unparalleled swag, and an inclusive, supportive environment, we were recognized in 2015 as one of the “World’s Top 100 Open Water Swims” by openwaterpedia.com. In addition, all of our proceeds go toward supporting swimming lessons for kids in our area.  Last year, we sent 3000 3rd and 4th grade kids in our region for a series of lessons, as our way of both: 1) drown-proofing a generation of kids in our community– Okanagan Lake, being a tourist town, is the most-drowned-in lake in British Columbia; and 2) exposing everyone here to the gift of swimming from a young age, a sport and experience they can enjoy for life. We consider swimming as a life skill. As a primary care physician, I frequently counseled older people to consider swimming as a great exercise for those with chronic health problems, but I was always dismayed when I would hear the retort similar to, “I could never do that.  I am petrified of water.” So we want to change that too.

In fact, in June 2015, the Doctors of British Columbia’s Council on Health Promotion advised us that our Across The Lake Swim Society was selected as the 2015 recipient of the Doctors of British Columbia’s Excellence in Health Promotion Award – Nonprofit category. They stated that, “We felt your program is of great importance to youth growing up in the Central Okanagan, and ensures prevention of needless fatalities in your region. This program also empowers children to live healthier lifestyles and experience the benefits of regular activity that will hopefully continue into their adult life. We consider you a very deserving recipient of the award and would be honoured to present it to you at the Doctors of B.C. Awards ceremony and banquet…”

Mark directing the start line of Kelowna’s “Across The Lake Swim” in 2016

I especially enjoy the teaching aspect of open water swimming to the many adults that, like me, need to get over a mental hump to become a competent swimmer, and they use our event as the “bucket list” item to prove that they can do it. Last year, I even wrote a book on how to become less anxious and more confident when swimming in open water, and stated several times throughout it how learning to swim in open water will change your life [link to book in blogger bio below]. Since I am a recently retired physician, I have also taken a medical interest in swimming, and especially open water swimming. I have provided medical support for dozens of triathlons, including the Kona Ironman World Championships, Ironman Canada for three years, and Kelowna Apple Triathlon Canadian National Championships. In that time, I became aware of the unsettling trend of triathletes dying in the swim portion of their event, well before fatigue or dehydration would normally be expected to occur. I personally reviewed virtually every one of these cases in the hope to gain a better understanding of these deaths, so we could take the necessary steps to reduce risk at our open water event. I eventually wrote about this in another book as well, to reassure aspiring open water swimmers that most risks are preventable [link to book link in blogger bio below].

Here are some further insights I’ve had in more recent years:

1) Recognizing just how many adults have never learned this life skill of swimming because they never understood the breathing aspects that I think are pivotal. I always get excited hearing of someone who has reached the same barrier that I did 15 years ago, since I know how to fix them!

2) Discovering just how liberating learning to swim is—I am more willing to take on learning challenges, I enjoy the water like never before, and I find extended open water swims pure meditation, which is a stress-releaser I never knew existed previous to learning to swim.

3) I have come to realize how important it is for all of our communities to get committed to getting every child to learn how to swim—an inexpensive exercise for a lifetime, a drowning prevention strategy, and a confidence and self-esteem builder.  Unfortunately, fears get hardened with age, yet deep down, most people who have had a history of bad swimming experiences or fear really know that they could learn swimming if they really wanted to. The mental game of swimming is the most important aspect of successful learning.

Anyone can learn to swim, whether young, old, weak, strong, big, small– even paraplegics and amputees.  Like most skills, it is easier to learn as a kid, before you develop multiple fears or overthink it. To learn swimming as an adult, you have to accept some seemingly paradoxical messages—like learning to forcefully exhale into water, like prioritizing breath control over stroking your arms, like staying relaxed while doing something physical. And you have to have the courage to face your fears, and revisit them as just a mental barrier to overcome. Do not compare your swim progress to someone else’s—we all learn at our own rate. If you really want to learn to swim, you can, especially if you are doing it in a reliably safe environment.

Given the interest I have developed in promoting open water swimming, it should be pretty obvious that learning to swim, and particularly, learning to swim in open water, has changed my life.  I have thrived on my swim event volunteering, open water swim coaching, and have become an impassioned author and website designer as well. I am now starting to write my third book– it will be a race director’s guide to running a successful open water swim event, a treatise to inspire more people to take the plunge. And I have recently organized the first swim-run event in British Columbia (kelownaswimrun.com).

For me, learning to swim was certainly about proving to myself what I could finally do, but now it has really become more about “sharing the wealth” afforded by swimming– the riches of self-discovery, self-efficacy and personal growth, and the joy that fulfills you once you learn how to swim competently.  After a long career of helping people mostly return to their normal state of health, I find tremendous satisfaction mentoring people to become something more than they ever were, helping non-swimming adults (like I was) overcome what is often a large hurdle (and vulnerability) in their lives—doing so within the context of our bucket-list signature open water swim event. Despite Terry Laughlin’s many amazing personal swimming accomplishments, I really think Terry’s greatest contribution to the swimming world was his loving embrace of this sport, and one that he shared in earnest every way he could, helping all of us T.I. followers to become swimmers. For me, he deconstructed my most daunting hurdle into simple components, and led me to a promised land I never thought I could reach. And I am certain he and Total Immersion have done this for many thousands of others.

 Mark finishing a summer swim in Okanagan Lake, Jul. 2016

Guest Blogger and T.I. Swimmer Mark Fromberg is a recently retired physician from the Okanagan Valley in British Columbia who only learned how to swim at age 49, primarily with the help of one of Total Immersion’s dvds:  the learn-to-swim “Happy Laps” video.  Since then, Mark has been making up for lost time, having completed innumerable open water swim events and almost 50 triathlons, and has become deeply involved in providing race support for a variety of triathlons and swim events, most notably Canada’s largest and longest running open water swim event, Kelowna’s Across The Lake Swim. This event is now on the “World’s Top 100 Open Water Swim” events, due to its commitment to safety, its great swag, its unique pre-event training program, its financial support of swimming lessons of every grade 3 and 4 child in the community, and its remarkable growth in the last decade, now over 1000 participants per year. In 2018, Dr. Fromberg published two books on open water swimming (linked here): one to help get over open water anxiety and develop confidence, and the other to better understand some important physiological principles that can affect open water swimmers. Mark’s wife is also an open water swimmer and former lifeguard, and they have two grown children in their late twenties, one of whom worked as a lifeguard for many years at their local YMCA.

Do YOU have a personal Total Immersion success story that you’d like to share with us? We LOVE hearing about the positive impact– both in and out of the water– that learning to swim with T.I. has had on those of you who have experienced transformation using our approach. If you’d like to send us your success story, please email blog editor Carrie Loveland at carrie@totalimmersion.net — we look forward to reading your stories!

The post Guest Blog: This T.I. Swimmer Learned to Swim at 49– Now He Directs One of The “World’s Top 100 Open Water Swims” appeared first on Total Immersion.

Naji Ali swimming from Point Bonita to The Bay Bridge (9.3 miles)

Guest blogger and T.I. Swimmer Naji Ali learned to swim as an adult in 2008, when he took his first T.I. workshop. Since that time he now swims year-round in San Francisco Bay and is scheduled to swim the Santa Barbara Channel in 2019, from the mainland to Anacapa Island. If successful, he’ll be the first African-American man to accomplish this. He follows official channel rules in his practice and does not wear a wetsuit– he trains in a regular bathing suit, cap, and goggles. He rises at 4 AM, 5-6 times a week, and is in the water by 4:45 AM. He usually swims in the dark and, at times, swims till sunrise. Water temps in the Bay range as low as 48F in the winter, and as high as 60F in the summer and fall, with the temps usually hovering about 55F. We are delighted to share his inspiring story with you– he truly exemplifies the spirit of mastery, kaizen learning, patient dedication, and enthusiastic practice that are hallmarks of our approach to swimming with Total Immersion. Enjoy… and Happy Laps!

I have lived near the water my entire life. I love it. I absolutely love living next to the Pacific Ocean, watching the waves crash upon the shore, seeing surfers ply their trade. I can sit around and gaze out over the water for hours and never get bored.

To me, the water is magic. About as close to paradise as one can get.

As luck would have it– or more appropriately, upon the demands of my mom– at 13 years old, I got a summer job working for a marine biologist at Scripps Institute of Oceanography, located in La Jolla, CA. Every day I’d hop on a bus and ride an hour down to my job. My boss, a very kind man, taught me about sea turtles, seals, sea lions, and jellyfish, better than any school teacher ever could. In fact, I can still dissect a frog and list all its organs in detail to this day.

About two months into my time with him, he invited me to go on a boat that was going out to fish for albacore tuna. He and several other biologists wanted to be the first scientists to bring one back in captivity. We went out about 20 miles from shore to fish. I remember that day being very calm, with gentle “rollers” rocking the boat like a mother would a sleeping child. I also remember that it was very hot, so hot that one of the crew members decided to go for a quick dip. He stripped down to his trunks and dove in. I ran over to the railing and watched as he swam breaststroke, backstroke, and freestyle. “Wow,” I thought to myself, “I wish I could do that.” Afterward, he climbed back onboard and toweled off. I approached him and asked: “That was pretty cool… could you teach me how to swim like that?” He looked on and said: “Kid, Black people don’t swim.” The whole boat erupted into laughter. Even I was laughing… but not really.

I was embarrassed. Embarrassed because I was the butt of the joke, and more importantly, that I didn’t know how to swim.

I told no one about that day and didn’t think about it for another 27 years. Fast-forward to 2008, and I’m sitting watching the Beijing Olympics, and witnessing history as Michael Phelps won 8 gold medals. Although this was a truly amazing feat, the most exciting thing for me was watching the Men’s 4 x100m relay final [click link to view race]. No, not because Jason Lezak, the anchor of the relay, came from behind to win the gold for the Americans and defeated the French; nor was it that they set a new world record. I was excited because a young Black man named Cullen Jones was a part of that record setting team. At that moment, I determined that I was going to learn to swim. The memory of everyone laughing at me on that boat– and my embarrassment– needed to end. I had to learn to swim. The question was:  How do I get that done?

I looked online and found a man not far from me that taught swim lessons. He showed me how to float with my face down in the water, float on my back in a comfortable position, and the rudimentary skills of pulling, kicking, etc. He was a nice enough person and certainly knew how to swim himself, but it didn’t feel right for me. So, I went to a second person who specialized in working with adults who didn’t know how to swim. She too was kind, but didn’t offer much more than the previous person. But one thing she did do, and I’m forever grateful that she did, was mention a system of learning how to swim called “Total Immersion” (TI).

“What the heck is that?” I asked, confused.

She told me to look it up online and see for myself. So, I started researching TI and noticed that they had a book that a man I had never heard of– Terry Laughlin– had written. I went to the library and checked out a copy. The minute that I started reading, I knew this was what I needed. But just reading the book wasn’t going to help me– I’m a visual person and I have to see someone doing something, or get in-person teaching to catch on. That’s when I discovered that there was going to be a TI workshop held in San Francisco not far from where I lived!

Naji Ali doing a training swim in Aquatic Park in San Francisco

To say I was initially confused and intimidated at my first TI workshop would be an understatement.

I was with about 20 people, all of whom– with the exception of me– had either average swimming skills, were triathletes, or were former competitive swimmers. At this workshop, I was coached by Coach Fiona Laughlin and Coach Dave Cameron. They showed me all the drills: Superman glide, right skate, left skate, torpedo drills into right skate and left… Well, you get the idea! I did my best to try to keep up, but the more they did my video analysis, the more I cringed. “What the heck have I done?” I said to myself. “I can’t swim. I’m never gonna learn to swim. The guy on the boat years ago was right.”

I should say that throughout this workshop, Coach Dave and Coach Fiona never had the negative attitude that I had about my learning process. They saw the positive that I couldn’t see. They focused on continuous improvement.

After the workshop was over, and I was left all alone to try and sort things out, I began going to the pool to do the drills. At first they were beyond frustrating; I rolled too far to stacked shoulders in skating, I wasn’t moving forward during Superman flutter, my head position was incorrect… Arrggghhh!

But instead of packing it all in and calling this a big scam, I decided to heed Coach Fiona’s advice. She said: “Just concentrate on two things at the pool, not five, just two. Give all your focus to those two throughout the whole practice.” So, that’s what I did, and over time I began to see small incremental improvements. No “aha” moments, but small baby steps. This went on for several months. Some days I would leave the pool feeling exhilarated, other days I was ticked off and ready to pack it all in. Luckily, by this time, I started following along on the TI blog site. I was able to voice my frustration and reach out to others for advice– one of them was Terry, who wrote: “Always make sure that you can focus on one thing that you did well at the conclusion of your practice, even if it’s just coming down to practice itself.” I kept remembering that and somehow I kept coming back and running the drills until I felt comfortable enough to try a lap or two of whole stroke.

I remember that day very vividly. There I was in the slow lane, adjusting my goggles, making sure my earplugs were in properly. I reminded myself to just concentrate on two things: “Don’t concern yourself with the others, just those two,” I said to myself.

What happened next is what made me a TI person for life.

I swam the entire length of the pool (33.3 yards) in 17 strokes! I looked back with my mouth agog: “What the heck was that?” I tried it again– same thing! Then again, ditto. After years of thinking about how the words of that man on the boat inhibited me from swimming, here I was, doing it with ease and enjoyment. This came because someone taught me a simple way to swim faster, easier, and with more enjoyment than I could have ever imagined.

To be honest, I’m not a fan of the pool and do most drills in the San Francisco Bay. But one thing that I have never wavered from is always concentrating on two things. TI has taught me how to be able to sense when something is just off in my stroke and correct it on the fly. The kaizen approach [lifelong, continuous improvement] that Terry spoke of so much is what has pushed me to learn to be a better swimmer and better person. More importantly, I have been truly blessed by the folks that I have met online and in person, over the years, who are TI enthusiasts and coaches. In particular, Coach Mandy McDougal and her father Coach Stuart McDougal have been instrumental in taking my swimming to the next level.

TI has been a godsend for me in many ways, as I’ve stated above, but the most important focus of TI for me is its emphasis on water safety. Remember back when that man on the boat said that Black folk don’t swim? He was right. According to the Centers for Disease Control in Atlanta, Black children drown at a rate five times greater than that of White children. In fact, remember Cullen Jones, the Olympic Gold medalist I mentioned earlier? He nearly drowned when he was a toddler at a water park and look at him now!

Oh, don’t get me wrong– I know plenty of Black folk that swim. In fact, we’ve had a rich swimming history dating back thousands of years, but the ugly face of racism, discrimination and our own perceived fears of the water prevented generations from my community to learn water safety and the enjoyment of swimming.

But all of that is going to end in the future, if I have anything to say about it.

Let me tell you all something: I had the pleasure of meeting Terry in person back in 2009, when I hosted him for a day at The South End Rowing Club, where I regularly swim in open water. He was in town to do an advanced workshop. We spoke of my desire to become a TI coach and teach Black people to swim regardless of their ability to pay. I also spoke of my dream of training more Black people that want to learn to swim in open water. I can still see how his eyes lit up as he told me: “Naji, we have to make your dream a reality because it’s mine too.”

Terry, I promise one day it will be.

Naji attending a swim briefing at The South End Rowing Club

Naji Ali is a TI enthusiast based in San Francisco, CA with his wife Chrissy and their cat, Mrs. Chippy. He works at a soup kitchen and swims 5-6 times a week, year-round in open water. He is scheduled to swim the Santa Barbara Channel in 2019, from the mainland to Anacapa Island. If successful, he’ll be the first African American man to accomplish this. You can follow his thoughts and musings about being a marathon swimmer at his blog: https://adeadkennedy.wordpress.com

Do YOU have a personal Total Immersion success story that you’d like to share with us? We LOVE hearing about the positive impact– both in and out of the water– that learning to swim with T.I. has had on those of you who have experienced transformation using our approach. If you’d like to send us your success story, please email blog editor Carrie Loveland at carrie@totalimmersion.net — we look forward to reading your stories!

The post Guest Blog: From The Mainland to A Marathoner– My T.I. Journey from Non-Swimmer to Open Water Long Distance appeared first on Total Immersion.

(Terry, in Mar. 2013, pausing at the 1.2 mile buoy– the turnaround– on the Kona Ironman course)

This week’s featured video–courtesy of T.I. Master Coach Dave Cameron’s YouTube Channel– shows Terry at the 2013 T.I. Kona Open Water Camp, teaching an advanced group of swimmers (including Ironman competitors) about higher-level propulsion and positioning techniques, particularly for racing. The skills taught in this 16 min. video are subtle, detailing the finer points of propulsion that swimmers begin to practice after they have mastered all the foundational skills that T.I. teaches (Breathing, Balance, Streamlining, Propulsion with weight shifts of the core body). Terry comprehensively describes how to practice and “wire in” the most advantageous arm position, by applying strategic pressure with the hand and forearm, for faster swimming. Many thanks to Coach Dave for taping one of the teaching sessions in Kona, back in 2013! For the many T.I. swimmers who always wished to experience a coaching session with Terry but missed the opportunity, this is a valuable up-close look at how he taught advanced skills. A bit more loose and improvisational than our scripted instructional videos– with dryland rehearsal demos of stroke technique, some interesting observations from Terry about how world-class swimmers create effective propulsion, and the difference in form that he noticed from the first finishers of the Ironman swim in Kona, versus the finishers at back of the pack in the swim. BONUS: we’ve attached a transcript below the video, so you can read along as you watch/listen! If this fires you up to take your own T.I. Swimming to open water, you can click HERE for info on our upcoming 2019 T.I. Open Water Experience in Kailua-Kona on March 14-18 . Enjoy this virtual session with Terry… and Happy Laps! 

[Editorial Note: This was a non-professional recording, spontaneously taped at the beach by Kailua Pier, with some ambient noise of other beachgoers in that informal environment. We highly recommend, at the 10:25-12:40 time signature, that you check out the transcript we’ve provided, due to the distraction of a paddle-boarding dog– yep, it’s Hawaii!– barking very loudly in the background. Real world conditions during this filming! The transcript is an excellent supplement to refer to at that point in the video.]

(TRANSCRIPT)

Terry:

With propulsion, you’re really working on higher-level skills—you’re also working on the things that have a higher inherent cost in power and energy, and those are really limited and relatively non-renewable resources. So, how we apply them, when we apply them really, really makes a difference… The reason we don’t do too much of this [motions with hand to show the lead arm catch position] too early is that, first of all, you must have your balance, your stability, really wired in strongly in order to actually do these things effectively. If you don’t have those [fundamentals], it’s really hard to do those things [advanced propulsion skills]. So what are we talking about here? Alright, so we’re talking about, when we apply pressure, that we move ourselves forward—don’t move the water around. Alright? And that pressure may be from the hand and forearm—it may be from the leg. The legs’ pressure does not move us forward, it helps with the power generation, by assisting with the weight shift, and the propulsion is actually produced from how you apply pressure to water with your arm. So, as you do that, one of the things you want to have spent countless hours thinking about—before the race, before you’re under pressure—is the fact that what you’re pressing on is water.  And that water is a bunch of disaggregated molecules. It’s really easy to start those molecules moving so that the molecules get stirred up, but you don’t really move very far… We need stroke length and we need rate. And to some degree, another trading chip we have is how much pressure we choose to apply [Terry motions with position of lead arm].

In a race, I’m constantly trying to find the right marriage—the right blend—of rate and pressure, for that stage in the race, knowing what’s coming forward. And I rely on having done that countless times, in repetitions swimming in the pool, as well as in open water practice, so that literally, I don’t really have to think very much about it. I have these auto-responses that are programmed into my brain, so that when I race, they come out. This is so—the opportunity to use this sort of thinking, this sort of strategic awareness, and finesse in how you apply those resources—is so much greater in open water, than it is in the pool. In the pool, it [competitive racing] really does come down to—a lot—to fitness, athleticism, inherent power you have, and things like that. I’m not very competitive with the best people in the pool—I’m very competitive with the best people in open water, and I can out-swim people that are far faster than me in the pool because… I love swimming in open water because it really appeals to me that, as Margie [a swimmer attending the Kona camp] said, ‘You can punch above your weight in open water’… which is really hard to do in the pool. So, what we’re going to do today, with the caveat that you need to still be working on your balance and stability over time, so that these things we do today work better and better and better… And especially work when you’ve raised your rate, when you’ve started applying more pressure, when there’s a lot of people around you and you’re feeling under pressure, ok? So that’s got—keep working on that [balance and stability], you never, never stop.

So… alright, so the first part of how you create propulsion with your arm starts with, your arm has to be in the right position… The other two groups [at swim camp]—and I haven’t swum with you [the advanced group] yet, so I haven’t had the chance to observe you underwater—but in the other two groups [beginner and intermediate groups], virtually no one has their arm in the optimal position. I haven’t mentioned it to them because they’re dealing with other stuff [balance, stability, streamlining skills]. At some point, it will be appropriate to bring that in, but they’re dealing with other stuff… Having watched you swim surface [during surface videotaping] the other day, looks like, for the most part, you’re ready to do this, cause your form looks… You look stable! You look stable on the surface, you look smooth on the surface. So what I’ll be looking at as we swim is the extent to which you have an arm position that looks like this [demonstrates applying pressure with the lead arm catch]. So just visualize a balance ball and drape your arm over it… [Group rehearses arm position together] Alright, as we start this exercise, we’re going to be focused mostly on creating a sense of shape and volume under the arm… The shape we want is one where it’s really easy to get the hand position to apply pressure so the resultant force is that way [motions forward]. Alright? Any force you apply in any other direction is wasted, and we can’t afford to waste. So, the first thing is to have the hand position so that when you apply any pressure, the resultant force is going to move you forward.

Unless you are Oussama Mellouli [Tunisian Olympic triple medalist] or Grant Hackett [Australian Olympic multiple medalist], or any of these guys– and women– who are world-class, and have an ability to almost dislocate the shoulder blade…that, what they call ‘the early vertical forearm’ and they promise you that paddles will teach you, and so on—that is pure nonsense. Alright? What you require is a shoulder blade that practically is able to dislocate—that’s one of those ‘talents’ that allows a person to be a world-class freestyler and get the arm in and do that [motions with lead arm in vertical position]… Ok? Cause if you watch video of someone like Oussama bin… bin… [Laughter]… Mellouli! From the side, underwater, you see his shoulder blade popping out, alright? And practically bursting through the skin—mine doesn’t do that. It doesn’t matter if every single brain cell I have is thinking about doing that…it’s just never going to happen. Alright…so, I make sure that I’ve got the hand facing back and I do that by relaxing [demos relaxing the lead wrist], not by turning on [muscles]. And then, I have to use muscles– the posterior deltoid primarily—to lift the scapula and open the axilla [underarm]. Those are the two actions, and they’re pretty subtle actions. Alright?… And the limiting factor on how much pressure I can apply is not the power I have here, it’s the ability of these much smaller, and less powerful muscles to hold that position. Because if I maximize the power in the prime movers, these secondary movers are just going to give up, and I end up with something that is sort of sliding the hand back, as opposed to holding that position. And by the way, you do have [points to swimmer in group]—I did see you enough yesterday—to see that you do have an inherent ability to do that, that’s better than most people’s. So that’s good…  [Swimmer replies: It’s Pilates…”] Pardon? [Swimmer says again: “It’s Pilates, I think…”] I think you’re born with it! [Laughter] I’ve done Pilates and I’ve done yoga, and I’ve done all kinds of things, and it doesn’t happen…

So, in any case, you visualize… We’re going to start out, we’re going to go through a series of focal points… We’ll do a couple of rehearsals on a series of focal points, alright? You’re not going to learn this [master it] in the next 90 minutes—what you’re going to learn is the process that you can continue to make this better. So the starting point is to visualize a balance ball, and drape your arm over it [demos lead arm position], and I use that word ‘drape’ very consciously to connote that it’s relaxed… [Swimmer asks: “Where is the bowl?”] Hmm? The ball is between… [Swimmer: “Oh, ball!”…] A balance ball—a Swiss ball. A Swiss ball. [Swimmer: “Ohhh…”] So you visualize… and as you do that, think about… How large is that ball? Is it 55 centimeters? 65 centimeters?… And the space between my [lead] palm and my hip is what I’m conscious of, I’m thinking about the size of the ball that I’ve got there. Ok? And then once [I], having draped and defined the space, defined the volume, as best I can, alright?… Now what I’m going to do is just—in my mind—just hold the ball, so that there’s light activation of the arm muscles, so I feel I’m lightly holding it against my hip. Ok? That’s the feeling that you want to have as you begin applying pressure… As I drop in, as I drop into the water [with the recovery arm] through the ‘mail slot’ [angle of hand entry]… This is why we teach the ‘mail slot’ early—because it sets you up to do that [achieve optimal lead arm position for propulsion]…

I’ll mention one more thing I’ve observed about triathlon: I’ve watched the end of the [Kona] Ironman from up here, on the pier, as people are coming in, after swimming their 2.4 miles… I’ve watched other races from the shore, and seen people moving through the latter stages of the race, and you can really observe things about what predominates in the early part of the pack, in the mid part of the pack, in the rear. And when I look at the first 10-20% of the field, I see a large percentage of people going in [demos hand entry] so that the hand precedes the forearm, precedes the elbow. And then as you go further back in the field, you see more of that on entry [demos collapsed forearm]… the flat entry, elbow hitting. The further back you go [the last swimmers finishing], the more it’s the elbow hitting first…alright? So, that ‘mail slot’ entry is really characteristic of success in triathlon swimming, and other swimming, as well.

So, we’re setting ourselves up for that position with the mail slot, so we keep in mind that’s really critical, at some point in the race, to be checking in whether you’re going through the mail slot [as the hand enters the water], even listening, because that entry is quieter than this thing [flat entry]. So, one of the things you do while racing is be checking in on how much noise you’re making, especially when you’re in a pack, especially when you’re starting to pick it up [pace]. Am I staying quiet? Am I still going through the slot? Or am I—in my excitement and rate—am I starting to do this? [demos windmilling the arms with flat entry] Ok?

So—now hold the ball. Just visualize holding the ball… Alright, now lift the ball out of the water—lift the ball a few inches. Just visualize that you’re holding the ball—you’re still holding it—lift it a few inches, and then rotate your shoulder while still holding the ball, and drop the ball behind your hip. Rotate your shoulder and drop the ball behind your hip. Now, I’m going to do this several times—I’m going to lift the ball from behind my hip, I’m holding it back here… I’m going to leave my [lead] hand here, fingers at the bumper [as if reaching down the bumper of a VW Beetle’s curved hood], ok? I’m going to lift the ball, carry it forward and put it here [demos lead arm position], against this part of my hip. Lift it—return it, drop it. Ok, this is a visualization we’re going to start with.. We’re going to re-think our recovery from 3 thoughts: elbow circles, paint the line, ear hop, mail slot [TI recovery and entry focal points]—4 thoughts. From 3 or 4 thoughts– we’re going to consolidate into 1 thought, which is: what’s my optimal position to start the stroke? And can I come out of the water already in that position, carry an arm forward without any change in shape, and drop it. Alright?

So we’re simplifying the [stroke] thought into 1—one awareness… If I watch you swimming, and you go that way with 3 thoughts, little bit with one, and the second, and the third…and then you get over there. And then you come back with the 1 [stroke] thought—I should not see anything different. You should experience something that you distinguish as different, once you’ve changed from the 3 thoughts to 1. [DOG BARKING CONTINUOUSLY—refer to transcript] And this process of being a little bit more demanding of your brain in how to conceptualize what you’re doing, is one of the things that wires it [proper technique] in, so that when you’re under pressure, when you increase rate, and so on—it doesn’t break down. Ok? So you have to create a more robust circuit, so these things don’t break down under difficulty, alright? So once we introduce racing, pressure, by that I mean this pressure [motions to pressure on lead arm], as well as that pressure [pressure of competing], and rate… we need this thing [our form] to be unbreakable. And one of the tools you use in practice is more thoughts to wire it in. Ok?

So… so, we’re going to start with some visualization and rehearsal—the rehearsal means standing on one side, with that hand on the bumper, hold the ball against your hip, lift it a bit, carry it backward, drop it in. Lift it, carry it forward, drop it in. Alright? So we’ll do that, a bit with the right arm, and then swim over, just checking whether we feel the same sensation as we go across, alright? Then we’ll do the same thing with the left, and swim back, checking whether we’re doing the same thing. Ok? That will be the first step. The second step will be, having dropped it [the lead arm] in, we will visually verify the position. Alright? We won’t do this first because all our focus is on something that’s happening over here [motions with the recovery arm]. Then after we’ve had a little bit of time to familiarize ourselves with that thought—and the sensations that accompany it—then what you’re going to do is visually verify that the position that you have entered into is the one you want—the water-holding position. I call this ‘the arm full of water position’ cause it’s the optimal position for trapping water behind hand and forearm. Alright?… Step two will be to visually verify and see that it’s still [the lead arm] for at least a nanosecond after you drop it in.

And this idea of it being still is a hyper-critical one. The men’s 4 x 100 relay in Beijing– where Jason Lezak went by Alain Bernard from France, incredibly… They had, for a while, on NBC Olympics(dot)com, they had underwater video of that race. And in studying it, if you have the opportunity, this is what you would see: Lezak, despite swimming—I don’t know what the rate was, but it was exceptionally fast rate swimming, alright… His hand dropped in and there was a nanosecond where it was still, after he dropped in, before he began pulling. And Bernard, in contrast, slammed his hand in, and it just kept going back. Bernard took 46 strokes on the second lap when the wheels came off—Lezak, 34. 12 fewer strokes, and he [Lezak] went by him in the last 25 like he [Bernard] was standing still… because Bernard was moving water. Lezak was moving his body, and it’s that position [with lead arm] and that moment that makes all the difference. Ok? So that will be our second thing—that we’ll visually verify that we’re in that position and that it’s still for a moment. We’ll take some time on that. And then finally, how we begin applying pressure [on the lead arm] after that, is we’re going to visualize this disaggregated ball of molecules, not just water, alright? What it really is, is a ball of molecules, and as you press on it you’re going to do it with sufficient patience and care, that in your mind, you’re keeping those molecules together to move your body forward. Alright? When you do that, you should notice something that may have escaped your attention before—that water has density, that it has thickness. And if you apply that pressure in the right way, you can feel it return that pressure… You want to feel that pressure, so that it converts into forward movement…Ok? I can’t tell you how many dozens, if not hundreds, of hours I’ve spent visualizing like that—and it makes huge, huge difference. I can go 0.95, 0.90 rate [stroke rate with the Tempo Trainer] and not feel any turbulence as I start the stroke. Makes all the difference…

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The post VIDEO: Terry teaching Advanced Propulsion Skills for Racing– 2013 Kona Open Water Camp appeared first on Total Immersion.

(Terry mid-stroke, poised to flick the toes of the bottom leg to drive his top hip down and entering hand forward, and propel him into a streamlined position on the other side)

This week we shift our focus to a more advanced skill in the T.I. swimming sequence: the 2-beat kick. As most readers of this blog will know, the first fundamental skills that we prioritize are balance and active streamlining, which reduce drag and optimize body position in the water. Once a balanced and streamlined body position is achieved, we then turn our attention to creating propulsion, through weight shifts of the core-body and a fully-connected stroke, powered by “the kinetic chain.” To understand how the kinetic chain functions in baseball, for example, here’s a brief description from an article on overhand pitching in the academic journal, “Sports Health”:  

“The overhand pitching motion consists of a sequence of body movements that start when the pitcher lifts the lead foot, progresses to a linked motion in the hips and trunk, and culminates with a ballistic motion of the upper extremity to propel the ball toward home plate. The effective synchronous use of selective muscle groups maximizes the efficiency of the kinetic chain. The lower extremity and trunk generate and transfer energy to the upper extremity. Coordinated lower extremity muscles (quadriceps, hamstrings, hip internal and external rotators) provide a stable base for the trunk (core musculature) to rotate and flex…”

 (Frame-by-frame, pitching windup and release in baseball, illustrating the kinetic chain)

Similarly, in swimming, the propulsion of the stroke is generated via the kinetic chain– transferring energy by connecting the arms and legs to the power of whole-body rotation and extension. Watching a pitcher, we may see the baseball released rapidly by the player’s arm– but that singular body part is clearly not the entire source of the power and speed. It’s generated in the integrated full-body windup, of course. Likewise– in swimming– using the diagonal power of an effective 2-beat kick to connect our legs to the hip drive and core-body rotation, as one spears an arm forward, is rather analogous to a pitcher’s windup and release. Or a golfer’s swing. Or that of a tennis player! Obviously, the kinetic chain is evidenced in all sports– the point is, our true power lies in fully-connected, whole body movements. Once balance and streamlining skills can be performed easily, mastering a 2-beat kick is an excellent way to develop a more integrated stroke that maximizes your speed and efficiency.

For a complete, illustrated breakdown of the 2-beat kick, check out Terry’s article below, previously published in “Outdoor Swimmer” magazine. And if a picture’s worth a thousand words, a video’s worth even more– take a look at the instructive, brief YouTube video demo and analysis of the 2-beat kick by TI Coach Mandy McDougal. Enjoy… and Happy Laps!

 Outdoor Swimmer, 2/18/16: “Master the Two-Beat Kick” — Terry Laughlin

What’s the best front crawl kick pattern to use in open water – whether for pleasure or speed? Most swimmers have little familiarity with their kick or understanding of its role in propulsion. I was no exception. For 40 years, my legs fatigued each time I raced while adding precious little speed. I believed I needed to kick harder to swim faster, but doing so only disrupted my stroke rhythm while exhausting me. Decades of kicking sets did nothing to improve the functionality of my kick, nor minimize that ‘dead legs’ sensation.

There are two distinct kick rhythms in freestyle: the six-beat kick (6BK), with six leg beats per arm cycle (i.e. two strokes) and the two-beat kick (2BK), with just two beats per arm cycle. In both styles, only two beats contribute to propulsion through body rotation. In 6BK, the other four beats are preoccupied with body position and alignment.
The 6BK is unquestionably best for maximizing speed over distances of 100 metres or less. From 200 to 400 metres, either can be effective, depending on swimmer preference. As racing distance increases beyond 400 metres, the 2BK offers ever greater advantages in speed-for-effort.

The fastest distance swimmer ever, Sun Yang, uses both kicks to great effect. When he broke the 1500m world record in the 2012 Olympics, he used a 2BK for 90 per cent of the race before shifting up to a powerful 6BK in the final 150 metres. He used the 6BK exclusively in the 200m final, where he finished third. Given that, I believe a 2BK is the most efficient for virtually all distances and fitness levels in open water swimming.

To read the entire article, with accompanying illustrations, and step-by-step breakdown, click HERE.

 T.I. Coach Mandy McDougal Demonstrating the 2-Beat Kick (2:50)

Slow-mo & frame-by-frame analysis, illustrating how the 2-beat kick integrates with the whole stroke

LEARN MORE: Purchase the Total Immersion Freestyle Mastery Lesson Two: Expert 2-Beat Kick video as a digital download!

The post DEMO: Master the 2-Beat Kick– Connect Your Legs to the Power of Core Rotation for Maximal Speed & Efficiency appeared first on Total Immersion.

Back in January I’d registered for the 3-mile open water swim event– part of the Kingdom Swim in Newport, VT–scheduled for July 6^th. At the time it struck me as a good challenge and a great adventure which I could share with lifelong friend, and fellow TI enthusiast, Cab Grayson.

But by late May–following several demanding months at work that left insufficient time or energy for what I thought was the necessary training–our 3-miler no longer seemed like a lark.  As I hadn’t yet swum even two miles in a training session, my commitment to swim three miles in just a few weeks nagged at me. Ever since I learned TI, I’d loved swimming. But now–not so much.

Worries about endurance had displaced the pure enjoyment of slipping through the water TI-style.  I knew I needed to stop obsessing over distance and, once again, focus on making every stroke feel great–to replace the uncertainty I felt about my endurance with confidence in form that would let me swim as easily as I pleased.

I enlisted Cab’s help. Cab’s stroke is as smooth as butter, and lightning fast to boot.  Even better, he has a waterproof camera. We began to regularly record and critique each other’s technique, above and below the surface.

My main goal was imprinting a clean Mail Slot entry of my perennially obstinate right hand.  Video also revealed I could better align my head with my spine; this would reduce drag and make each breath easier. As I swam, I also visualized Shinji’s superhumanly smooth stroke–which I’ve watched so often, I can call up as a mental movie at will.

Cab and I had been attending Master’s workouts for conditioning. We cut back on that to spend more time focusing on form.  Instead of breathless speed sets, we were cultivating a sense of swimming tirelessly.

We upped the fun quotient by inviting friends to join us for ‘synch-swimming’ after which we discussed stroke refinements.  Cab even allowed me to don fins on occasion, because he knew how much I enjoyed the feeling of greater length in my stroke and the thrill of speed.  (I needed every knot I could get in order to keep up with him!)

My stroke improvements seemed to consolidate in May.   One day, while practicing solo, I swam a silent mile, eliminating bubbles and splash. This proved to be an exercise in focus, which seemed to produce effortless endurance.  One week before the Kingdom Swim, I extended my silent swimming to two miles feeling fresh throughout. From that point, I knew I could swim three miles.

It turned out to be a great swim indeed.  I used my ‘silent stroke’ and really stretched.  My kayaker was a champ and gave me plenty of encouragement.  I finished 3 miles in 1hr, 35 minutes.  What a victory.   Cab finished in 1 hr, 27 minutes.

An indomitable Christian exults after Save the Bay, amusing Cab.

For next summer, we’re thinking about making the jump to swimming the Kingdom Swim’s 6-mile event, but this season we still have “Save The Bay” in Narragansett, RI (1.7 miles) and Alcatraz in San Francisco (1.5 miles) in September.

Postscript: Since sending Terry the account above, Cab and I had another great experience doing Save the Bay. Save The Bay was more confirmation of the soundness of TI’s philosophy of focusing on enjoying every stroke, rather than results.

During the middle leg of STB, we faced a strong head-on wind, which drove swells and chop into our faces. I slowed my pace, emphasized the Patient Lead Hand, and tuned my breathing to the rhythm of the waves.  My leisurely rhythm may have cost me a little time on that leg, but I gained invaluable confidence from knowing I can ‘tune’ my TI technique to challenging conditions, while feeling  relaxed, calm and in control.

In the final leg, we had the wind and waves at our backs. Saving energy–by not fighting the forces of nature–on the previous leg helped me take advantage of them on this leg. It felt fast, easy and fun!

The post Swim 3 Open Water Miles and Enjoy Every Stroke? Yes! appeared first on Swim For Life.

The post Swim 3 Open Water Miles and Enjoy Every Stroke? Yes! appeared first on Total Immersion.

Such a discussion could occur nowhere else but the TI Forum!

I should clarify that swimming more slowly isn’t the object. Rather it’s to improve at swimming with consummate ease and to explore your ability to slow particular aspects of the stroke, while maintaining overall flow and body control.

Martial artists have long known the value of moving as slowly as possible to increase awareness, control, fluency and integration. It’s a harder sell in the swimming world.

It’s also a much more exacting skill in the water, than on land. Slower movement highlights errors in Balance and Stability. Which makes it exceedingly valuable.

This morning, Ken B posted the following: I’m enjoying this discussion. I am 74, with the usual age related challenges. Continuing to swim with ease into my 80′s is my main mission. This winter I’ve been pushing gently off the end of the pool feeling the delicious, effortless glide then trying to maintain that feeling to the other end. If I achieve a clean well-timed catch and maintain my original long-axis posture ,and breathe with absolutely no head lift I can drift into the far wall with no energy used at all. I know I’m getting somewhere because I looked up this morning to find I had an audience.

Ken captured the spirit of this enterprise exactly. He recognizes that swimming this way is a highly exacting and very rewarding SKILL.

For the goals, priorities, and – yes - values Ken cites for his swimming, he could hardly make a better choice than this.

My goals are similar to Ken’s. I wish to swim well, enjoy it limitlessly and even continue improving for 25 to 30 more years — i.e. into my early 90s.

At the same time, I also maintain a vision of breaking the national 85-89 record for 2-mile cable swim, and contending for a FINA World Masters open water championship in the same age group in 20+ years. And hopefully repeating that in the 90-94 and 95-99 categories–which thus far no swimming-nonagenarian has yet attempted.

My initial lengths every day–I call it my Tuneup–is guided by exactly the thoughts and actions Ken describes. But with the addition of a  ’side game.’

While swimming as easily as I can, I also time myself, often for 100y/m repeats. When doing so, I always swim faster over a series of 6 or more 100s–even while trying to maintain my initial sense of relaxation.

While doing these, I often visualize how my swimming would appear to an audience–as Ken found himself with the other day.  This turns my Tuneup series into a Beauty Contest as well as an Exercise in Ease.

But even with far-off goals of breaking age group records or winning world titles,  the main reason I swim this way is that it feels so amazingly good — in both body and psyche — in the moment I’m doing it.

The video of TI Coach Shinji illustrates something like what I describe and strive for. But I try to make my 2-Beat Kick even gentler than you’ll see in the underwater segment. This is because I’m trying for maximum ease and relaxation, not minimum stroke count, in my Tuneup swims.

Happy laps!

The post Video: The BEAUTY of Effortless. The SKILL of Slow. appeared first on Swim For Life.

The post Video: The BEAUTY of Effortless. The SKILL of Slow. appeared first on Total Immersion.