Masters versus Mastery

I just read a Facebook comment from a swimmer friend coming to terms with aging and slowing down in the pool- a return to his Masters Swimming group after many years away (spent swimming impressively in open-water, I believe) where he now found himself in the ‘Middle Lanes”. Interpretation: he got demoted. What a world [...]

The Way Of TI

Here is an explanation that might clear some misunderstanding about TI Coaching in comparison to other swim instruction methods: For sure, Total Immersion swimming, through our coaching, books and videos, swim camps and workshops teaches a distinct kind of stroke that is economical, injury-free, and effective for greater speed and distance. Among TI Coaches this [...]

Swim Out Of The Stone Age

Moving fast in the water is a different problem and requires a different solution than moving fast on land. On land we fight against gravity. Gravity grabs onto MASS. In order to overcome the power of gravity, we must emphasize muscular strength to move our mass forward. In water we fight against water resistance (once [...]

Train Like Michaelangelo

What has been so helpful to me in TI is that it provides a framework for examining a swimmer’s stroke and making corrections in the right order. The 3 TI Principles: (% emphasis is my interpretation) BALANCE – 60% of excellent swimming STREAMLINE – 30% of excellent swimming PROPULSION – 10% of excellent swimming – [...]

What Is Total Immersion Swimming?

I’ve written a brief 3-part introduction, from my perspective, as to what TI offers as a technique for shaping a swimmer’s form, and as a technique for training a swimmer to acheive optimal performance. I’ve posted these on our Mediterra International Swimming site: TI As A Technique For Swimming TI For Training 101 TI For [...]

Training Strategy Simplified

I swam 3750m at Akdeniz Univ pool. It was 30.5 C. I started at 10:00. 10x 50m gentle check-in warm-up 3x this set: with open-turns 100m fist 150m   hold per 25- 15, 16, 17, 17, 16, 15 SPL 250m   hold per 50- 15, 16, 17, 16, 15 SPL 500m  hold per 100- 15, 16, 17, [...]

Swimming Fast In Slow Motion

The other day a friend sent me a Youtube link to an amazing guitar player, Andy McKee. Here is Andy playing a piece so seemingly complex, but he making it look so easy. As an extremely amateur guitarist, I have some idea of how much Andy must have practiced to perfect his art (and continue [...]

I Can Learn Even From A Lousy Workout

SWIM PC 32m outdoor pool, 1728m, starting at 16:20. The water was 26 degrees C. Sunny. 6x 64m (1 lap) focus drills 12x 32m (1length) sprint. Aim for :25 with 19 SPL 64m (1 lap) recovery 6x 64m sprint. Aim for :52 with 19 SPL 64m recovery 2x 96m sprint. Aim for 1:20 with 19 [...]