Advice on swimming books or videos

You know, I was actually waiting to see what you got for a response... Since it's been a while, and I'm an older dude, have you ever picked up "The Science of Swimming" by Doc Councilman? Yeah, it's not "new", but there are still a great many golden nuggets in it!

Best technique books and videos - http://www.totalimmersion.net/

I thoroughly enjoy the Swim Smooth book and the Catch Masterclass DVD.

Swimming Fastest by Ernie Maglischo. 800 pages about everything you ever wanted to know about competitive swimming. His work is derivative of Counsilman's pioneering technical analysis. Sheila Taormina's Swim Speed Secrets (freestyle only) or Swim Speed Strokes (all four strokes). Sheila's books are more "readable" than Maglischo, but are based on the same technical concepts (Maglischo has mentored Sheila), plus they have beautiful sequential color photographs. I also still have my old copy of Counsilman's book on the shelf - it blew me away when I first read it in the early 70's. A lot of it is dated now, but still entertaining to read. I would also mention that IMHO, Terry Laughlin's Total Immersion is a great resource for adult onset swimmers, particularly triathletes, but not so much for competitive pool swimmers.

I've just received a copy of Kevin Zacher 4-Pack (4 video bundle) and David Marsh's Next Wave Technique Series. You can find even more DVD and books at Championship Productions.

I like Mastering Swimming (The Masters Athlete) by Jim Montgomery and Mo Chambers. It is written for masters swimmers and has information geared toward masters swimming. I also like the stroke videos by Richard Quick and Milt Nelms. Richard was a great coach and teacher and though the videos are older, they are still very instructive. Added bonus, both Jim and Richard had/have long careers in the Dallas area.

I quickly searched for and acquired 4 very diverse Swimbooks when I started my Swimjourney recently: Total Immersion (Laughlin) - I'm really glad that I read the first half, and I gained an appreciation for his philosophy on efficiency, but I hit a brick wall later in this book. It seemed to me that the pendulum swung way too far in a particular direction - strokes per distance. Something was missing. Swim Speed Secrets (Taormina) - I hate the gimmicky title of this book, but I love the book!! This book swung the pendulum away from TI, and I burst through the brick wall that Laughlin built for me. The whole equation!! Simple straightshooter language, great pictures/descriptions. Hail Taormina!! Science Of Swimming Faster (Riewald, Rideo) - The ultimate swim resource books for science/math geeks like me, but wonderfully accessible. It's all here, folks. Swimming Studies (Shapton) - not all swim books should be "how to". This one is a reflection on Swimming Life. We all love the sport/activity. How can it translate into art, love, life? READ THIS!! :)

As you get beyond technique and into training, Dave Salo's Complete Conditioning for Swimming is a great resource. On Total Immersion, I know this has its detractors, but I think the focus on efficiency is relevant for all swimmers of all ages and all ranges of competitiveness. I know I keep returning to it whenever I feel like I need reminders on my freestyle. Another great swimming book on the people/curiosity/history front is The Crossing: The Curious Story of the First Man to Swim the English Channel

Swim Speed Secrets (Taormina) - I hate the gimmicky title of this book, but I love the book!! This book swung the pendulum away from TI, and I burst through the brick wall that Laughlin built for me. The whole equation!! Simple straightshooter language, great pictures/descriptions. Hail Taormina!! Agree! I love the pictures in this book, because I am a visual person-- the reason why I like learning from videos. Skuj, have you checked out http://www.goswim.tv ? If not, you MUST! Sign up for a free subscription, and they will e-mail you a daily video. Some may not be useful to you, I have found most to be quite helpful. If you can get somebody to shoot video of your stroke, you can then compare your video to the Go Swim video subject you would like to emulate. See what they're doing that you are not. I have become a stroke technique video addict because of this site!

My stroke is perfect, so I don't need any of that. :angel: KIDDING!!! :) :DI will definitely check this out. I often watch videos of the best in slowmo. I think we can learn a lot from just watching. :agree: Definitely! For me, I find that a slow-mo video is better than anything for learning stroke technique.