I just got Total immersion book yesterday.
Have read part 1 of the book and just started doing the drills today.
It seems an excallent way to swim and definatly will improve my f/s.
But i'm a bit weary because it's so comercail. so my question is,
Is Total immersion as good a way to swim as it makes out?
or is it the best way to learn how to swim?
Are there better books out there that teach you how to swim well(properly)?
Hope that makes sense
Swifty
Parents
Former Member
Originally posted by totalswimm
It probably does sound a bit zen to someone accustomed to terms like EN3 -- which to be honest, though I've coached swimming with consistent success for 34 years -- including world ranked swimmers from the 50m free to the 1500m -- I couldn't tell you what that means. I've never had much interest in the minutiae of energy system training.
Instead I focus on the pure experience of swimming your best race - how does each part feel. Once we have a good grasp, we rehearse the parts until the feeling we seek becomes ingrained. As we do that the energy system gets trained, but that's always peripheral, simply a byproduct.
It's not for everyone, but for those who learn how to do it, it becomes pretty much failsafe -- and a lot more engaging than "buffering enzymes."
And TI is pretty much all or nothing. It's not a bandaid. It's a mindset, as I've said.
You asked what I meant by "fast" so I tried to express myself in terms most coaches are comfortable with. If you agree that to swim fast you have to train fast, then perhaps you can explain how "effortless" applies to a race pace set. Or is that more hyperbole, like "pure" and "failsafe"?
As for buffering enzymes, I don't know how "engaging" they are, but they are pretty darn useful during a race when you're dealing with lactic acid. Or is lactate production eliminated by TI?
You know, a few years ago my wife and spent a weekend in Big Sur. I recommend it highly. Anyway, one of the locals told us that Big Sur is not a place but a state of mind.
Originally posted by totalswimm
It probably does sound a bit zen to someone accustomed to terms like EN3 -- which to be honest, though I've coached swimming with consistent success for 34 years -- including world ranked swimmers from the 50m free to the 1500m -- I couldn't tell you what that means. I've never had much interest in the minutiae of energy system training.
Instead I focus on the pure experience of swimming your best race - how does each part feel. Once we have a good grasp, we rehearse the parts until the feeling we seek becomes ingrained. As we do that the energy system gets trained, but that's always peripheral, simply a byproduct.
It's not for everyone, but for those who learn how to do it, it becomes pretty much failsafe -- and a lot more engaging than "buffering enzymes."
And TI is pretty much all or nothing. It's not a bandaid. It's a mindset, as I've said.
You asked what I meant by "fast" so I tried to express myself in terms most coaches are comfortable with. If you agree that to swim fast you have to train fast, then perhaps you can explain how "effortless" applies to a race pace set. Or is that more hyperbole, like "pure" and "failsafe"?
As for buffering enzymes, I don't know how "engaging" they are, but they are pretty darn useful during a race when you're dealing with lactic acid. Or is lactate production eliminated by TI?
You know, a few years ago my wife and spent a weekend in Big Sur. I recommend it highly. Anyway, one of the locals told us that Big Sur is not a place but a state of mind.
