Does Pool Depth have an effect on surface turbulence?

Alphatree, You are not alone in your observations here on TI. Many are advocates, many are not, but low in the water, well, I see too many other problems not addressed. One of my largest issues is if a swimmer is very low in the water, then how do they swim without drag (water over the shoulders, slightly underwater), and how do they rotate, not roll? How far do they have to turn their bodies to breathe? I could expand on this, but I won't for now, even though I am hunting for ways to endorse TI swimming. The search goes on. Donna As far as I know, TI does endorse "rolling to breathe". It's just that I'd have to roll to an unbelievable angle to do it. On freestyle, TI says "have a thin film of water running over the back of your head." I can do this easily, and it's great for streamlining. But now imagine trying to breathe with a thin film of water rolling over the back of your head. That's right: you have to roll so far that you practically face the ceiling. If you're drilling, that's fine.. you can just roll to your "sweet spot" as they talk about in drills. But no one looks UP to breathe in freestyle that I've seen. I've tried it and it's certainly awkward. I watch plenty of good swimmers swim -- and they know nothing about TI to my knowledge -- and they simply do a quick turn of their head to breathe as they swim higher in the water. It doesn't look awkward and it doesn't affect their stroke. I wish I could swim like them. On backstroke, I notice people actually do crane their necks a bit to breathe. If I try the "water around your goggles" approach of TI, it works great in very calm water... but during a public swim, all the other people in the pool easily drown me unless I tuck my chin to keep my head up. Similarly, if I try any of the drills in a public pool, I basically drown unless I crane my neck. I get in the pool and say to myself, "okay, calm, relaxed, mindful swimming" and then I let the water settle around my goggles... only to have all the turbulance from passing swimmers wash over my face and mouth as I'm trying to 'calmly' breathe. I start struggling and then give up. Long story short: I started swimming just a few months ago and I put a lot of faith in TI because TI swimmers looked so graceful. But I've now discovered that what has really helped me progress is the 20 hours of private lessons I took (non-TI instructor). I've also found that while my form is good for a new swimmer -- I've been told as much by lifeguards and my instructors -- I can barely breathe unless it's calm water due to the low-in-the-water approach. I've also developed an irrational fear of kickboards which has made me ignore a lot of the non-TI drills that other swimmers have been suggesting -- including my girlfriend who is a former competitive swimmer and coach. I think I'll start listening to her more =)

Alphatree, You are not alone in your observations here on TI. Many are advocates, many are not, but low in the water, well, I see too many other problems not addressed. One of my largest issues is if a swimmer is very low in the water, then how do they swim without drag (water over the shoulders, slightly underwater), and how do they rotate, not roll? How far do they have to turn their bodies to breathe? I could expand on this, but I won't for now, even though I am hunting for ways to endorse TI swimming. The search goes on. Donna As far as I know, TI does endorse "rolling to breathe". It's just that I'd have to roll to an unbelievable angle to do it. On freestyle, TI says "have a thin film of water running over the back of your head." I can do this easily, and it's great for streamlining. But now imagine trying to breathe with a thin film of water rolling over the back of your head. That's right: you have to roll so far that you practically face the ceiling. If you're drilling, that's fine.. you can just roll to your "sweet spot" as they talk about in drills. But no one looks UP to breathe in freestyle that I've seen. I've tried it and it's certainly awkward. I watch plenty of good swimmers swim -- and they know nothing about TI to my knowledge -- and they simply do a quick turn of their head to breathe as they swim higher in the water. It doesn't look awkward and it doesn't affect their stroke. I wish I could swim like them. On backstroke, I notice people actually do crane their necks a bit to breathe. If I try the "water around your goggles" approach of TI, it works great in very calm water... but during a public swim, all the other people in the pool easily drown me unless I tuck my chin to keep my head up. Similarly, if I try any of the drills in a public pool, I basically drown unless I crane my neck. I get in the pool and say to myself, "okay, calm, relaxed, mindful swimming" and then I let the water settle around my goggles... only to have all the turbulance from passing swimmers wash over my face and mouth as I'm trying to 'calmly' breathe. I start struggling and then give up. Long story short: I started swimming just a few months ago and I put a lot of faith in TI because TI swimmers looked so graceful. But I've now discovered that what has really helped me progress is the 20 hours of private lessons I took (non-TI instructor). I've also found that while my form is good for a new swimmer -- I've been told as much by lifeguards and my instructors -- I can barely breathe unless it's calm water due to the low-in-the-water approach. I've also developed an irrational fear of kickboards which has made me ignore a lot of the non-TI drills that other swimmers have been suggesting -- including my girlfriend who is a former competitive swimmer and coach. I think I'll start listening to her more =)