Howdy.
I'm returning to the pool after many years away.
Since I don't have a coach, I'm attempting to get back into it on my own.
Anyone care to recommend must-have books?
Of course, I'm not going to try to collect a library or anything. So the question is, if you had to do it on your own, which books would you consider essential?
Right now I'm looking at 3 quite seriously:
Mastering Swimming
Complete Conditioning for Swimming
Breakthrough Swimming
Parents
Former Member
Swimming Fastest has got to be the worst recommendation for someone just returning to the sport.
Swimming Fastest is very much a advanced textbook on swimming. If you want to be a student of the sport from a scientific perspective, this is a great book. Plan on spending months with the book. If you try to read the book, decide what you will do, then start training, you may never get back in the pool.
Great book if you want to read about the theory of eddy currents created as your hand passes through the water and how that affects propulsion. Horrible book if you want to know how to get started after a couple hours of reading.
Now that I have panned one of my favorite books, I don't think there is a good book to get you started. What I would do if I were you is take advantage of the USMS video library, and check out some of the DVDs to bring you back up to speed on the state of swimming, ask questions in the forums and grab some planned workouts from the workouts section of the forums.
If you are unsure if Swimming Fastest meets you current needs, read this until you know if you need a copy or not.
Welcome back.
Swimming Fastest has got to be the worst recommendation for someone just returning to the sport.
Swimming Fastest is very much a advanced textbook on swimming. If you want to be a student of the sport from a scientific perspective, this is a great book. Plan on spending months with the book. If you try to read the book, decide what you will do, then start training, you may never get back in the pool.
Great book if you want to read about the theory of eddy currents created as your hand passes through the water and how that affects propulsion. Horrible book if you want to know how to get started after a couple hours of reading.
Now that I have panned one of my favorite books, I don't think there is a good book to get you started. What I would do if I were you is take advantage of the USMS video library, and check out some of the DVDs to bring you back up to speed on the state of swimming, ask questions in the forums and grab some planned workouts from the workouts section of the forums.
If you are unsure if Swimming Fastest meets you current needs, read this until you know if you need a copy or not.
Welcome back.
