Total Immersion

My advise is that if you want to improve, work with a coach or at least use video for feedback. Too many people who try to learn from a book or DVD end up practicing bad technique without realizing it. They think they're doing what it said to but they're not. This applies to Total Immersion or any other method. Whether Total Immersion will make you faster will depend on how you swim now. If you've got big problems with your stroke TI may well help you, if you already have a flawless stroke it probably won't. That's my :2cents:

Anything that gets you in the water is ok by me, except noodling, wookie's favorite swimming endeavor.

I would not count on TI alone. My brother-in-law, who wants to swim faster for triathlon, bought the TI dvds and was showing them to my husband and I. We were cringing at some of the things we saw. While we tried to pick out the positives, we were really surprised at some of the advice in this. If you do go with TI try to watch it with an experienced swimmer or coach. TI is not just a couple of dvd's, but a network of professional coaches and swimmers. the books and dvd's are a part that many have found to be useful either as pre-camp introductions or post-camp reminders. others have made great improvements to their strokes with said visual aids and the careful eyes of a swim partner. i'm not sure what could have made you cringe. care to elaborate?

I have had no formal instruction. Is there anyone who can tell me this is going to improve my times?:afraid: If you tell us about the evolution of your times over the last few years, we should be able to better identify if TI is a good avenue for you or not.

Anything that gets you in the water is ok by me, except noodling, wookie's favorite swimming endeavor. Let's not talk about my freestyle.

Judy, With the exception of a very few, rare Masters elites, all of us have loads of room to go before our strokes are 'perfect.' I'll echo the comments about getting a coach to work with and the extreme value of watching yourself on video. As for TI, I think it is a great approach. In addition, there are loads of TI-certified coaches around the country so you should be able to find someone to work with you. Even without a specific TI coach, if you have an attentive Masters coach and you explain what you're looking for in terms of guidance, I think you can go a long way. I worked with a TI coach to help re-build my freestyle in 2008/2009 and saw great improvements. Having just watched a video of me swimming a 500 in a meet yesterday, I can see that it's time for some refresher lessons!

I would not count on TI alone. My brother-in-law, who wants to swim faster for triathlon, bought the TI dvds and was showing them to my husband and I. We were cringing at some of the things we saw. While we tried to pick out the positives, we were really surprised at some of the advice in this. If you do go with TI try to watch it with an experienced swimmer or coach.

Great advice! I don't think anything can replace the feedback and instruction from a good coach. A coaching eye that is well trained will help you quicker than anything. Every good coach knows various techniques, including TI, and they'll give you the best way for you to get the results you want. Good luck! Coach T.