Customer Reviews

Total Immersion: A Revolutionary Way To Swim Better And Faster

5 star:		(32)
4 star:		(6)
3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(3)

 

 

Maybe the book deserves five stars, but I shall be stingy. I am a 16-year old age group swimmer. I specialize in long-distance freestyle and am close to my first AA times in a few events. This book is one of the most important advances in my swimming career. By religiously following every drill in Laughlin's program (including one resembling dead-man's float which was hard on my pride to do in public), I have been able to convert my flat, brute-force freestyle into a more graceful and efficient stroke.
I began to see results after about two weeks, but so far my sprints have been fairly resistant to change, although I am confident that I can slowly increase the speed where I can use my new stroke. Since I bought this book during the summer, I have had no meets to get new times, but I have noticed that in practice I have swum faster with dramatically less effort. My biceps, triceps, and shoulders are no longer bearing all the burden of swimming and I have learned how to make freestyle swimming's power and rhythm come from the core of the body.
I can't say how helpful the book would be for more advanced swimmers, but I will recommend it to swimmers with A and AA times who hope to get AA and AAA times, especially to those who have poor rotation in freestyle. Backstrokers may also benefit somewhat if they need to cure poor rotation.
Finally, I am an assistant coach for my neighborhood's swim team during the summer and I have successfully used the principles of the book to quickly correct many stroke flaws of younger swimmers.

Terry Laughlin uses basic principles of hydrodynamics to show the correct way to swim "like a fish". Fish-like swimming is perhaps a misnomer, but he does detail how it's possible to reconfigure one's body in the water, to be like a yacht, not like a barge.

There's a whole long section on hydrodynamics for the technically inclined, and for the Olympic watchers there's a bit about how elite swimmers have used these techniques to win. The prose tends toward the purple at times, but it's good background for what's to come: a whole series of lessons and drills that tell you what you're supposed to feel in the water.

Until I heard the phrase "swimming downhill," I'd never really thought about what it should feel like to swim, gliding effortless through the water instead of being dragged by it. But with these and other catchphrases, Laughlin can get any swimmer attuned to what should be happening.

The book itself is choppily arranged. The skill-building practice swims are located in the back of the book, with the actual descriptions of the skills somewhere towards the middle. Even the sections on weight, one for total body and one insanely long regimen for the rotator cuffs, are stuck in their own little sections far apart in the book.

More logical organization would make this a much easier book to flip through, but the results are undeniable. My crawl stroke has improved dramatically, and I can't wait to see what tricks Laughlin has up his sleeve for the other three strokes. This belongs in every swimmer's bedside table, dog-eared and highlighted and worm.

I have found this extremely helpful in improving my swimming as I prepare for an upcomming triathlon. Study it carefully and put some practice time in at the pool. Just look up you-tube to see how some TI masters pull off this effortless method.

I'm not a big swimmer, but I heard so much about this book that I had to check it out- and I'm glad I did. This book will save a lot of people who are trying to learn to swim better a lot of time. Here's why:

-the book concentrates on swimming technique, correct position, and how you're suppose to feel in the water
-the book gives you drills to reinforce the most efficient way to swim
-the book is very scientific and the info is based on hydrodynamics

The book covers a lot of ground, but the authors writing style makes is go by quickly (at least it did for me). The pictures were good and I thought the explanations of the techniques and the "why" behind them was very understandable. Not sure about the rotator cuff routine in Chapter 16 though- it's kinda long and I'm not sure if some of the exercises like the reverse biceps curl is really necessary (rec. Treat Your Own Rotator Cuff for swimmers who have shoulder issues).

In conclusion, I found the book very enlightening and recommend it to anyone (young OR old) who wants to learn how to swim more efficiently by learning the correct swimming techniques. The author obviously loves swimming and has brought all his years of experience and research into one handy resource.

This book made a major impact on my freestyle stroke and basic attitudes towards traditional swim training. I highly recommend this book to anyone; however, there a few minor shortcomings. First, the beginning of the book drags on a bit about the benefits of the "Total Immersion" swim program. If you can make throught the beginning, the later chapters are the big payoff. Second, I found Terry's ideas about head position a bit contradictory. Terry talks about looking towards the end of the pool; however, most people (including a Swimming Fitness article authored by Terry) talk about looking down. Once you look up, your hips start to sink -- The big problem Terry tries to cure. Finally, the book only talks about freestyle. Even though Terry has ways to improve the other strokes (check out his Web site for his videos), he doesn't mention them in this book. Despite those three minor flaws, the book is excellent and really works.

SHORT VERSION

-This method is incredible and works.
-Don't buy this book. Instead buy the updated version "Swimming made easy." It contains significantly improved drills.
-To really make it easy to learn this method, the DVD is gold. A moving image is worth more than a thousand words in this instance. The DVD contains the same drills as the book "swimming made easy."

LONG VERSION
First I have to point out that while this method is incredible, this particular book is not the one to get. Terry's book "Swimming made easy" contains almost identical material in the first several chapters but the drill portion has been improved dramatically. I originally bought this book and mastered the balancing drills but when I started working on the later drills I didn't understand how all the pieces fit together. With Terry's new drill sequence the drills naturally work you into a complete swimming stroke. In addition, "Swimming made easy" also includes drills for the backstroke, butterfly, and breast stroke."

If you want to improve your stroke even faster, I highly recommend the DVD "Freestyle made easy." Being able to see the stroke in action and the resulting propulsion from body rotation makes it much easier to grasp the overall concept. A picture is worth a thousand words in this instance. I purchased the book and dvd at the same time and don't think I would have progressed as fast as I did without the dvd. If you can only buy one thing I would recommned the dvd. You can get a large portion of the conceptual information from the Total Immerssion web site which has segments of the book free for download.

Now for my story. I'm an aspiring triathlete with my first one scheduled in about 3 months. The open water swim had me a bit concerned. I've always known how to swim but have never swam freestyle more than a few feet. I went to the pool for the first time and proceeded to expend a lot of effort while feeling like I was creeping along with almost no forward momentum. Upon the recommendation of a friend I went the next day and bought this book. That same day I went to the pool and tried the balancing drills and was amazed by the ease with which I could float on the water. Anxious to learn more I ordered the dvd "freestyle made easy" and book "swimming made easy" (I ended up returning the "total immersion" book). I must have watched the dvd at least 3 times the day I got it. I was amazed to see people glide along the water with very little effort. I went to the pool everyday for a week doing 2-3 drills each time and by the end of the week was able to easily swim the triathlon distance of half a mile. I didn't do it in record time by any means but I could do so confidently without any worry of fatigue or drowning (in open water). Because this method teaches you how to let the water support you with almost no effort, whenever you feel like you need an extra couple of breaths you can simply role to your "sweet spot" (roughly on your back) for as long as you need.

It's been about a month now since starting to learn this method and I've shaved four minutes off my half mile time. My stroke is continuing to get more efficient and I literally feel like I'm cruising with little effort. A couple of days ago I shared a lane with a gentleman who was going about the same speed as me but expending probably more than twice the effort. The drills teach you how to get propulsion from core body rotation rather than the traditional idea of kicking harder and pushing the water back with your hands. In fact, with this method you use your legs very little which is great for triathlets in that they can save their leg strength for the bike and run.

This method teaches three basic things
-How to stop struggling against the water and let it support your body.
-How to streamline your body in the water and reduce drag/resistance.
-How to use core body rotation as the main method of propulsion rather than your arms and legs.

I have been teaching swimming for over 5 years, and when I picked up this book, I was really excited!
It now sits on my bookshelf as a reference guide, and I recommend it to anyone I know who is learning to swim for racing or fitness, and also to people who teach swimming.
I have been swimming all my life, and have 2 seasons of triathlon under my belt. This book taught me many new and innovative ways to teach kids 'how to feel the water' to improve their stroke. After I read some of the points in the book, I went to test it out in the pool during one of my swimming sessions. The principles all worked, and put everything I have learned since I was 2 into perspective! I now know how to swim faster and smoother! I was very impressed that a book could do this, compared to the many years of swim instruction.
As for some of the negative comments made about this book, I will address a few:
*diagrams... if you read the introduction, it mentions how to best use the book, and how it is laid out. The book actually has a very easy layout: the intorduction for the concept (with 'proof' of why this concept works), a section (33 pages!) with diagrams to be used as the reference section for the drills in the next secions, sections on how to use the pace clock and equipment... among other things.

*"wordy"... I found this book to be great for teaching many people. The 'words' are there to illustrate and explain key concepts of swimming. I often had a hard time explaining concepts of "why" you wanted to swim this way (which adults always want to know) and what a proper technique should feel like. Knowing these things not only helped me become a better swimmer, it also taught me how to explain the concepts better to my sutdnets. THe neatest thing is, it taught me how to teach myself how to swim. I say, keep the words, they are excellent.

*the logistics... one person commented that the book focused on the aspect of body position way too much. From teaching every age from 3 months to 60+ years old, I can tell you that EVERYONE starts at the same place: learning PROPER body position. This book takes you back to the first part, as the vast majority of the population has not learned proper body position to begin with. The individual differences in people will determine how much their legs sink or float, but if you use the principles in this book, it will help you swim to your potential. Proper balance in the water is essential. I have spent countless hours watching the public swim laps and comparing their techinique to how the olympic swimmers swim at the pool I work at, and what this book teaches can be recognized in the elite athletes. I have also received coaching from various national level coaches, and they also teach these same prinicples. They train the olympians, so who is to argue?

This book is an EXCELLENT value for those who can't get to, or afford the author's workshops. If I had the money and the time to go, I would definitely go!
...I highly reccommend this book to those who want to swim faster and feel more confident and comfortable in the water.

This book taught gave me the confidence and the knowledge to learn how to swim better. I went from no technique to at least an idea of what I was trying to do! Very informative with lesson plans and drills that are easy to follow and comprehensive.

This book will help any level of swimmer, from beginner to advanced. Laughlin explains why swimming lap after lap will get you nowhere if you want to improve.

Based upon his years of swimming himself and coaching experience, he explains really simply how we can swim faster and more efficiently with less effort. The book is filled with drills, breaking down different parts of swimming to easy and memorable chunks so that you can practice effectively.

I recommend this book to anyone who wants to improve. After going through even just the first few chapters, my distance before I got tired increased tenfold, yet the effort I was putting in was half of what I had been doing. Buy this book, you won't be sorry.

Hi:

I bought this book with a lot of hope and was disappointed. The author has repeatedly said in the book that one has to swim like fish but unfortunately I am not a fish! I think the fact is like many things every person is different and has different capabilities of swimming faster and better. For example, the body density could be different and therefore the propensity to float etc. could be different.

Just because the author has had a chance to see Popov or some other world class swimmer swim for hours is not going to do me any good.

If you want to swim better, I suggest you buy Richard Pete's videos and not this one. This one is full of fluff. It is a great example of how thousands can be taken for a ride.

SV