I predict: “How Swimming Changes Your Brain” will be the most important discovery of the coming decade. This post explains why.
Archive for the ‘Brain Training’ Category
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on December 26th, 2009
On one of the swimming web sites, I found this statement: “The strength of the kick comes on the downbeat. Very little propulsion, if any, is generated with the upbeat of the kick.” I am curious to know if I should even be trying to get propulsion on the upbeat, or return stroke of the kick. Any thoughts?
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on December 19th, 2009
Why you should make Ease a central goal of your swimming – and 12 specific ways to swim better through ease.
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on December 18th, 2009
Most distance and marathon swimmers believe the most important thing is to “get the yards in.” I believe there’s much unexplored potential in shorter, well-crafted practices that actually create more direct benefit than long grind-it-out sessions.
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on December 17th, 2009
Most swim workouts on the web or in magazines prescribe fixed and formulaic repeat sets. They probably won’t work for you! Here’s how to design a personalized improvement program.
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on December 15th, 2009
If you depend on effort and physical capacity, you will slow down with age. If you learn to “solve problems” you can continue improving almost indefinitely.
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on December 10th, 2009
The fact that, as infants, we first move about on land by crawling might have much to do with our massive inefficiency – later in life – at swimming. If human infants were to slither instead, we might become much better swimmers.
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on December 9th, 2009
In open water, think about your stroke first, most and always. And think in specific and targeted ways. Everything else is just details.
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on December 8th, 2009
Nearly all endurance athletes risk overtraining – i.e. training-induced fatigue that stops improvement and undermines race performance. But when you focus on training your brain and nervous system, the risk of overtraining disappears.
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on November 30th, 2009
Most of us exercise for the physical workout and benefits, but the real value is in how it creates new brain cells and strengthens neural networks.
The greatest number of new brain cells will result from swimming that’s acutely focused on improving skill.