How a slower recovery can help reduce drag AND increase propulsion.

This article was contributed by TOMAS VOJTECHOVSKY, the TI representative in the Czech Republic. About himself, Tomas says: “I began practicing TI 13 years ago when I decided to try a triathlon. I’d been a very poor swimmer, but when I found TI, swimming become my passion. Since then I’ve swum nearly every day. Five years ago I […]

Most human swimmers try too hard and do too much. The Taoist tenet of Wu Wei – doing by not doing and seeking “soft and invisible” power — can help you achieve harmony with the nature of water . . . and swim better than you ever have by trying hard. Here are 11 stroke thoughts for freestyle and 7 principles of training that show a connection between the Tao Te Ching and TI.

Swimming for Grownups ought to be different from swimming for kids — thoughtful, enjoyable and sustainable, rather than more and harder.

Push ups can improve core strength, as well as chest and shoulders. That means they can benefit your ability to streamline well just as much as they improve your propulsive power.

Three ideas that will not only help you swim better in your next triathlon — they’ll also have you ready to cycle and run your best.

This will come as a shock to many, but 200 Butterfly doesn’t have to be grueling. It’s entirely possible to learn to swim 200 continuous yards of Butterfly and feel nearly as good on your last 25 as on your first. How? By practicing ease, rather than struggle.

Well, not 5.85 miles exactly. But yesterday at the Little Red Lighthouse swim, I “sprinted” for over 2 miles, or nearly 50 minutes, by breaking that longish stretch into segments lasting less than 20 seconds — the time between peeks forward at the two red caps I was chasing.

The two numbers — how many people have swum the English Channel, and how many have been in outer space — are virtually the same, pointing up what a strikingly rare and significant accomplishment it remains to swim the Channel. And yet, Channel swimming remains accessible to the average swimmer willing to prepare extraordinarily well.

Swimming the English Channel – by which I mean not just the business of traversing Dover Strait under your own power, but of joining the Channel-swimming community — is as compelling a social, as an athletic, experience. What struck me most during our 14 days in Dover was Channel Swimming’s combination of being both profoundly isolating and powerfully communitarian.