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Outside the Box:
Triathlon Swimming: Made EasyWhat do you suppose it takes to set a world record in swimming. More to the point, what do you suppose it feels like to swim faster than any human in history? A recent article in the New York Times Miles From Her Top Competitors, a Young Star Still Outswims Them reported that US distance […]
Posts Tagged ‘Effortless Endurance’
Focus: Always a Work in Progress
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on April 8th, 2014
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on April 8th, 2014
In my most recent post Change Your Swimming in Three Minutes, I suggested doing a 3-minute exercise in nose-breathing and mind-clearing prior to entering the pool for practice. I wrote that post after several days of doing that exercise as I prepared to start a session of writing. It did help center me for somewhat […]
The Evolutionary Instinct to Efficiency
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on February 15th, 2014
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on February 15th, 2014
What’s the connection between evolution, snow-shoveling, and swimming-improvement? The past few days brought a snow-storm of historic proportions–18 to 24 inches, atop 10 inches from a week earlier. For me, that meant opportunity for my own ‘Winter Games.’ I’ve been skiing on a rail trail for the past week, and was anxious yesterday to get […]
T.I. (‘Tee-Aye’) Chi
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on February 7th, 2014
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on February 7th, 2014
Brian Suddeth, a TI enthusiast from Bowie MD. has been helping a blind friend and co-worker, named Mark, to learn efficiency the TI way. Mark had attempted a marathon run, but suffered an injury and had to drop out. So his new goal is to complete a mile in open water, at the Great Chesapeake […]
I Don’t Want to Become a Stiff, Sore Old Person
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on January 22nd, 2014
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on January 22nd, 2014
This is the second guest post by noted writer and blogger Mariah Burton Nelson. It’s an honor to feature a respected author and thinker like Mariah. We’re delighted she’s thinking a lot about her swimming now, and making connections between her TI practice and how she goes about the rest of her day. In A Splash-Free Life, Mariah wrote […]
A Splash-Free Life?
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on December 20th, 2013
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on December 20th, 2013
I’m delighted and honored to present this guest post from noted writer and blogger—and recent convert to ‘splash-free’ swimming—Mariah Burton Nelson. What would it mean to lead a splash-free life? To splash is “to cause water or other liquid to move in a noisy or messy way.” In swimming, leading a splash-free life means gliding […]
Bad Advice: Tell Yourself, “This feels good.”
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on November 12th, 2013
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on November 12th, 2013
Last week (Nov 6 to be precise) the NY Times published an article with the headline Keep Telling Yourself: “This Workout Feels Good.” This is a prime example of what I call the Western Industrial Exercise Complex. The article’s main message was that if you practice exhortatory self-talk you’ll get better at enduring unpleasantness while […]
How Efficient Is Your Freestyle?
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on November 8th, 2013
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on November 8th, 2013
If you regularly read my posts you’re probably aware of the DARPA study which showed that human swimmers are only 3% efficient–as compared to the 80% efficiency of dolphins. (I.E. Dolphins convert 80% of energy expenditures into forward motion; in contrast humans divert 97% of energy into moving around in the water and moving the […]
Crossing Gibraltar Strait: A Journey to Joy
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on October 31st, 2013
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on October 31st, 2013
On October 11, I swam across Gibraltar Strait, with TI colleagues Lennart Larsson of Orebro, Sweden and Tommi Patila of Helsinki, Finland. We swam 18km (11+ miles) in 5 hours 18 minutes. Water temperatures started at 18C (64F) near the Spanish coast, rose to 19 in mid-Strait, then dipped to 16C (60F) as we approached […]
Swim 3 Open Water Miles and Enjoy Every Stroke? Yes!
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on August 24th, 2013
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on August 24th, 2013
This is a guest post by TI/OW enthusiast Christian Miles of Washington DC Back in January I’d registered for the 3-mile open water swim event– part of the Kingdom Swim in Newport, VT–scheduled for July 6th. At the time it struck me as a good challenge and a great adventure which I could share with lifelong […]