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Outside the Box:
Triathlon Swimming: Made EasyWhat’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 […]
Posts Tagged ‘Swim for Health and Happiness’
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 […]
Meditation, Marines, and Mindful Swimming
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on January 16th, 2014
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on January 16th, 2014
In the NY Times Magazine piece, Breathing In Vs. Spacing Out writer Dan Hurley describes the importance of balancing two types of thinking for optimal brain health. Hurley reports that the psychologist Amishi Jha used meditation to train United States Marines for mental resilience in a combat zone. (Are you surprised to learn this? I’m […]
Swim Faster; Be Healthier (Maybe even live longer!)
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on December 6th, 2013
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on December 6th, 2013
When you train the TI way, efforts you expend to swim faster aren’t for the momentary ego gratification of the time itself, nor for the higher placing it may bring in an event. The more compelling reason is because those efforts can bring proven benefits to physical and mental health. [Also because time provides an […]
SAME Strokes for Different Folks
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on November 20th, 2013
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on November 20th, 2013
Different strokes for different folks is a seldom-questioned axiom among old-school swim coaches. It says that people with different body types and goals should use widely varying styles. Put another way, anything goes when it comes to form. This week’s webinar will feature three swimmers who make a persuasive case for a very different–even revolutionary–credo: Same Strokes for Different […]
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 […]
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 […]
Video: Swimming for ‘Epic Experience’
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on September 29th, 2013
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on September 29th, 2013
Last week during TI OW camp on the Mediterranean, in Ciralu Turkey, Coach Mat Hudson posted this on his Facebook wall: “Johnny Widen [a TI coach from Sweden] asked if I keep my mind completely consumed with stroke counting and focal points like Terry Laughlin does.” While keeping track of ‘metrics that matter’ is a […]
Life Lessons from Diana Nyad?
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on September 12th, 2013
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on September 12th, 2013
The below is a guest post by psychotherapist Jeanne Safer PhD, a thoroughly Kaizen TI student taking weekly lessons at the TI Swim Studio in New Paltz for 10 years. This article was originally published at the Psychology Today web site, where Jeanne has just begun writing regular essays on the psychological revelations possible through […]
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 […]