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Outside the Box:
Triathlon Swimming: Made EasyEllen Langer, at age 67, is the longest-serving psychology prof at Harvard. What she is best known for is studies which have shown that people can make marked physical changes, improving health, reversing aging effects, etc. in response to mental suggestions, which she calls primes. The New York Times Magazine just published an article about […]
Posts Tagged ‘swim for improvement’
Zen and the Art of Breaking World (or Personal) Records
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on July 9th, 2014
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on July 9th, 2014
What 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 […]
The (Re-) Education of a Competitive Swimmer
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on February 23rd, 2014
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on February 23rd, 2014
This is a guest post by TI Coach John Fitzpatrick, head coach of the Chicago Blue Dolphin swim instruction and fitness program. I’d been a swimmer since early childhood, but I don’t feel like I started to understand swimming until the fall of 2000 when someone recommended I read Total Immersion: The Revolutionary Way to […]
Should you ‘Psych Up?’
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on November 27th, 2013
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on November 27th, 2013
Just two weeks ago, in a previous post, I pondered the wisdom of advice in the NY Times “Well’ blog which suggested you keep telling yourself “This workout feels good” . . . even when it doesn’t. That section of the Times continues to offer tips about how to ‘psych yourself’ through an exercise session. […]
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 […]
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 […]
Fail better. It’s that simple.
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on September 6th, 2013
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on September 6th, 2013
I’ve written many times that among the characteristics of those who excel in many fields is they do not fear or shrink from failure. In fact, when they practice their discipline, they almost always plan it to include a form of difficulty or challenge that will ensure some kind of failure, or reveal a weak […]
Video: The BEAUTY of Effortless. The SKILL of Slow.
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on August 1st, 2013
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on August 1st, 2013
The liveliest thread on the TI Discussion Forum at the moment is titled ‘a question about continuance.’ with, as of this morning, 59 posts, which have drawn over 1300 views. What’s curious about this thread is that the initial query was about how to swim faster, yet the bulk of discussion has centered on various forms […]
‘Drafting Off’ My Inner Voice
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on July 29th, 2013
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on July 29th, 2013
In my last post, Enjoyment Meets Improvement I wrote that I’ve reduced my racing schedule this summer to preserve bandwidth for writing e-books (the first, “How Swimming Works . . . and How It Doesn’t” should be released in October.) But in practice, I still focus on improvement—it’s addictive and it stokes my creative juices. […]
What is Success in TI Swimming?
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on January 25th, 2013
by Terry Laughlin
Posted on January 25th, 2013
For TI coaches, the measure of success is how many ‘ordinary’ people we can help have EXTRAORDINARY swim experiences.