Stroke Length Practice: First Improve. Then Maintain.
by Terry Laughlin

Posted on April 22nd, 2011

Nearly every choice you make about planning practices and sets should be driven primarily by whether your repeats strengthen your ability to stay efficient at a range of distances, tempos or paces.

Video: Secrets of Speed Part 4 of 9
by Terry Laughlin

Posted on April 21st, 2011

How did Jason Lezak pass Alain Barnard in the Olympic 4 x 100 Relay — and what’s the lesson in that for the rest of us?

Video: The Secrets of Speed Part 3 of 9
by Terry Laughlin

Posted on April 19th, 2011

Running faster – and staying efficient – comes naturally. Wasting energy when we try to swim faster comes equally naturally.

Video: Secrets of Speed Part 2 of 9
by Terry Laughlin

Posted on April 17th, 2011

There is no payoff – and potentially enormous cost – from swimming hard in a triathlon. Therefore every thought and action should be directed at making ease and efficiency an unbreakable habit.

Video: Secrets of Speed Part 1 of 9
by Terry Laughlin

Posted on April 14th, 2011

When we want to swim faster, we find it almost impossible to think clearly about how. And our instincts lead us to act in ways that make us tired, rather than faster. That’s why it’s essential to have a System for swimming faster.

Open (or close) your eyes and see as never before.
by Terry Laughlin

Posted on April 12th, 2011

Few swimmers *really* pay attention. Opening – or closing – your eyes can can change everything.

A Brief History Part 5: Closing the Loop — Habits, Neurons and Swim Improvement
by Terry Laughlin

Posted on April 8th, 2011

Mindful Practice — consciously merging thought and movement – creates *observable change in the brain’s infrastructure*. This improves skill, endurance and speed far more dramatically than training the body alone.

A Brief History of TI Part 4: 2003-07 – A “Study of Excellence”
by Terry Laughlin

Posted on April 7th, 2011

In most endeavors, most people stop improving fairly quickly. A few continue improving indefinitely – sometimes for decades. Four habits make this possible.

It’s not a Plateau. It’s a Crossroads.
by Terry Laughlin

Posted on April 6th, 2011

In most endeavors we improve quickly at first, but improvement slows, then stops. What happens next is a defining moment for all of us.

A Brief History of TI: Part 3 of 5
by Terry Laughlin

Posted on April 5th, 2011

TI metamorphoses from a way of *doing* swimming to a way of *thinking about* swimming . . . and by extension, about life.