When pain or injury is a gift
by Terry Laughlin

Posted on May 24th, 2010

Pain or injury occur more frequently as we age. They don’t have to be an inconvenience. Instead we can use them to guide us toward more mindful movement.

For a Better Kick, Streamline First
by Terry Laughlin

Posted on May 22nd, 2010

Splayed or scissoring legs increase drag. Streamline them before you emphasize activating them.

How to Improve through Balanced Perspective
by Terry Laughlin

Posted on May 20th, 2010

There are four key metrics in swimming – Efficiency, Effort, Tempo and Time. Most people use only one. That limits improvement and increases potential for frustration. Expand your perspective and you have more opportunity to improve.

Free Air: How to Stroke Better while Breathing
by Terry Laughlin

Posted on May 19th, 2010

Stroking the lead hand prematurely, and “slipping water,” while breathing, is an almost universal technique error in freestyle. Here is how I’m working to improve on it.

Will you be Swimming-to-Improve at 87?
by Terry Laughlin

Posted on May 18th, 2010

Jazz pianist Hank Jones, who died Sunday at age 91, was still learning new material and trying to ‘make his lines flow smoothly’ at age 87, if not later. Do you practice swimming like Hank practiced music?

How Suzanne Improved Her Speed
by Terry Laughlin

Posted on May 13th, 2010

By Measuring The Right Stuff rather than Going Harder, Suzanne improved her 500 yard PR by 25 seconds. I did the same and improved my 500 repeat time by 50 seconds in one set.

How I Measure Improvement: Examples from 3 Practices
by Terry Laughlin

Posted on May 10th, 2010

A description of 3 practices showing how to measure improvement by tracking 4 key variables or metrics.

Lessons from Endless Pool Practice
by Terry Laughlin

Posted on May 5th, 2010

For most of 18 months immediately before turning 55, I was unable to train in the usual way – no timed sets in a regular pool. I was able to tune key details of my body position, alignment, etc, in an Endless Pool. What happened next was completely unexpected.

Purposeful Variety: One Practice, Two Ways
by Terry Laughlin

Posted on May 4th, 2010

There’s a difference between purposeful variety in training and variety planned only to relieve tedium. Here’s an example of purposeful variety.

A Historic Day in Open Water Annals
by Terry Laughlin

Posted on May 3rd, 2010

Today is the bicentennial of Lord Byron’s famed, and romantic, swim across the Hellespont, which separates the continent of Europe from that of Asia. Byron’s swim contributed much to the romance of open water.