How to swim faster?

[flirtees]

Has anyone ever signed up for a total immersion clinic?

There's one in Toronto this month. I have the dvd but i've never really understood the concept.

I definitely need someone to look at my stroke. My problem is my arms get tired quickly. This guy at the Y let me try this an ankle strap that held the feet together. He told me if I was a good swimmer I would be able to keep proper body position and my feet wouldn't drop.

Immediately after I pushed off the wall my legs sunk like dead weights and I was thrashing the water just to stay afloat. It was embarrasing. So I figured my technique was poor. Oh well.

I look forward to some more advice.
Tanya

[Natural Beauty]

Since I'm actually a mermaid in disguise the cycling part is the most difficult, the running just a little scarey looking to those with great form.

Community Pools have programs for triathletes who think the swimming part should be eliminated, part of the Masters programs I believe. If you can get relaxed and in the flow of the water (how zen sounding) you can actually feel your power strokes and the more powerful your kick and stroke combination the faster you'll go. Then, you can break out of the pack and avoid getting kicked in the eye.

plz forgive my spelling...haven't downloaded the spell checker yet.

[Natural Beauty]

Try holding a kickboard between your thighs first....or if they have bouie's, use one of those before the ankle strap. Either one will give just a little support while you try to do arms only.

[alpinerabbit]

I can't hold a 2 min pace either. I could in February and I can't now, haven't been training enough.

You have to be meticulous about your technique. Be a perfectionist. And then when you have it down, do the required mile-yardage, what have you. And you never ever stop doing drills.

Total Immersion, yes, but to be honest, it teaches you the same end result. And the power part, the underwater stroke, is not really covered I believe (I was taken through all the TI drills).

If you're doing ironmans already, I cannot help you, but for shorties, the above is the ticket, so they say.

What's your stroke count on a lane? (what lane?)

[wavedancer]

Has anyone ever signed up for a total immersion clinic?

There's one in Toronto this month. I have the dvd but i've never really understood the concept.

I definitely need someone to look at my stroke. My problem is my arms get tired quickly. This guy at the Y let me try this an ankle strap that held the feet together. He told me if I was a good swimmer I would be able to keep proper body position and my feet wouldn't drop.

Immediately after I pushed off the wall my legs sunk like dead weights and I was thrashing the water just to stay afloat. It was embarrasing. So I figured my technique was poor. Oh well.

I look forward to some more advice.
Tanya

If you are having trouble with your legs sinking, Total Immersion drills will definitely help. It's all about finding your balance in the water, minimizing drag and unnecessary effort. It teaches you to use the core muscles of the body to initiate your stroke, which tire much less than the smaller arm muscles.

I started swimming in March using the drills from the DVD. I went to a one-day open water clinic with Terry Laughlin yesterday and found it very helpful to have someone to observe doing the techniques and to observe me, as well. They usually videotape you and that can give you a lot of information, too. I still have a lot to work on and the addition of the open water added several other things to work on (sighting, navigating, swimming around other people, not seeing the bottom, not psyching myself out when the offshore buoy looks SO FAR AWAY

Once you feel the effect of the drills and incorporate the techniques into whole-stroke swimming, it becomes much more pleasurable!