Quote Originally Posted by flirtees View Post
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!