Total Immersion: The Revolutionary Way to Swim Better, Faster, and Easier [Paperback]

Terry Laughlin (Author), John Delves (Contributor)

Book Description

Publication Date: August 2, 1996

Swim Better Than You Ever Thought You Could!

If you think fastest way to better swimming is more laps, you're wasting your breath, literally. Now you can swim better -- and enjoy it more -- using simple and original techniques developed by veteran swim coach and top-ranked Masters swimmer Terry Laughlin. Laughing has helped more adults to swim faster, more smoothly, and with less effort than any other swimming coach in the country. "Total Immersion," named for the popular workshops he gives across the country, will change the way you move your body through the water, Laughlin will take the way you swim and turn it inside out as you learn that it's technique -- not athletic ability -- that makes a strong swimmer. And best of all, you'll eliminate the boredom that comes with repetitive lap swimming. "Total Immersion" features:

* Step-by-step skill drills that anyone can master for better swim stokes, improved form, and more enjoyable workouts
* Tips on how to eliminate energy-robbing "drag" and swim more powerfully-with less effort
* The "Total Immersion" self- taught stroke makeover
* Dry land exercises to improve what you do in the water
* How to swim to burn off the most fat
* Easy-to follow illustrations

You will also learn which "pool toys" -- like hand paddles and fins -- can help you improve the most; how to swim for general fitness; how to stay injury-free; and much more. Based on more than twenty years of teaching, coaching, and research, Terry Laughlin's "Total Immersion" is sure to improve the quality of your swimming, whether you're skilled athlete or an average swimmer. And best of all, no more boring laps.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Masters swimmer and acclaimed coach Terry Laughlin has taught thousands to swim more efficiently in the workshops he has given across the United States. In his book Laughlin details simple, step-by-step drills emphasizing the importance of technique and an innovative workout regimen.

Review

Eddie Reese 1992, 1996, 2000, and 2004 United States Olympic Coach and Head Coach, University of Texas (six-time NCAA champions) The most valuable service a good coach provides is to sharpen your technique, not make you work harder. Terry Laughlin has done an outstanding job of simplifying that complex job, providing practical tools that will work for any coach or teacher.

David Marsh 1996, 2000, and 2004 United States Olympic Coach and Head Coach, Auburn University (2003 NCAA Men's and Women's champions) Total Immersion can help anyone learn to be a better swimmer, regardless of ability. Terry Laughlin makes an improved stroke simple for the novice, yet I've seen his methods work for elite swimmers, too. --This text refers to an alternate Paperback edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 286 pages
• Publisher: Fireside (August 2, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 068481885X
• ISBN-13: 978-0684818856
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.3 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.1 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (165 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #637,360 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #79 in Books > Health, Fitness & Dieting > Exercise & Fitness > Swimming

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

75 of 76 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars As a swimming instructor for over 5 years... December 10, 2001

By Slowpoke

Format:Paperback

I have been teaching swimming for over 5 years, and when I picked up this book, I was really excited!
It now sits on my bookshelf as a reference guide, and I recommend it to anyone I know who is learning to swim for racing or fitness, and also to people who teach swimming.
I have been swimming all my life, and have 2 seasons of triathlon under my belt. This book taught me many new and innovative ways to teach kids 'how to feel the water' to improve their stroke. After I read some of the points in the book, I went to test it out in the pool during one of my swimming sessions. The principles all worked, and put everything I have learned since I was 2 into perspective! I now know how to swim faster and smoother! I was very impressed that a book could do this, compared to the many years of swim instruction.
As for some of the negative comments made about this book, I will address a few:
*diagrams... if you read the introduction, it mentions how to best use the book, and how it is laid out. The book actually has a very easy layout: the intorduction for the concept (with 'proof' of why this concept works), a section (33 pages!) with diagrams to be used as the reference section for the drills in the next secions, sections on how to use the pace clock and equipment... among other things.

*"wordy"... I found this book to be great for teaching many people. The 'words' are there to illustrate and explain key concepts of swimming. I often had a hard time explaining concepts of "why" you wanted to swim this way (which adults always want to know) and what a proper technique should feel like. Knowing these things not only helped me become a better swimmer, it also taught me how to explain the concepts better to my sutdnets. THe neatest thing is, it taught me how to teach myself how to swim. I say, keep the words, they are excellent.

*the logistics... one person commented that the book focused on the aspect of body position way too much. From teaching every age from 3 months to 60+ years old, I can tell you that EVERYONE starts at the same place: learning PROPER body position. This book takes you back to the first part, as the vast majority of the population has not learned proper body position to begin with. The individual differences in people will determine how much their legs sink or float, but if you use the principles in this book, it will help you swim to your potential. Proper balance in the water is essential. I have spent countless hours watching the public swim laps and comparing their techinique to how the olympic swimmers swim at the pool I work at, and what this book teaches can be recognized in the elite athletes. I have also received coaching from various national level coaches, and they also teach these same prinicples. They train the olympians, so who is to argue?

This book is an EXCELLENT value for those who can't get to, or afford the author's workshops. If I had the money and the time to go, I would definitely go!
...I highly reccommend this book to those who want to swim faster and feel more confident and comfortable in the water.

171 of 182 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars This method of swimming does wonders May 30, 2000

By David Tepper

Format:Paperback

Terry Laughlin uses basic principles of hydrodynamics to show the correct way to swim "like a fish". Fish-like swimming is perhaps a misnomer, but he does detail how it's possible to reconfigure one's body in the water, to be like a yacht, not like a barge.

There's a whole long section on hydrodynamics for the technically inclined, and for the Olympic watchers there's a bit about how elite swimmers have used these techniques to win. The prose tends toward the purple at times, but it's good background for what's to come: a whole series of lessons and drills that tell you what you're supposed to feel in the water.

Until I heard the phrase "swimming downhill," I'd never really thought about what it should feel like to swim, gliding effortless through the water instead of being dragged by it. But with these and other catchphrases, Laughlin can get any swimmer attuned to what should be happening.

The book itself is choppily arranged. The skill-building practice swims are located in the back of the book, with the actual descriptions of the skills somewhere towards the middle. Even the sections on weight, one for total body and one insanely long regimen for the rotator cuffs, are stuck in their own little sections far apart in the book.

More logical organization would make this a much easier book to flip through, but the results are undeniable. My crawl stroke has improved dramatically, and I can't wait to see what tricks Laughlin has up his sleeve for the other three strokes. This belongs in every swimmer's bedside table, dog-eared and highlighted and worm.

55 of 56 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent book to improve your freestyle stroke November 3, 1999

By A Customer

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

This book made a major impact on my freestyle stroke and basic attitudes towards traditional swim training. I highly recommend this book to anyone; however, there a few minor shortcomings. First, the beginning of the book drags on a bit about the benefits of the "Total Immersion" swim program. If you can make throught the beginning, the later chapters are the big payoff. Second, I found Terry's ideas about head position a bit contradictory. Terry talks about looking towards the end of the pool; however, most people (including a Swimming Fitness article authored by Terry) talk about looking down. Once you look up, your hips start to sink -- The big problem Terry tries to cure. Finally, the book only talks about freestyle. Even though Terry has ways to improve the other strokes (check out his Web site for his videos), he doesn't mention them in this book. Despite those three minor flaws, the book is excellent and really works.