Customer Reviews

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

5 star:		(73)
4 star:		(30)
3 star:		(17)
2 star:		(7)
1 star:		(12)

 

 

I'm not a big swimmer, but I heard so much about this book that I had to check it out- and I'm glad I did. This book will save a lot of people who are trying to learn to swim better a lot of time. Here's why:

-the book concentrates on swimming technique, correct position, and how you're suppose to feel in the water
-the book gives you drills to reinforce the most efficient way to swim
-the book is very scientific and the info is based on hydrodynamics

The book covers a lot of ground, but the authors writing style makes is go by quickly (at least it did for me). The pictures were good and I thought the explanations of the techniques and the "why" behind them was very understandable. Not sure about the rotator cuff routine in Chapter 16 though- it's kinda long and I'm not sure if some of the exercises like the reverse biceps curl is really necessary (rec. Treat Your Own Rotator Cuff for swimmers who have shoulder issues).

In conclusion, I found the book very enlightening and recommend it to anyone (young OR old) who wants to learn how to swim more efficiently by learning the correct swimming techniques. The author obviously loves swimming and has brought all his years of experience and research into one handy resource.

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.

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.

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.

A lot of people have mentioned that the techniques are obsolete, and that you should get Laughlin's other book, Swimming Made Easy. Not so!

In this revised and updated version, the author has completely revised the drills used -- if I remember right, he said that only two of the original 12 drills are used in the now-14 drills.

Why did I give this book only 4 stars? Let me give you the breakdown:

First, the CONTENT, or the substance of the book: the techniques and drills presented are superb! I don't know if olympic swimmers can actually improve their times using this book, but I know that as a casual swimmer, I have improved a LOT. The techniques are, for me, revolutionary (but maybe not for professional/olympic swimmers, who may already know these techniques). And for that, this book would have gotten 5 stars -- because of the new techniques that one can learn from this book.

Second, however, is the PRESENTATION. For something that shows a lot of techniques, pictures are worth a thousand words. But instead of photos, we only have illustrations (drawings only! and by the author's brother at that!). And the number of illustrations are sparse! I have weightlifting books, stretching books... and they all have PICTURES. I think, especially for a book like this, I would have preferred that there be a SERIES OF PICTURES (a frame by frame thing showing the technique in practice).

Sure, the author tries to explain, but so much verbiage can only go so far -- besides, he would have to use a thousand words to be worth it, as the saying goes. Several pictures would have helped tremendously. Or at the very least, more illustrations.

Again, I highly recommend the book, but as some other reviewer has said, if you can get the DVD Freestyle Made Easy, then that would be fantastic. Personally, even if it does jack up the price a bit, the book and video go HAND in HAND. The author would probably say the book and video complement each other, but I would go further and say that the book and video are INDISPENSABLE from each other, and that they SHOULD be bundled in the first place.

The book fills in all the words that they can't fit in a voiceover of a video, and the video shows the actual techniques in action. If one needs to make a choice, I'd probably get the video first, then fill in all the details (and read all the explanations) in the book. If you can only afford one, I'd say get the video (but really, try to get the book, too).

In this revised and updated version, the drills in the book are the drills used in the Freestyle Made Easy DVD.

So, this book is NOT obsolete, and in fact I think it explains the theories of the Total Immersion way better than Laughlin's Swimming Made Easy. If, however, you want to read on all four strokes, then by all means, get Swimming Made Easy. If it's just freestyle, get this book and the Freestyle Made Easy video.

If the video and book were bundled together, this would have gotten 5 stars. As it is, with the lack of pictures of the book alone: 4 stars. I really wanted to give it 5 stars because it has improved my swimming and the content is great, but a book that teaches technique should have more pictures.

In the revised and updated edition of 2004 the drills in chapter 8 are COMPLETELY changed. Why Amazon is not selling the new edition is a mystery to me. I bought the old one here and then discovered I had to replace it.

SHORT VERSION

-This method is incredible and works.
-Don't buy this book. Instead buy the updated version "Swimming made easy." It contains significantly improved drills.
-To really make it easy to learn this method, the DVD is gold. A moving image is worth more than a thousand words in this instance. The DVD contains the same drills as the book "swimming made easy."

LONG VERSION
First I have to point out that while this method is incredible, this particular book is not the one to get. Terry's book "Swimming made easy" contains almost identical material in the first several chapters but the drill portion has been improved dramatically. I originally bought this book and mastered the balancing drills but when I started working on the later drills I didn't understand how all the pieces fit together. With Terry's new drill sequence the drills naturally work you into a complete swimming stroke. In addition, "Swimming made easy" also includes drills for the backstroke, butterfly, and breast stroke."

If you want to improve your stroke even faster, I highly recommend the DVD "Freestyle made easy." Being able to see the stroke in action and the resulting propulsion from body rotation makes it much easier to grasp the overall concept. A picture is worth a thousand words in this instance. I purchased the book and dvd at the same time and don't think I would have progressed as fast as I did without the dvd. If you can only buy one thing I would recommned the dvd. You can get a large portion of the conceptual information from the Total Immerssion web site which has segments of the book free for download.

Now for my story. I'm an aspiring triathlete with my first one scheduled in about 3 months. The open water swim had me a bit concerned. I've always known how to swim but have never swam freestyle more than a few feet. I went to the pool for the first time and proceeded to expend a lot of effort while feeling like I was creeping along with almost no forward momentum. Upon the recommendation of a friend I went the next day and bought this book. That same day I went to the pool and tried the balancing drills and was amazed by the ease with which I could float on the water. Anxious to learn more I ordered the dvd "freestyle made easy" and book "swimming made easy" (I ended up returning the "total immersion" book). I must have watched the dvd at least 3 times the day I got it. I was amazed to see people glide along the water with very little effort. I went to the pool everyday for a week doing 2-3 drills each time and by the end of the week was able to easily swim the triathlon distance of half a mile. I didn't do it in record time by any means but I could do so confidently without any worry of fatigue or drowning (in open water). Because this method teaches you how to let the water support you with almost no effort, whenever you feel like you need an extra couple of breaths you can simply role to your "sweet spot" (roughly on your back) for as long as you need.

It's been about a month now since starting to learn this method and I've shaved four minutes off my half mile time. My stroke is continuing to get more efficient and I literally feel like I'm cruising with little effort. A couple of days ago I shared a lane with a gentleman who was going about the same speed as me but expending probably more than twice the effort. The drills teach you how to get propulsion from core body rotation rather than the traditional idea of kicking harder and pushing the water back with your hands. In fact, with this method you use your legs very little which is great for triathlets in that they can save their leg strength for the bike and run.

This method teaches three basic things
-How to stop struggling against the water and let it support your body.
-How to streamline your body in the water and reduce drag/resistance.
-How to use core body rotation as the main method of propulsion rather than your arms and legs.

I am a masters swimmwer back competing after a 30 year hiatus and I'm finally learning how to swim. By employing the methods presented in this book plus some excellent supplementary coaching I have been able to take off a full 2 seconds on my 50 yd repeats in workout and expend what seems like less effort. That is a two body length improvement through technique improvement alone. I have read may books about swimming technique and this book seems to be the best to date. I am fortunate in having an Olympic Gold Medalist as a masters coach and this book illustrates many of the techniques used in his stroke which he passes on to his swimmers. I use it as a personal clinic before practice to remind me of proper technique and some of the all important drills which I use during warmup

This book gives me so much more insight into swimming than any other book I've ever read about it. And the best part is; it makes sense! Mr. Laughlin taught me something someone should have taught me long time before, and he gives a sound, scientific reasoning behind it. For example, why we should swim like a fish (well, isn't it a common sense, but someone have never told me about that before..) on our side instead on our stomach.
If you are like me, wondering why does the pro swim so effortlessly and with so much speed, this book tells you all about it.
The drills are easy eoungh to follow without a coach. I get in and out of the pool with minimum fatique and maximum result.
This is a book for someone, mainly, who knows how to swim already, not a total beginner. Also, Mr. Laughlin deals mostly with freestyle and how to improve your stroke efficiency (i.e. how to swim faster without moving your arms and legs more). I look forward on how he applies his techniques on other swimming strokes.

While I am a big fan of the Total Immersion technique, the improvements that Laughlin has made in later books renders this version very obsolete. I highly recommend "Triathlon Swimming Made Easy". In TSME, the author starts the drills by floating on the back, not the front. Starting on the front is difficult since the author does not address proper breathing technique until later in the book. Laughlin has an excellent technique, however the drills in TSME are much better than in this book.