Terry Laughlin - Full immersion. How to swim better, faster and easier

Friends, The note below was written by my friend, Alexander Bazanov, a future triathlete, in the present, a promising runner and a beginner swimmer. With Sasha and Yura Belonoshchenko, we were together in the camp at Terry Laughlin, after which Sasha began to swim as if he had been doing this for many years. It is important that before the camp, Sasha swam very mediocre. Sasha posted this note on his Facebook, from where I safely posted it here. Naturally, without permission :))

October 8, 2011, 10,000 meters above the ground. I am flying on an Orenburg Airlines plane from Antalya, with a 4-day Total Immersion training (" Full immersion»), Passed under the guidance of the author of the method, Terry Laughlin. Total Immersion is a swimming and swimming teaching technique that aims to make the most of your energy while swimming. While the sensations are still fresh and not oxidized, like a freshly peeled apple, I hasten to fix my thoughts about a wonderful time spent. But the notes, for the most part, are not about swimming (Terry wrote books about this), but about how the process was built, it is no less interesting. Below are the most important ideas.

Don't drag stones, but build a temple

Most people know this old parable, and those who didn’t understand the idea from the title. Terry constantly emphasizes that the goal of training is not just to increase the efficiency of the stroke or reduce energy consumption, but to start thinking in new ways, enjoy swimming and improve for life. As an autograph on books, he writes the same thing to everyone: "Swim better, live better."

You understand? This applies to everyone: define your mission. If you are, say, a salesperson (there is hardly a more widespread occupation), then understand the meaning of your work: it should not be making money, and not even the development of the company, it could be something like “saving mankind from the torment of choice ". Well, you get the idea, find a mission to devote your life to.

Not a coach, but a school

Terry Laughlin is a great marketer, I don't know if he works intuitively or if someone gives advice. He could have been just a good swimming coach all his life, or even the best swimming coach, but at the same time the only carrier of his ideas. Terry's ideas will survive him because he formalized the method so that it can be transmitted without loss. And also, which is no less important, he created a brand of methodology (Total Immersion), and it is he, and not himself, that he develops and promotes. Now in the world there are already several hundred certified coaches who wear T-shirts with the Total Immersion Coach inscription. Believe me, this is obvious, but by no means easy! We work with the best Russian business coaches, and we can responsibly testify: many of them have their own methodology, but only a few have formalized it, few have created any structures preparing a change for them, a few were able to at least partially separate their methodology from personal brand. Nobody has created anything like Total Immersion in terms of reach and engagement. There is something to strive for!

Not a fight, but a study

In the cartoon Ice Age 2, a sloth taught a tiger to swim and not be afraid of water. "Water, I'm not your prey!" repeated the tiger and swam. If his teacher was the coach of the Total Immersion school, the tiger would say something else: "Water, I know you, I am mine." The TI system is not built on overcoming, but on understanding the specifics of the aquatic environment and finding optimal interaction with it. A significant part of the Total Immersion theory is familiarity with the basics of fluid dynamics. Water is dense - this means that it offers great resistance, but this also means that you can rely on it: not to fight, but to understand the specifics and take them into account. This is an oriental style. It may not suit everyone. The popular method of personal diagnostics DISC divides people (or rather diagnoses such a division) into those who perceive the world as evil and those who perceive the world as good. Total Immersion will be easier for people of the second type to understand. Considering the impressive progress made by our group in just 4 days of training, I personally am strengthened in the belief that it is better to live on the good side of the world.

Not power, but technology

One of the most important principles of TI states that movement technique is much more important than developed power. I confirm that this works. After the training, I began to get tired much less and this is measurable. If before I needed another breath for every two strokes, now I am able to swim, taking one breath for 4, 6, 8 and even 10 strokes. Of course, this is not a world record, but what a progress! There are also generalized figures: 70% the final result gives the correct technique and only 30% - physical effort. This is hardly a universal rule for all activities. But this is a reason to think: if some task is too difficult for you - look, maybe it should be done differently.

Inspiration

Every morning Terry and his colleague Matt re-sold the training to us. The day began with an uplifting motivational talk that refreshed our minds on the great mission (see above) and depicts how exactly what we are about to do today will affect our entire lives. I responsibly declare: the quality of the presentation skills of both of our coaches (I remind you that they teach to swim, not to speak) significantly exceeds average level Russian coaches on sales, marketing and management (that is, professional talkers) and comes close to the best examples. Apparently, this is generally the American style. He is good. It is important for everyone to understand: the form of information delivery is no less important than its content. And the constant strengthening of the belief that we are doing exactly what is needed and important - significantly increases not only motivation, but also the individual sense of satisfaction among team members.

Analysis and synthesis

The next thought won't be unique, but it's still important. The Total Immersion teaching system is that all swimmer's movements are broken down into many small separate elements, the role and logic of each is analyzed. Further, each element is sharpened separately, and then, when synthesis is carried out and we actually move on to swimming, we remain with the important ability to concentrate on individual elements and intelligently adjust them depending on our desire and training program. I think this is a familiar thing for athletes, but in other areas it is not so simple.

If you want to turn some skill into a technique, disassemble it into the smallest components, describe them and create instructions for their improvement and application. This is how a franchise, or a brand book, or a model for assembly turns out.

And a few words about swimming. If you are interested in the Total Immersion Swimming technique itself, its description can be found in Terry Laughlin's book “Full Immersion” (published by Mann, Ivanov and Ferber), the book is available in online stores, or at us, at Business Culture ”, please contact. Perhaps I will also talk about it at our forum "Business and Life" on November 26 (www.businessandlife.ru), the topic is appropriate.

Terry Laughlin, John Delves

Full immersion. How to swim better, faster and easier

Information from the publisher

Reprinted with permission from Fireside, Simon & Schuster and Andrew Nurnberg Literary Agency

No part of this book may be reproduced in any form whatsoever without the written permission of the copyright holders.

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Preface to the Russian edition

After reading this book, I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that the author is thinking and talking about such intricacies of technology. sports swimming, which the vast majority of coaches and specialists do not know and do not think about.

Movement in water, hydrodynamics and many other things that need to be taken into account in swimming can be discussed by a person who truly loves this sport and thinks about how to do better, faster and most importantly - with the least effort.

With deep respect to the author and to all readers,Alexander Popov,four-time Olympic swimming champion

Foreword

Dear friends!

I am very glad that "Full Immersion" is coming out in a new Russian edition, and even with a very beautiful and inspiring cover.

Who is this book for?

You may have heard of Full Dive from a friend or colleague swimmer and are curious to know more. Or you may have never heard of Full Immersion, but you are already an experienced swimmer - or about to become one. If so, you will not find a better guide that simply and clearly says how to swim easily, happily ... and constantly improve your skills.

Or, as we say, “swimming is better, easier ... and faster!»

This book was first published on English language in 1996, and a year later topped the list of the most popular books on swimming. Since then, it has been translated into many languages, earning it the title of the most popular swimming book of all time.

The reason Total Immersion has become so successful is because it explains in simple and clear language the most common problems that all swimmers face. This book also provides solutions that anyone can use to as soon as possible to develop an effective stroke and increase the distance that you can swim without getting tired - in other words, not just swim a kilometer or two, but come to the finish line, charged energy, and not depleting it to the limit. And while enjoying every stroke to the goal.

But as all those who have read this book before have discovered, Total Immersion is more than just an effective swimming program. Is it a system - or method, - different from anything offered in swimming science. By floating on the PP system, you will learn study... You will learn how to solve problems and overcome difficulties.

You have no idea how many readers admitted: "This book changed my life." I hope you will experience the same as you expand your swimming knowledge and skills. Welcome to the global community of dedicated, continual improvement-oriented PP swimmers!

May your distances bring you as much happiness as I do!

Terry Laughlin

I dedicate this book to three gentlemen from the world of sailing who have immeasurably enriched my life:

Dick Krempecki, who coached me at St. John's University and inspired me to become a swimming coach;

Bill Irwin, who coached me at the Manhasset Swimmer's Club and inspired me to become a coach who really teaches;

Bill Boomer, who opened my eyes to new method learning.

Introduction

Ask yourself three questions:

Do you like to swim, do you enjoy this activity?

Do you know how to train to be sure to perfect your swimming technique and improve your performance?

Are you seeing progress in your swimming technique?

If you cannot answer these questions affirmatively, feel dissatisfied or annoyed about your progress, or have had bad experiences with the “wrong” coach, then it’s not about you. Chances are, you were taught incorrectly and misconceived about your swimming technique.

Almost every swimmer has gone through a stage of insecurity. The problem is that humans, unlike fish and marine mammals, are not designed for natural movement in the aquatic environment.

As a rule, the first attempt at swimming causes fear of a very real threat to life - drowning if it fails. The second attempt is often no better than the first, as well as the third and fourth. This is despite the fact that the ability to swim is one of the essential life skills. Swimming technique has never been taught rationally, and this is the main reason for bad experiences.

Traditional teaching methods (for example, the Red Cross method) are more likely to teach how to float in order not to drown.

The Total Immersion Technique - a Revolution in Swimming Learning

The first edition of this book was released in 1996. In just a few months, without any advertising, it became a bestseller among books on swimming in the United States. Why? Because people began to achieve results, swim better and, naturally, get more pleasure from it. Many swimmers realized their mistakes and began to demonstrate steady progress.

Over the past six years, many readers have repeatedly expressed their gratitude to me. I take great pleasure in these letters as they show that I have achieved my goal of making good swimming technique available to everyone.

I confess that by following my method, I myself have reached a level comparable to nirvana. I enjoy every stroke. Maybe because I have never been a natural athlete, I came to the conclusion that everyone can learn to swim and this skill is by no means a special talent with which to be born.

The enthusiasm for the Total Immersion technique was shared with me by many swimmers. It doesn't matter how old you are, whether you can swim, a child or an adult, this technique will teach you how to swim better.

I dedicate this book to three gentlemen from the world of sailing who have immeasurably enriched my life:

Dick Krempecki, who coached me at St. John's University and inspired me to become a swimming coach;

Bill Irwin, who coached me at the Manhasset Swimmer's Club and inspired me to become a coach who really teaches;

Bill Boomer, who opened my eyes to a new teaching method.

Preface to the Russian edition

After reading this book, I was pleasantly surprised by the fact that the author reflects and talks about such intricacies of sports swimming technique that the vast majority of coaches and specialists do not know and do not think about.

Movement in water, hydrodynamics and many other things that need to be taken into account in swimming can be discussed by a person who truly loves this sport and thinks about how to do it better, faster and, most importantly, with the least effort.

Alexander Popov,

four-time Olympic swimming champion

Introduction

Ask yourself three questions:

Do you like to swim, do you enjoy this activity?

Do you know how to train to be sure to perfect your swimming technique and improve your performance?

Are you seeing progress in your swimming technique?

Almost every swimmer has gone through a stage of insecurity. The problem is that humans, unlike fish and marine mammals, are not designed for natural movement in the aquatic environment.

Traditional teaching methods (for example, the Red Cross method) are more likely to teach how to float in order not to drown.

The Total Immersion Technique - a Revolution in Swimming Learning

For several years it has become very popular. Everyone who met her, having read a book, attended a seminar, or simply watched a swimmer who applied our technique in practice in the pool, admitted that it made a revolution in their minds.

The Total Immersion (abbreviated PP) technique teaches you to swim like a fish. This approach can be described as meaningful swimming because it relies on a person's ability to analyze what is happening. Traditional methods of teaching swimming involve endless tedious exercises. In our view, this approach does not develop the skills needed to achieve long-term results.

We teach balance, improving the position of the swimmer's body in the water, sliding in it, which ultimately makes his movements rational and develops automatic skills.

Here are the main points of the methodology:

You will learn to swim like a fish. Instead of grueling workouts for a while, you will learn to glide through the water with the ease and grace of a fish. Your classes will become meaningful from the first swim.

You will master the technique of rational and harmonious movement. The speed will definitely increase if you swim with ease.

You will change internally by learning gliding strokes. The PP technique can be compared to the spiritual practices of yoga or tai chi. You will improve spiritually and physically, improve your health and learn to overcome stress.

You will learn to swim through your creative journey. The PP methodology is based on the same principles of harmony and balance that are taught martial arts... You will start with simple skills and gradually develop them.

After the first lesson, your attitude towards swimming will change. Instead of just swimming along the path, you learn to swim and meditate at the same time, enjoying not only every movement, but also mental relaxation. If you swim with pleasure, and not from under the stick, you will gain favourite hobby for life. And if you want results in competitions, then, as practice has shown, sliding that gives joy can bring victory.

How to use this book

Chapters 1–7 explain the low performance of simply “winding” endless circles in the pool, and also explains why the effect of “slipping through the eye of the needle” in water produces better results than simply pushing water toward your feet with your hands.

When you have finished chapters 1-3, skip to Lesson 1 and Lesson 2 in chapter 8. The balance and streamlining exercises described there are the foundation of the entire technique. Technique exercises are very simple and can be done without prior preparation, but their impact will increase - and possibly accelerate - when you understand why they work, what you should feel when you do them correctly, and how to gradually start using them in their usual activities. All of this is described in chapters 4–7.

Once you start swimming in a new way, you will train differently than you did before. Part 2 explains why and how correct technique leads to good fitness. You will see why improving harmonious movement and reducing water resistance is more important to the swimmer than simple physical strength.

People generally want to swim like a fish for as long as possible, so Part 3 provides tips for achieving long-term strength goals, losing weight, and preventing injury. Let new opportunities open up for you at any level - whether it be participation in veteran competitions at open water or distance competition when you send your results by mail.

The main point is this: forget everything that you have been taught earlier. Traditional ways of learning to swim are difficult to understand, frustrating, and waste energy and time because they focus your attention on the wrong goals. Anyone can learn to swim well - regardless of muscle size, age, fitness or endurance. To do this, you will need to develop fluid movements and act intelligently to reinforce new skills. This book will serve as a guide to effective self-study.

"Like a fish in water" - now it's about you. People who have mastered Terry Laughlin's Total Immersion technique are able to swim tirelessly for hours, enjoying every movement. Throughout this book, you will find explanations and exercises that will lead you step by step to good technique, on which, according to the author, 70 percent of swimming results depend. This book is essential for everyone who wants to learn how to swim freely and correctly, and especially for those who are preparing for long and ultra-long distance competitions.

A series: Sport drive

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company liters.

New movements. Self-taught swimming in a new way

Swimming from side to side: the road to nowhere

Most people fail to learn how to swim faster, farther and better, with all their might. The reason for this is obvious: they start moving towards their goal from the wrong end. “Don't worry about technique,” swimming coaches and instructors assure us. "Just train harder and you will end up with a smooth, strong stroke." Although it is necessary to start with technology.

I will tell you how I came to new methods of teaching swimming.

First of all, I must confess to the readers that I am truly passionate about swimming. I visit the pool almost every morning, going up at 5:30 for this. I take part in many competitions, including open water. In addition, I also earn my living by instilling such an addiction in adults.

I teach with passion because, from my point of view, swimming is a rare pleasure. Despite the fatigue after training, I feel energized throughout the next day.

Compare swimming to any other sport. Muscles ache after running for a day or two. A ride on the bicycle - great exercise while the weather is good. Classes in gym- great workout, but after it you can hardly move your legs.

And after swimming, I always feel better. Therefore, I easily leave my favorite sofa at the dawn of a frosty morning or at sunset on a hot summer evening and rush to the pool.

Probably call swimming perfect view the sport would be a bit of an exaggeration, but there is hardly a better candidate for this title. The heart and lungs work rationally, muscle endurance and strength increase, flexibility improves, and stress resistance increases. At the same time, swimming does not put a strong stress on the joints compared to other types of physical activity. Against the background of other sports, with the exception of cross-country skiing, more muscles are involved in swimming. And only swimming can create a feeling of weightlessness and freedom.

Tired of multiple aerobic training injuries? The undoubted advantage of swimming is its relatively low trauma and the absence of vibration loads on the musculoskeletal system, from which many runners and cyclists suffer. Water spares the muscles. Relaxation and even resistance help to get rid of muscle tension and pains caused by training on the ground.

Overheating while swimming is almost impossible. Water conducts heat 20 times better than air, so you can train with increased loads. This is especially important in summer, in hot weather: it is possible to avoid dehydration and severe overheating, so noticeable when training "on the shore".

Swimming is an equal opportunity sport. When overweight, disability or injury - factors that interfere with active movement - you can swim. It is well known that many athletes go in for swimming after being injured in order to quickly restore strength and endurance.

Have your joints become inactive with age? Increasing the mobility of the articular apparatus is one of the most important reasons why adults should swim. A 1988 study by cardiologists and sports physiologists at the University of Texas at Dallas Medical Center found that sedentary adults had markedly improved heart health after three months of regular swimming. The heartbeat slowed down, while the blood began to circulate more intensively. Systematic swimming also lowers blood pressure and increases endurance when comparing performance in the same age group. In addition, in terms of energy costs, a 1.5 km swim is equal to a 6.5 km run.

The knowledge in this book was unknown when I was swimming in college. The swimming instructions were very simple: to achieve results, you have to clench your teeth and endure, and then you will win the competition. It must be painful, otherwise you are not an athlete. And before questions was it then, with the heart jumping out of the chest, and aching muscles?

But the time for questions was approaching inexorably. I started asking them when I left college, where I worked for more than thirty years, for another, clean coaching... Finally, I could watch other swimmers from the side. What discoveries I have made! I found that some gifted swimmers could swim very well without panting at all. During individual training I was impressed by the ease and rationality of their movements in the water. They won because of this, not the ability to endure grueling training.

I wondered if it was an innate quality or an acquired skill. I still doubted my guesses, although there were some signs. For example, average swimmers sometimes suddenly improved their results when I freed them from endless tedious training for a while and switched to sequential exercises to build strength.

In 1988, a picture began to form in my head, in which all the secrets correct technique swimming fell into place. This year I met Bill Boomer and left college to coach only adult swimmers. Bill was a swimming coach at the University of Rochester. Although Bill is not well known in the wider swimming community, he was a cult figure among varsity coaches. His ideas were considered radical and sometimes even revolutionary.

One day Boomer gave a talk at a workshop for the exchange of experiences among coaches, which I attended. The speakers followed each other. Everyone said that it was necessary to train swimmers, figuratively speaking, "strengthening the engine and giving more fuel", that is, developing endurance.

Then Boomer took the floor, and his speech had the effect of an exploding bomb. He asked a question that no one dared to ask in the two decades of the history of these seminars: “How can we teach to swim faster with less effort? ". His answer to himself, ingenious in its simplicity, disarmed the audience: "By changing the shape of the body." As a naval engineer, Boomer knew how to improve the streamlining of a ship's hull, and therefore a swimmer.

In Detroit, the auto industry did a lot of similar experiments, fueled by the spike in fuel prices in the 1970s, but only Boomer proposed a similar approach to sailing. He thought creatively, he had a fresh look to the problem. Boomer was not a professional swimmer, but studied biomechanics before becoming a coach. In other words, he came to sail in an unconventional way, but at the same time he had a deep understanding of the peculiarities of the movement of the human body.

I embraced his approach, my work with adult swimmers provided a unique opportunity to experiment, develop and complement his ideas. My seminars focused the audience's attention on technique swimming instead of doing tedious workouts.

The adult swimmers I trained were the perfect subjects to develop my approach. My training program gradually became more complex and eventually transformed into a training program for a completely new swimming technique. I had to break it down into stages, determine the sequence of exercises suitable for adults who did not play sports seriously and did not have an idea of the mechanisms of swimming.

The work did not bring the expected result until I figured out how to simplify complex tasks. I've broken them down into a series of simple, logical exercises that everyone can use. My goal was to create a program that is understandable and easy to understand and easy to follow after my departure.

Since then, thousands of disciples have passed through my hands. V last years some of them became my training partners. They evaluate my instructions for accessibility and ease of understanding, discarding the unnecessary and leaving the most valuable. We are in constant creative search, experimenting with movement techniques that make swimming easier.

Over time, I realized that the old approach to training was not only ineffective, but also caused a lot of harm. Reinforcing irrational skills over time forms a habit that is difficult to get rid of.

Today it is obvious that swimming needs to be taught in the same way as tennis or alpine skiing, because technique plays a decisive role in them, as opposed to, for example, running or cycling, which are more focused on endurance.

Lou Fiorina, an outstanding mentor with whom we conduct joint workshops, once watched American swimming legends Rowdy Gaines and Tracy Colkins demonstrate their skills to children. Looking at their technique, he thought: "Such light and easy movements are an extraordinary gift." Some time later, he got to a seminar where Bill Boomer was teaching a group of intermediate swimmers, and was shocked by their results.

“As I watched them, I noticed that the swimmers began to show the same grace and lightness as my idols Gaines and Colkins. I suddenly realized that this can be taught... Ordinary swimmers can learn to swim just as beautifully and can achieve amazing results in a relatively short time. ”

Today they are learning it using the principles in this book that are available to people of all ages. Every minute of Total Immersion workout is dedicated to developing rational skills, so you don't have to waste time on tedious endurance and speed training. At the end of the course, most swimmers feel more confident and progress quickly. I hope I convinced you to give it a try.

How is the training going? Of course, some of the time is spent on strength exercises and the development of endurance, but at the beginning of classes your physical training will be the result of technical skill development work. Let's take an example from tennis. If you want to improve your technique, are you wasting time just throwing the ball over the net? Unlikely. You will develop your racket hit for 40–45 minutes and, as it improves, you will acquire the necessary physical shape to play. We do the same in the pool, so I always open my seminars with an optimistic phrase: “ By developing rational technique, you automatically improve your fitness.».

This is not just a publicity stunt, it is a scientifically proven truth. The role of preliminary preparation has always been important: scientists have calculated that 70% of the results of the champions' performance depend on the stroke technique and only 30% are determined physical form athlete. As for ordinary people, in their case, the results depend on all 90% of the stroke technique. A beginner swimmer can swim a quarter mile in 10 minutes and can improve time by 5-10 seconds through strength training. And through the use of more rational technique- for 50–55 seconds.

But striking efficiently is much more difficult than hitting a perfect golf shot or hitting a perfect tennis serve. Such a technique cannot be developed without the supervision of a competent coach. A good trainers for adults is always hard to find.

Moreover, the stroke does not affect swimming speed too much. Take the swimmer with the most ineffective stroke, make him the athlete with the perfect stroke, and the difference in speed will be only 5-10%. This is a consequence of the fact that water is 1000 times denser than air and hydraulic resistance slows down everyone who does not know how to deal with it. The ability to overcome water resistance by changing the position of the body will allow you to increase your speed by 20-30% in a couple of days.

Therefore, we teach to swim meaningfully. First, we show how to find balance, change the position of the body to a more streamlined and stable one. Then we work on the forward movement, focusing on the most important.

This approach opens up new possibilities. When the body works in concert, swimming is enjoyable. It is no longer just muscle training, physical activity, or competition. When you focus on perfection of form - the concept behind our program - you build your strength and endurance while improving spiritually, just like in yoga or tai chi.

Grace, speed, technique, health and peace of mind. What is this book about - about swimming or about the development of man in his perfection? You will find the answer later in this book. Let's start.

How to swim better effortlessly?

I have already said that I have not always been such a "smart" swimmer. I wasted four years in college doing everything wrong, dropping myself to the point of exhaustion.

In my freshman year, I was chosen to take part in the mile swim. I swam in 22 minutes. Winners - 4 minutes faster. To reach better results, I had to work. I thought, as did others, that the only way to increase speed was to work faster and harder with your arms and legs. And this had its own Jesuit logic. After two hours of daily workouts and 240 pools, the competition seemed like heaven: only 20 minutes and some 66 pools.

And soon this approach worked: two years later I went to good result- 18 minutes, it was the record for the college championships from the eastern states. I got a taste of victory. When, after the finish, I barely got out of the pool, the judge remarked: "In my life I have never seen anyone rowing so fast and for so long!"

I muttered, "Thank you."

Then I thought it was a compliment, but now I don't think so.

It soon turned out that I was swimming at the limit of my strength and speed. The chosen strategy no longer yielded results, I exhausted my potential.

At that time, I was not yet aware of what was happening and did not give up, trying to train even more. Thus, I have reached my physical limit, which can be expressed in the equation:

where V (velocity) is the speed of movement;

SL (stroke length) - stroke length;

SR (stroke rate) - the number of strokes per unit of time.

As a swimmer approaches the SR stroke ceiling, they can only increase this value by decreasing the stroke length. But an increase in one indicator at the expense of a decrease in another will not increase their product, in our case, the speed of movement. In addition, this way you can simply bring yourself to physical exhaustion.

That all changed after graduating from college. I found my first job as a coach and thanks to this I was able to analyze swimming technique from the side. This gave me the opportunity to reevaluate my own experience and identify the factors that affect the speed of swimmers of different skill levels. For myself, I made a simple conclusion: the most fast swimmers perform easily and artistically, their efforts are invisible.

Beginner swimmers puffed in all directions on the slow lanes; against their background, experienced swimmers seemed to glide on the water. And I tried to analyze the style of the best.

For the first twelve years, I acted purely on instinct. In 1984, the first Scientific research... On qualifying tournament on the eve of Olympic Games in Los Angeles, Bill Boomer and sports experts from the University of Rochester filmed all swims in all 26 disciplines for men and women. In total, more than 700 swims were recorded, including those with the participation of the fastest swimmers in the world.

In 80% of cases the fastest swimmers took fewer strokes than their competitors... Four years later, similar results were obtained by specialists from the University of Penn at the 1988 Olympics. The fastest swimmers were found to be the most economical in terms of movement.

How do you learn to swim faster and better? By that time, we already had an answer: we need to perform longer, and not more frequent strokes. Thirty years separate me from my first bad training experience in college, and now I am more interested in the length of each individual stroke, rather than how much distance in general I have time to swim in the allotted time. I don't judge my pace by timing alone, trying to swim faster. Rather, I am wondering how many extra strokes I need to add to achieve the desired speed. In other words, I estimate how much effort I need to put in.

So, the first priority for any swimmer who wants to learn how to swim better and faster is to achieve a longer stroke. This can be achieved in two ways:

By increasing the power: "bite" into the water with the hands and feet, giving each stroke the maximum power;

By reducing drag: take the most streamlined position in the water, moving as far as possible with each stroke at the same stroke power.

Naturally, your instincts in the water tell you the first way: row harder and more often. But this is a dead end. After all, the speed in the water is determined primarily by the streamlined position, the achievement of the least resistance and the uniformity of movement. And it only partly depends on how fast the arms and legs will move.

In freestyle swimming at world record speeds, the swimmer expends more than a thousand watts of energy while slicing through the water at a miserable speed of 8 kilometers per hour. For comparison, some fish reach speeds of up to 110 kilometers per hour - that's the speed of a cheetah during a chase - with surprisingly low energy expenditure. A hundred-ton blue whale swimming at a speed of 30-32 kilometers per hour, in theory, should have spent about 448 Horse power in hour. But in fact, it consumes only 70. The dolphin also costs only one-eighth of the energy, which, based on theoretical calculations, is necessary for its movement in water.

A person who has adapted to life in the air for millions of years looks awkward in water. For each stroke, it consumes a tremendous amount of energy. To double the speed in water, a person needs to spend eight times more energy. In water, hydraulic resistance decides everything. Streamlined shape and correct body position in the water are the secret of marine mammals. Based on this, in order to swim like a fish, you should give the body the most stretched position and streamlined shape, and not try to row more powerfully. As proof, kinesiologists calculated that 70% of the athletic performance of a swimmer depends on the position of the body and the streamlining of its forms, and only 30% is determined by the physical form and fitness of the athlete.

Let's define a new understanding of the swimming formula V = SL × SR, where, as a reminder, V (velocity) is the speed of movement, SL (stroke length) is the stroke length, SR (stroke rate) is the number of strokes per unit of time.

First, you need to learn how to position your body in the water so as to move to the maximum distance with each stroke, and only then work out physical strength to row fast enough, but not too much.

Pretty much every swimmer I have met already had the physical fitness to maintain a high stroke rate. However, swimmers' speed increased significantly if they slightly decreased their frequency while increasing their stroke length. So I always ask swimmers to work on stroke length first. In addition, the rate of energy consumption increases in proportion to the cube of the body's speed, that is, by doubling the stroke rate, you spend eight times more strength... This is ineffective.

The length of the stroke increases as you begin to comprehend what is happening. A short-term increase in swimming speed by increasing stroke power can be achieved by persistent muscle training, but these results are short-lived. If you want not only to swim well, but also to do it with pleasure throughout your life, analyze the above formula again. And then decide which metric you would like to work on.

The best - the smartest - athletes try to increase their speed with the least amount of effort and at the same time distribute it among the indicators. For example, if the stroke gets longer and the stroke rate remains the same, then the speed increases. If the stroke length remains the same and the frequency increases, then the speed also increases. But the main trick is to slightly increase the frequency and slightly increase the stroke length - then the speed will increase noticeably. Experienced swimmers first set the desired stroke length, then gradually increase the stroke rate and re-adjust the stroke length. This is a delicate balance that is achieved through constant practice.

Let's go back to the speed statistics I mentioned above. 70% of the ability to increase the stroke length is due to the ability to reduce hydraulic resistance. This is the key to the success of the "easy" swim of great swimmers.

This is not an illusion. In a sense, they really don't put in the effort. Gliding on the water as far as possible with each stroke is a skillful technique that brings them victory.

We intend to devote O most of the time and effort to develop just such a technique.

Look at rice. 1... The curved line shows how the speed changes as you move through the water. You may not be aware of this, but she is impermanent. With each cycle of movements, you increase or decrease the speed, like a driver pressing and releasing the accelerator pedal. When you start the movement, the position of the hand does not allow for a powerful stroke. Bring your hand up to your thigh and your forearm will be in a more effective position, allowing the powerful core muscles to work and begin to help propel you forward. The speed will increase. Then, when you finish the stroke and the arm is out of the water, the speed will slow down and decrease until a new stroke cycle begins.

Rice. 1

Most swimmers have a hard time getting acceleration by working their arms and legs faster. Usually their efforts are in vain because the load is unevenly distributed. Swimmers try to slightly raise the top of the curve on the graph, which is very ineffective. Whereas if they focused on the bottom of the curve, the result would come faster and with less loss.

The actual swim speed is of course not the peak values of the graph, but rather the average between the fastest and slowest stroke rate. The water resistance to the body is partly determined by the speed of movement. The higher the speed, the higher the resistance. Thus, if you try to pick up speed at the peak of the curve, then, figuratively speaking, you will hit a wall.

I emphasize that this is why movement between strokes affects speed more than the stroke itself... Look at rice. 2... In which position is your body moving at a slower speed, where you can pick up speed without effort? It is quite clear during the sweep of the hand. Get into an extended, balanced, streamlined position and your speed will increase much sooner than any other hand action. This is the secret of great swimmers.

Rice. 2

This skill can be developed regardless of your goals - whether you are training for the Olympics or just for yourself. You can have a perfect stroke, but you can still row too often because your body slows down too quickly after each stroke. You have no choice but to work with your hands even faster. You are not keeping the momentum you create.

There are a few tricks you need to learn to help streamline your body. Pisces are born to swim, and man must learn their skills.

Streamlined body shape

Resistance contributes to performance in the gym, but interferes with other sports. If you have tried to overcome the headwind while riding a bicycle, then you can understand why streamlined helmets, "loungers" (aerodynamic rudders) and even water flasks were tried to give the most compact and streamlined shape. The lower the frontal air resistance, the easier and faster the movement.

Let me remind you: while sailing, we move in an environment that is almost a thousand times denser than air! Despite the relatively low speeds in water, streamlining is extremely important. All effective swimmers (usually the fastest) instinctively sense how to position their bodies in the water so that they can glide over it with the least amount of effort.

I spoke with Dr. Rick Sharp, Director of the International Research Center aquatic species sports in Colorado Springs, and he reported interesting results from one study, unexpected even to specialists.

“We found that the strongest swimmers produce less propulsive power than second-tier swimmers. It is clear that their bodies are capable of producing more energy, but they do not need it to swim quickly. "

In other words, they win with a streamlined body shape rather than a more powerful stroke. The strongest swimmers have gone through a long journey of trial and error. The irony is that the secret of their success has always been on the surface.

This fact amazes many students who come to my classes hoping to improve their technique, with the words: "I learned to swim in the fifties, and since then all styles have changed a lot." They are surprised when I explain to them that good swimming technique is not ruffles and frills that will go out of fashion tomorrow and be replaced by something new. These are the principles of effective swimming, based on the timeless laws of physics and biomechanics.

They were discovered a long time ago and were used by naval engineers to build ships, but they were not used in the practice of teaching sailing, therefore they seem new. Scientists have already calculated everything for us. We only need to apply their knowledge of the movement of ships in water to the principles of movement of the human body in the pool. There are only three basic rules for fast movement in water (as applied to humans):

Balance position in the water;

Stretch the body;

Swim on your side.

Body position in water: greatest energy savings

Every time a swimmer comes to me and asks for advice on improving footwork technique, I recall my first experience of rollerblading. In the spirit of the times, I decided to learn how to roller skate. I was attracted by the opportunity of an excellent aerobic exercise on air. However, on the first ride, I experienced a severe disappointment.

Within fifteen minutes I had to go home, with such force I was bothered by the pulling pain in my lower back. Very strange, I thought. After all, only my legs were supposed to work.

I set out to overcome difficulties and pump weak muscles lower back, gradually increasing the distance traveled. I believed that they were the ones that carried the greatest load when riding. However, the next time I realized that it was not the muscles, but my uncomfortable posture... Some, I noticed, rolled smoothly, gliding gently from side to side at a decent speed. Others wrote out a pretzel and moved in jerks. Observing from the side, I realized that the difference in skating was determined not by the strength of the muscles of the back and legs, but by the correct position of the body. Experienced skaters knew how to correctly position the center of gravity and at what point to transfer weight from one leg to the other. Like all beginners, it took me a while to master this technique. With a weight of 90 kilograms, I could not constantly maintain my balance and, in order not to fall, actively loaded the muscles of the lower back. Over time, the muscles would naturally strengthen. From a simple ineptness I would become a strong clumsy. Therefore, training in roller skating should be started with the correct body position.

Many not-so-successful swimmers make the same mistake. They know their feet are too low below the surface of the water. Sometimes they even realize that this is not only the most common mistake, but also the biggest reason for the "leak" of energy. Then they grab a diving board and grimly begin to wind endless circles in the hope that such a workout will strengthen their weak leg muscles. But the legs have nothing to do with it!

A weak kick is not the reason they swim slowly. The point is not correct position body as in roller skating. The only difference is that the balance in the pool is easy to correct. After that, swimmers happily find that in order to maintain the correct position in the water, they hardly have to work with their feet.

But the correct position in the water is not an innate skill, it is acquired with practice. The human body is not adapted to its natural existence in the aquatic environment. In the process of evolution, we have adapted to life on land, our long legs and a low center of gravity provide us with balance and movement. Above the waist, we, figuratively speaking, have a lot of volume, but little weight, since the lungs, in fact, are cylinders filled with air. Thus, we are floating at the top, and at the bottom are heavy as stones. It is only natural that our longer and heavier lower half of the body constantly pulls us to the bottom.

If you quickly move your feet in the water to compensate for the way nature created us, you can quickly get tired. Even worse: this is useless, because it is the wrong position of the body in the water that slows you down. Note that this kind of swimming technique leads to bad results and in triathlon, since you hardly want to participate in cycling and running with legs shaking from fatigue.

You need a way to keep your hips higher. There is such a way. I call it “float pressure”.

Imagine what happens when a beach ball is pushed into the water. That's right, the water pushes it back. A person has the same floating "ball" - rib cage... This is your float.

Push your "float" into the water and the water will push it out. Keep pushing and the water will push your thighs up. This is exactly what you need. Instead of kicking the water with your feet, you simply let the water lift your hips to the surface.

The body in the water can be compared to a child's swing, where the fulcrum is between the waist and the sternum. And you can maintain balance by using your head as a counterweight to your hips. The long and heavy part of the body will tend to drown. But use the weight on the opposite side and you will achieve balance. Imagine a metal rod running through the center of your body from the crown of your head to your waist. If you keep it level, your hips will rise to the surface. Bend it, for example, lifting your head to inhale instead of turning it with the body, and the legs will be pulled down again.

End of introductory snippet.

* * *

The given introductory fragment of the book Full immersion. How to Swim Better, Faster and Easier (John Delves, 1996,2004) provided by our book partner -

I wrote this book because I wanted to convey to you my love for swimming.

The famous swimmer did not push the water back with his hand, but somehow transferred his body through the hand “nailed” to it. This was the greatest discovery in swimming theory.

By training with the board, you train your legs to push it across the pool, rather than synchronizing their movements with the effective movements of the whole body. If you are not going to compete in board swimming, then why should you learn to do it?
Selected quotes from the book

Like a fish in water

Original name: Extraordinary Swimming for Everybody: A Guide to Swimming Better than You Ever Imagined. Terry laughlin(An Extraordinary Swimming for Everyone: A Guide to Swim Better Than You Can Imagine)
Russian name: Like a fish in water. Effective techniques voyages available to everyone.

Terry Laughlin "Like a Fish in Water"

A summary of the main ideas of the book published by Mann, Ivanov, Ferber "Like a fish in water" (2012)

How does an amateur swimmer differ from a professional?

- the mediocre swimmer has ingrained ineffective movements for years;

- the amateur feels discomfort in the water;

- the average swimmer has undeveloped joints and underdeveloped muscles;

the layperson does not have kinesthetic consciousness (muscle sense).

When asked if it’s too late to start swimming and perfect our technique, Terry Laughlin says that aerobic ability reaches its peak in the fourth decade of life, our ability to improve skills persists into 70 years.

Principles of Full Immersion Swimming

Full immersion method is widely recognized today. This approach focuses not on muscle control, but on mental work. Swimming is not hardwired into human DNA like it is in fish or marine mammals. For example, running, because it is a natural activity for humans, is learned by trial and error quite well for most of us. Swimming is impossible to learn intuitively.

The most important thing to learn: in water we do not get tired of lack sports uniform, but from the fact that we are wasting energy. Don't struggle with water - learn how to work with it by focusing on four basic skills: balance, streamlining, weight shift and measured stroke. Do not try to push the water back, you only need your hands to maintain the balance of the body.

See what Tim Ferris, the man you probably know, has to say about the Total Immersion Technique, the global guru in rapid learning in various skills. He was so impressed by the effectiveness of TI that he decided to dedicate his TED talk to it (to enable Russian subtitles, click the red icon in the lower right corner of the video):

4 basic principles of the full immersion method:

1. Keep your balance all the time. The correct balance makes even our low buoyancy an advantage: the resistance of the water in its thickness is lower than on the surface.
2. Spend as much time as possible in the water. The farther you swim under the water with each stroke, the less resistance the water has, the faster you move.
3. Help yourself with body weight. When, while crawling and on your back, you enter the water with the right half of the body, its left half prepares to plunge into the water with an arrow. Energy is stored in the "upper" half: when it is lowered, an impressive stroke begins, requiring surprisingly little effort. In the breaststroke and butterfly stroke, the undulating sway of the chest and hips, using the powerful muscles of the torso, gives the body an acceleration.
4. Capture the water with measured strokes. When swimming under the principles of total immersion, the hand should enter the water smoothly, even gently. It is impossible to allow the excitement of water, slaps, the formation of bubbles: it is easier to grab hold of still water. Stretch your hand as far as possible, as if trying to reach something. Then calmly grab as much water as you can, as hard as you can. Finally, do not start the stroke until you feel that your arm is in the correct position and that you have a good hold. If you focus on stretching, grabbing, and shifting the weight, you work your torso using the main muscles of your torso. And they are not just stronger: they do not know fatigue. And then instead of wading through the water column, your body will float.

A long stroke is the key to fast swimming

Since 1970, researchers have been analyzing video footage of national and international competitions to understand what separates winners from losers. And one indicator repeats over and over again: Faster swimmers take fewer strokes over the course.

In fact, the length of the stroke is weakly related to the extension of the arm far in front of you and the maximum retraction of it back, since the length of the stroke is not the length of the trajectory of the arm, but the length of the movement of the body in one cycle. What matters most is what we do between strokes. For example, in breaststroke, about 75% of the distance covered in one cycle is underwater glide.

The main difference between the full immersion method and normal training is the constant control of the stroke length. As you improve your skill, stroke counts per pool will help you keep track of when old habits begin to take their toll on your performance. When you start your full immersion class, remember two things:

2) Based on these calculations, make decisions about distance, speed, rest time, etc.

Experienced swimmers decide how many strokes they need to take before each turn. Perhaps they do not always succeed in completing the task, but even in this case they will learn something useful about their capabilities, which they later use for a more stable passage through each pool.

What is effective sliding

Water is a very dense medium, so even a slight decrease in its resistance leads to remarkable results. With an increase in speed, water resistance increases exponentially, and therefore even a slight decrease in it will lead to the fact that we will swim faster.

If we are crawling or on our backs, the minimum water resistance occurs when the body is fully extended and one shoulder is raised above the surface. Try to hold this position for as long as possible with each stroke.

In the breaststroke and butterfly stroke, the minimum resistance corresponds to the moment of the fully extended body under water. In the breaststroke, you need to maintain this position for two-thirds of the entire stroke cycle. In butterfly, try to extend it at least for a short while between strokes.

How to achieve balance?

Our land-based mind is programmed to keep our hips and torso vertically above our feet, in otherwise we feel uncomfortable. In water, our body also tends to take an upright position, although imbalance in this environment does not lead to a painful fall, but only to an ineffective stroke. When the legs begin to go down, three things happen at the same time that interfere with effective swimming.

In crawl and back swimming, it is important to find a point of balance when one shoulder is higher than the other. To do this, align your head and back and extend your arm. Stay in this position for as long as possible during each stroke. In butterfly and breaststroke, you need to find balance by placing your chest in the water. In this case, it is also important to ensure that the line of the head and back is straight.

How to get a long stroke?

Keep your body stretched a little longer on each stroke. The longer you keep your hand in front, the less water resistance and, accordingly, the consumption of your strength. And the faster you go.

How to work with your hands correctly?

Using an underwater camera, Dr. Kounsilman recorded the movements of his ward, the legendary Mark Spitz, attaching miniature light bulbs to his palms. Looking through the tape, Councilman was amazed that the place where Spitz's hand came out of the water was ... in front of the place where it entered. This meant that famous swimmer did not push the water back with his hand, but somehow transferred his body through the hand “nailed” to it. This was the greatest discovery in swimming theory.

Two challenging but extremely useful swimming skills:

1) lower your hands silently, more precisely, use them to "find your place" in the water;

2) use your torso and gravity as a motor.

Most swimmers push the water back with their hands. This should not be done for three reasons:

1) our palms are too small compared to the body;

2) thrusting movement in such a fluid environment as water is ineffective; 3) with this movement, the muscles of the arms quickly get tired.

It is wrong to think that a hard palm grips water better than a relaxed one. Keep your hands soft and your fingers slightly apart for a more confident grip. Plus, you will feel the pleasant relaxation from the palms of your hands extending to your forearms, shoulders and neck.

How to work with a corps?

Bodywork is a natural result of other movements made during the stroke. With a new approach to swimming technique, gravity does much of the work that the arms and legs used to do. But gravity is downward. To convert it into forward impulse, you need to drive an arrow into the water while your arms are relaxed. Previously, you focused on the work of the feet.

But in the total absorption method, you strive to direct the energy forward. In the crawl, you pierce water with one hand while holding the other. On the back - with acceleration, direct one hand into the water overhead, while the other holds the body in the correct position. In breaststroke, you throw your arms forward, and in butterfly stroke, gently plunge your arms while your chest moves down. After that, you cling to the water, the hips simultaneously lower and move in the direction of the hands.

How to work with your feet?

Here is the answer to the first question: intensive kicking gives a very modest increase in overall power, but it increases resistance and requires a lot of effort. Therefore, swimmers should use as little energy as possible when it comes to moving their legs.

An ineffective hit wastes strength and increases water resistance. Effective helps to shift the center of gravity during the stroke and release the energy of the torso. The main thing is to allow the legs to move the most. effective way and avoid unnecessary movements. A well-timed kick allows you to shift the weight of your torso more efficiently with less loss of strength.

Do board exercises strengthen your legs? By training with the board, you train your legs to push it across the pool, rather than synchronizing their movements with the effective movements of the whole body. If you are not going to compete in board swimming, then why should you learn to do it? The main objection to board practice is that it is a waste of time.

Breaststroke technique

Worldwide, breaststroke is considered the most popular style swimming. Perhaps because it requires a minimum of effort. An experienced breaststroke athlete spends most of his time in an extended position underwater, while those who swim slowly stay more on the surface.
Video demonstration of breaststroke swimming (taken from the author's official website):

In breaststroke swimming, you need to focus on the following points:
Swim with a neutral head position, look only downward, while inhaling, keep your chin at the very surface of the water.
While inhaling, hold your head as if you had a rigid fixation band around your neck.
Do not rush to spread your arms to the sides; add strength and speed by pulling your hands inward.
Achieve explosive movement of the arms and legs after the knees are bent.
Kick as short, fast and sharp as possible - and then hold and hold the line.
Thread through the eye of the needle. Achieve a "clean" entrance to the water by squeezing through the narrow "tunnel" formed by your hands. Try to be under water twice as long as above water.
Submerge your chest and feel your hips lift as you glide freely underwater.
Constantly direct energy forward. Pull

Backstroke technique

Although the back and the crawl use the same muscles, the movement is directed in the opposite direction: the muscles that previously had to be squeezed are now stretched - and vice versa. Therefore, for muscles tired after crawling, swimming on the back can be a good "massage".

Here are the focal points most useful in backstroke:
Relax on the water with a feeling of lightness in your hips and legs.
Make sure that the water around your face is still and your head rests relaxed on the water.
Rhythmic rotation of the hips - the arms work in the same rhythm.
Raise your shoulders rhythmically above the water with each stroke (no resistance).
Slowly grab and "hug" the water, feel when the phases of hand movement intersect a little more than necessary.
Focus on the way one hand follows the other over the shoulders, feel that they are connected to each other through the shoulder blades.

Butterfly swimming technique

Few people love this type of swimming - perhaps because it is energy intensive. To avoid fatigue, wait until your chest drops, your hands catch in the water, and your hips rise to the top. Only then start the stroke.

Important points when swimming with butterfly:
Entering the water gently - as little noise and splashing as possible.
At the moment of entry, spread your arms wide so that the chest passes between them.
At the moment of entry, kick with the toes to give the body an impulse to move forward.
At the time of immersion, keep your forearms at the surface.
At the time of the dive, wait for the hips or heels to rise.
At the time of immersion, stretch and slightly bend your legs.
Do a soft stroke with your hands while bending your knees.
Bring your hands to the surface as quickly as possible after the start of the stroke.
Return to the starting position with relaxed arms, "hugging" movement.
While inhaling, do not lift the chin from the surface, look down, but “see nothing”.
Exhale continuously between breaths.

Freestyle swimming technique (crawl)

Imagine parallel rails pointing forward from each shoulder and thrust your arm and body along the path of each rail with an arrow. This imaginary track will give you direction and help you get into the correct position during each stroke phase.
Elite swimmers assume a swept-down stance with the toes immediately upon entering the water.

Concentrate on the following points when crawling:
Transfer the weight of your head to the water.
As you enter your hand into the water, insert it into the "mailbox slot".
Make sure your arm is relaxed before starting the stroke.
Pierce the water like an arrow. Finish each stroke with your hand in front, not behind.
At the moment of inhalation, the chin should follow the shoulder.

Full immersion training

Give up the simple winding of kilometers. Hone your skills with every workout. Seasoned pros avoid pointless drills and mechanical repetitions. Instead, they engage in what Erickson called "purposeful practice."
Once you start working on a new skill, swim, focusing your attention on a specific moment for at least 15 minutes.

about the author

Terry Loughlin- American swimming coach, creator of the Total Immersion swimming training system, director of the eponymous system of swimming clubs for adults, author of several books with the same name (regularly republished since 1996). Terry is also an editor for Swim magazine and a columnist for Inside Triathlon. His books are cited by most of the authors of books on triathlon. Lives in New York.

Review of the book Total immertion by Terry Laughlin Like a Fish in Water from RomanKalugin.com

The title "Like a Fish to Water" is a case when the translators deviated from the literal translation ("Extraordinary swimming for everyone") and hit the spot. The title of this book conveys exactly what I felt when I began to put into practice what I wrote. I swim in the pool weekly to maintain muscle tone... Now my training has become conscious, and not just a simple winding of kilometers. The ability to swim is not genetically programmed in humans, as in fish or marine mammals. For example, running, since it is a natural activity for people, is mastered by most of us through trial and error, but it is not possible to intuitively learn swimming.

The book describes in detail a swimming technique called full immersion. Its essence is simple: the longer our body is immersed in water during swimming, the easier it is to swim. Terry Laughlin breaks down the stereotypes that strength, speed and frequency of movement are most important in swimming. In fact (and the book provides links to scientific experiments) Olympic champions make fewer movements during the swim than ordinary swimmers. Professionals use their legs and arms mainly to maintain balance, while the hard work is done by the endurance core muscles. The best way swimming performance evaluations - counting the number of strokes you take while crossing one pool. Endurance athletes, not mastering the correct swimming technique, get tired very quickly in the water. Those with a modest physique can swim for kilometers without stopping, if they do not waste their strength with ineffective movements in the water.

Each swimming style has its own chapter in the book. Numerous illustrations make the technical details easy to understand. The set special exercises to hone every micromovement. Terry Laughlin writes that the proposed methods are enough for everyone to practice productively for many years.

I believe that this book will help everyone to love swimming and will become a textbook for life.