The ancient wisdom “Know Thyself,” inscribed on the Temple of Apollo, has inspired countless interpretations over the ages—from understanding our abilities and limits to exploring our deepest motivations and aspirations. How often do you pause to reflect on your swimming technique, the nuances of your strokes, and where your focus lies as you glide through the water? Embarking on a journey to enhance your swimming isn’t just about adhering to a schedule or revisiting old habits. While these practices can provide comfort and predictability, they might not lead to significant breakthroughs. Imag ..read more

Naji Ali is a Level 1 Total Immersion Coach, and aspiring marathon swimmer based in San Francisco, CA, where he lives with his wife, Chrissy, and their cat, Mrs. Chippy. He works as an essential worker feeding the homeless and marginalized poor.       As I write this we are in day 60 of the “stay in place” order that was issued since the pandemic began here in California. For a week prior to this order, I was in Kona, Hawaii, swimming with pods of dolphins, meeting amazing people, and teaching TI technique at an open water swim camp. What a different world we’re living in now ..read more

Announcement from the TI Swim Studio in New Paltz NY: we will be streaming LIVE on the Total Immersion Instagram account at 12 noon EST (9am California, 5pm UK). This will be the first of many new content streams from TI coaches to stay connected with all of you around the world. Today’s stream hosted by Terry’s daughter and longtime TI Coach Fiona Laughlin with an intro to the Swim Studio, some demos in the Endless Pool, dry land recommendations that you can do right now at home, as well as a Q&A. Get the Instagram app if you don’t already have it and follow @totalimmersion. Be well and s ..read more

This post was previously published by Terry Laughlin on Aug. 7, 2015.   At the Beijing Olympics in 2008, Stany Kempompo Ngangola gained a measure of fame for swimming the 100-meter freestyle. Not for his speed, but simply for surviving. Stany was among a small group of athletes—mostly from small underdeveloped nations–who are invited to the Olympics in hopes that the exposure will encourage sports development in their homeland. These athletes are exempted from Olympic qualifying times. Stany was selected for this honor a year in advance and given assistance with preparation by coaches fr ..read more

This post was previously published by Terry Laughlin on Apr. 12, 2011. The forum post mentioned is archived.   Few swimmers really pay attention. Opening – or closing – your eyes can change everything. John shared an exciting discovery about breathing on the TI Discussion Forum: I’m a bit reluctant to admit it took me a year to come to this insight, but perhaps it will help others. I’ve always struggled to find the right head position for breathing. Sometimes I feel I need to nearly submerge my head to feel balanced, but in that position I feel I can’t get air. I had an ‘aha’ m ..read more

  The following guest post by TI Master Coach Gary Fahey was originally published on Mar. 16, 2014.    A blog post discussing kick strategies landed in my inbox a couple of weeks ago, much of it advocating a six-beat kick (6BK) for all but the most skilled of swimmers. While I disagree with this premise and the example presented through the .gif in that blog post, I agree with the writer that long distance and open water swimmers should use their legs primarily for stability rather than propulsion. The energy cost of propulsive kicking is simply unsustainable. Total I ..read more

A version of this article by Terry Laughlin was previously published on ivillage.com in Dec. 2011.   Total Immersion teaches swimming as a practice—in the spirit of yoga and Tai Chi– rather than a workout. The first principle of swimming as a practice is to let go of the usual goal of “Getting to the Other End.” Your new goal is to Be Aware of Every Stroke.  Another word for mindful swimming is intentional swimming. It works best when you target a single, highly specific element in your stroke. The foundation skill of effortless and enjoyable swimming is Balance ..read more

  The following post was previously published by Terry Laughlin on May 10, 2010.    There’s a saying (perhaps from statisticians?): “What gets measured gets improved.” Because I aim to improve my swimming in every practice, I plan them with metrics that tell me – empirically – how I did. In most sets I use the first repeat or two to establish a “baseline,” which I try to improve upon as I go.  My metrics include: Distance of repeats and/or the set Strokes Per Length [SPL] Time for the repeats, and/or Stroke Tempo (in strokes per second) from the Tempo Trainer. In addition ..read more

  Last week’s post described the proven principles of swimming faster, using a specific algorithm for speed– if you’re wondering what this looks like in practice, this entry from Terry Laughlin’s 2015 training log models that algorithm in a practice set. Enjoy… and Happy Laps! This article is an adaptation of an archived TI forum post from Terry Laughlin’s training log on Nov. 5, 2015.   On Tuesday (Nov 3.) I read “The New Yorker” magazine article, WHAT WE THINK ABOUT WHEN WE RUN. In part, it was of “Poverty Creek Journal,” a co ..read more

  This post was originally published by Terry Laughlin on May 20, 2016.   There are two ways to try to swim faster. One way is what I call the “Limbs, Lungs, and Muscles” approach: Move your limbs as fast as you can. Put more muscle into your stroke. Hope that your fitness will outlast failing muscles and that you can “push through pain barriers” as coaches often say. For most, this approach is a path to failure and frustration. Total Immersion teaches a second way— speed as a problem-solving exercise. The fact that you’re solving the most exacting problems in swimming can also tran ..read more