This technique looks very much like Total Immersion swimming. I just posted about Total Immersion here, here (Videos, Part 1), and here (Videos, Part 2).

Everybody Into the Pool!: Jim Thornton's pilgrimage to study at the side of 4-time Olympic gold medalist, Jon Olsen.


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Here's Part 1, with several videos of coaches swimming the Total Immersion way.

A problem I have is that while I have increased my stroke efficiency by 40%, I swim more slowly than before, now.

Video of Australian Grant Hackett swimming in a 1500 m race. He won the gold medal in the 1500 m freestyle and 4x200 m freestyle relay at the 2000 Sydney ( Read more... )

Here are some of the clearest videos of the Total Immersion freestyle swimming technique I could find, to see how I am trying to swim now. Note how slowly they move their arms, how little they kick (only 2 beats), and yet how smoothly and efficiently they flow. Look at how stable and horizontal their bodies stay, with the slightest effort. The ( Read more... )

For the record, here are the calories burned per hour, by sport I usually do. I usually weigh from 132 to 135 lbs naked, and that hasn't changed for many years. This list is for someone 130 lbs. I'm going skating again right now ( Read more... )

Didn't do anything yesterday, for my birthday. :(

Two fantastic pieces of exercise news:

1. Wednesday morning, I ran 3 miles in only 26:10 min! Ran mile 3 in only 8:29 min! This beats last Monday's record of 27:33 for 3 miles and 8:50 for mile 1. When I first started running, it took over 29 min. to run 3 miles, so I've shaved over 3 min. off my ( Read more... )

Got many replies from triathletes and runners to my questions yesterday about my neck and knee pain. Much of my body is still sore now: my trapezius, outside of my right knee (which I definitely feel when I walk), hamstrings, quads, and calves. Also, my throat is a little sore, sign of a diminished immune system....All of this tells me I am ( Read more... )

[I posted questions about my knee pain on runners
and my knee/neck pain on trigeeks.]

Last night I set a personal record, swimming 46 laps (about 0.7 miles) in one practice session for the first time! Took 50 minutes. Also, I swam for 20 minutes nonstop, twice! That's the longest I've ever swum in my life without a rest. Assuming it takes me 21 strokes to cross ( Read more... )

I have more of a runner's body, though I have muscular (not slim) legs. And I only weighed 132 pounds last Friday. Since I was able to go from 6 months of zero exercise to running 2 miles after only my first 4 days of training, my smaller and lighter body definitely has helped.

Bigger Is Better, Except When It’s Not (NYT ( Read more... )

Leaving for my 5-mile run now. School starts today, at last. I don't want to run every day, because I worry about injuries. Cross-training is key.

In addition to cardio kickboxing Tues/Thurs mornings, today I'm gonna also start taking a swimming class every Tues/Thurs 6-7:20 pm. Swimming is my weakest sport in the triathlon, and my form is ( Read more... )

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