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Doing TI drills at the pool
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 2005-11-02 2:46 PM |
Veteran  291   Seattle, WA |  Subject: Doing TI drills at the poolThe past several weeks I've been hanging out in the slow lane of the pool working my way through the Total Immersion drills. What's interesting is the number of people that ask me what I'm doing and then get really interested in TI. I feel like I'm creating a mini-revolution at my pool among the slow-laners. Has anyone else had this happen? It's actually pretty fun because I've met some nice friendly folks this way. - Heidi |
| 2005-11-02 2:48 PM in reply to: #276678 |
| T1 | Subject: RE: Doing TI drills at the pool Heidi, That rocks! I haven't had anyone ask what I am doing, but I've had people try to offer advice about swimming to me when they think I am swimming and not drilling  That would be pretty funny if I dragged my fingers like that when I swim. |
| 2005-11-16 8:44 PM in reply to: #276678 |
Expert 882 Fort Bragg | Subject: RE: Doing TI drills at the pool I was trying the first set of TI drills at my pool. It's a pool on a mid-size Army base. But the swimmers here aren't all that competitive. Mostly, we have units that bring down inexperienced swimmers and try to get them a low-impact workout. So when I did TI, the lifeguard came over. I thought he was going to ask me if I was OK, but he asked if I was doing TI. He then started coaching me through drills and offered to video my swim for me. |
| 2005-11-16 10:09 PM in reply to: #286640 |
Veteran 291 Seattle, WA | Subject: RE: Doing TI drills at the pool berlinsd - 2005-11-16 6:44 PM So when I did TI, the lifeguard came over. I thought he was going to ask me if I was OK, but he asked if I was doing TI. He then started coaching me through drills and offered to video my swim for me. Wow - that's great! As I mentioned I've had people ask me about TI and get interested (at least one other women is now doing it) but nobody has approach me who is already familiar with TI. That would be great... I'll probably wind up getting a couple of private coaching sessions once I finish through all the drills on my own (I'm almost there!). - Heidi |
| 2005-11-17 4:33 AM in reply to: #276678 |
| Expert 882 Fort Bragg | Subject: RE: Doing TI drills at the pool TI is just amazing. I dropped 10 seconds immediately after doing the most basic drill. I also don't get nearly as fatigued. |
| 2005-11-17 8:31 AM in reply to: #276678 |
| Expert 842 | Subject: RE: Doing TI drills at the pool No one at my pool does drills but me. They are all just lap swimmers and nothing else. I always feel a little strange doing the drills but oh well, I have to get better somehow. Mark |
| 2005-11-17 8:42 AM in reply to: #286850 |
Master 1938 La Crosse | Subject: RE: Doing TI drills at the pool Stone - 2005-11-17 9:31 AM No one at my pool does drills but me. They are all just lap swimmers and nothing else. I always feel a little strange doing the drills but oh well, I have to get better somehow. Mark Yeah. I've been working my way through the drills for a couple of months now. I'm definitely getting better. But when I first started, I'd get embaressed when other people came in and saw me doing the "float on your back and kick" and "fish" drills. I'd get so self-conscious that I'd abandon the drills and start doing my old, flailing, stupid swim stroke just to show them that I could actually swim. I'm such a dork. Thank goodness that my pool is almost always abandonded and I can get through the drills with no one there. I'm about to the end of the DVD now, and darn near close to actually swimming. Soon I'll be able to start posting distances and times on my training log, and start doing splits to improve speed and breathing! |
| 2005-11-17 8:48 AM in reply to: #276678 |
Expert 760 Mt. Morris, IL | Subject: RE: Doing TI drills at the pool When I started doing the drills a lady who always swims in the lane next to me asked why I was doing drills when I was already such a good swimmer? I laughed and said I wasn't a good swimmer and my goal was to be more efficient. We have been working together for a few months on and off and she cut 4min off her mile time. Of course I haven't dropped anytime, but keep up the drills, they will payoff! |
| 2005-11-17 8:55 AM in reply to: #276678 |
Giver 18427  | Subject: RE: Doing TI drills at the pool hpadkisson - 2005-11-02 2:46 PM I feel like I'm creating a mini-revolution at my pool among the slow-laners. Terry Laughlin should send you a check. |
| 2005-11-17 10:40 AM in reply to: #276678 |
Elite 2515 Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea | Subject: RE: Doing TI drills at the pool Are most of you doing TI self-teaching or are you doing the combo platter of video/book and coach? I really need to improve my swim technique... |
| 2005-11-17 10:50 AM in reply to: #276678 |
Master 4101 Denver | Subject: RE: Doing TI drills at the pool I did the book/video and never had anyone ask me about the drills, but just monday I noticed some people in the lane next to me working on TI drills. I wanted to chat with them about it but it was obviously a coaching session. I need to get back to incorporating drills into my workouts though - thanks for the reminder. |
| 2005-11-17 1:04 PM in reply to: #287022 |
Pro 4675 Wisconsin near the Twin Cities metro | Subject: RE: Doing TI drills at the pool I'm doing the coach/DVD approach. I can't visualize from the book. I'm only into my second set of drills, but already I can't remember what my old technique felt like. The only question I've received at the pool while I'm doing TI drills is one lady asked me if I was a diver...maybe because of the fins I had on. |
| 2005-11-17 1:26 PM in reply to: #276678 |
Elite 2863 | Subject: RE: Doing TI drills at the pool Anyone care to share some of their favorite TI hints / workouts? Or do I have to break down and buy the book & DVD? Come on....share some secrets... |
| 2005-12-17 12:54 PM in reply to: #287257 |
| Expert 671 Atlanta, GA | Subject: RE: Doing TI drills at the pool I'm considering the TI Freestyle Make Easy, Tri Swimming, and Drill card combo deal. Are all 3 worth it or do I just need the FME DVD? Thanks, Tony |
| 2005-12-17 1:39 PM in reply to: #307575 |
Master 1938 La Crosse | Subject: RE: Doing TI drills at the pool I just bought the FME DVD off of eBay, but now that I'm done with it, I want to buy the Tri Swimming DVD. So why don't you just short circuit the whole thing and buy them together? |
| 2005-12-17 3:03 PM in reply to: #276678 |
Master 1946 Bronze member | Subject: RE: Doing TI drills at the pool FME best $$ spent...book is good but if oyu are "visual" the dvd is the thing.... |
| 2005-12-17 3:14 PM in reply to: #276678 |
| Member 14 Winnipeg, MB | Subject: RE: Doing TI drills at the pool I've got FME and the DVD....the book is okay....the DVD is excellent (I'm a very visual learner). Edited by bigblue1ca 2005-12-17 3:14 PM |
| 2005-12-18 12:11 AM in reply to: #287022 |
Pro 3870 Virginia Beach, VA | Subject: RE: Doing TI drills at the pool I started with the book and DVD last year and then took one of the clinics just a few weeks ago. I posted a short review and will be expanding it a bit to be available as an article. I suggest at least getting the DVD so you can actually see what the drill look like. Then take a little time to work on the more basics drills on your own. Once you get the hang of them look for a local coach or sign up for one of the workshops. Either way, having someone video you under water and then analyzy your technique will help a great deal. Seeing yourself swim will have a huge impact n your perception of how you swim. Matchman - 2005-11-17 11:40 AMAre most of you doing TI self-teaching or are you doing the combo platter of video/book and coach? I really need to improve my swim technique... |
| 2005-12-18 12:32 AM in reply to: #287257 |
Pro 3870 Virginia Beach, VA | Subject: RE: Doing TI drills at the pool Here's a TI tip...or two. drill only 25m at a time and then stop, think about what you just did and prepare for the next length...every drill should be slow, deliberate, and focused...but RELAXED. The key to the first few drills (back balance, sweet spot, fish, and skating) is to learn to completely relax and let the water support you. Our instinct is to react if we feel ourselves sinking or on the verge of taking in water but all that reaction (typically lifting your head and pushing down with your hands) does is get you more out of balance. Everyone is capable of "floating" if they are willing to surrender to the water. It's easier to "float" if you have a bit of momentum which is why a gentle kick helps. The problem is that very lean (dense) people will float at a lower point in the water. A little physics...an object floats when it displaces a volume of water equal in weight to it's weight. A block of foam isn't very dense so it needs to displace only a little water before it floats. A block of wood is more dense and needs to displace more water, and therefore more of it must be below the surfaceto float. A rock is so dense that even when completely submerged it doesn't displace enough water to equal it's own weight so it sinks. To translate this into human terms, a very lean person is relatively compact for their weight and needs more of their body below the surface before they float. I weigh 160lbs and a gollon of water weighs ~8lbs so I need to displace ~ 20 gallons of water before I begin to float...I end up with 98% of my body undr the surface which was difficult to deal with at first. The tendency of people who feel they are sinking is to lift the head out of the water which requires more of the rest of the body to sink below the surface to balance the equation. Okay, a bit of a long discussion but the key is that you need to lay into the water and let it support your body and that requires remaining calm. Another tip...pick one single focal point for each length of drill and concentrate on doing it perfectly...don't worry about anything else. It's nearly impossible to remember and concentrate on half a dozen points while swimming or drilling. The gal is to make all of these specific points automatic and you do that by repeating and imprinting one specific thing at a time. Eventually it will become part of your natural form. I find this particularly difficult because I'll start focusing on one thing and then realize that I'm all out of whack in 3 other areas. Ignore everything else and concentrate on that single focal point. Looks like I have a good start on my article here oipolloi - 2005-11-17 2:26 PM Anyone care to share some of their favorite TI hints / workouts? Or do I have to break down and buy the book & DVD? Come on....share some secrets... |
| 2005-12-18 8:06 AM in reply to: #307714 |
| Expert 671 Atlanta, GA | Subject: RE: Doing TI drills at the pool Thanks everyone for the great info. So besides the FME DVD, are the waterproof drill cards AND Tri swimming book recommended too? Thanks, Tony Edited by tribesman 2005-12-18 8:22 AM |
| 2005-12-18 1:04 PM in reply to: #276678 |
Champion 19812 MA | Subject: RE: Doing TI drills at the pool I took a short clinic at the NE triathlong expo last Feb. and then hired a TI coach. I opted to take private lessons every 2-3 weeks and practice 6-10 hours between classes rather than do a intense weekend. I worked only on drills for more than 8 weeks and then started doing freestyle in late May. After working on TI swimming for the last 9 months, 6 of which I have been swimming, my 100 yd swim time has dropped about a minute. I was very slow before....still relatively slow. Now I enjoy swimming, feel comfortable in the water and feel I'm doing something totally different than I did before....my swimming is so different than before. My biggest suggetion is buy the DVD and watch it a lot. Do only drills like TI recommend and no freestyle for 6-8 weeks. If you do some freestyle you are defeating the purpose of learning a new way....your muscles will be confused....the old way or the new way. If you truly want to change your swimming to be more effiecient and the TI way give up freestyle and only do the drills. Focus on one point for each length of the pool or multiple lengths and don't work on speed just on technique. This is the perfect time of year no triathlons looming soon....great time to work on technique. I have seen others trying to do TI at my Y pool. The Y has a women's tri club and the trainer teaches TI rather badly. I have helped a couple women who were very off balanced and doing the drills rather poorly and didn't understand them. One of the lifeguards took private lessons from one of Terry's daughters and she talks about it with me. I have given my coach's name out to lots of people who want to learn to swim more efficiently and be more comfortable in the water. |
| 2005-12-18 1:08 PM in reply to: #276678 |
Master 1901 Central, IL | Subject: RE: Doing TI drills at the pool I've just started the TI drills this week. I have to admit I feel a little awkward at the pool while doing the drills. I also know this is the best course of action long-term. I had a coach video tape me, then demonstrate and teach me the first few drills (Thursday). $ well spent! Looking back, although I could swim 2 miles, non-stop, my form was laughable, at best. I'm sticking with TI! It is good stuff! I don't think I could have gotten comfortable with the balance in the water component without a coach...but that's me. "Hap" Gentry is awesome (St. Louis area), if interested. I plan to take a second lesson in about a month. I'm putting too much time into training and in the pool to be doing things wrong. If you are looking for some solid insight into TI, TH3's comments are right on track. |
| 2005-12-18 6:29 PM in reply to: #307793 |
Veteran 291 Seattle, WA | Subject: RE: Doing TI drills at the pool I just finished about 8 weeks of working steadily through the TI drills and this week started swimming with my new (greatly improved) stroke. I am breathing on both sides and my stroke count per length is 20 (vs. 25 with my old stroke). While I feel I was able to work through the drills on my own using the book and DVD, after the holidays I'll be working with a coach to help with the transition to "real" swimming. One other thing I'm finding useful is re-reading early chapters of the book now that I've had experience with the method. - Heidi |
| 2005-12-19 7:57 AM in reply to: #307846 |
| Member 10 Walchwil Switzerland | Subject: RE: Doing TI drills at the pool I bought the book and DVD a couple of months back. I practiced the drills. A couple of weeks ago I took a TI workshop. That solidified a lot points for me. I've only now started to add some swimming to my drills. Today I was swimming a stranger in the next lane asked me if I'd done a TI course and told me my stroke looked very nice. Boy did that make me feel proud. A few months ago I could hardly swim one length of the pool. |
| 2005-12-19 10:49 AM in reply to: #276678 |
Veteran 142 Springdale AR | Subject: RE: Doing TI drills at the pool I just got the book from the local library. I can't wait to see how this can help me swim better. I have never been a good swimmer, but I am determined to change that!! |
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