What is Reddit's opinion of Total Immersion: The Revolutionary Way To Swim Better, Faster, and Easier?

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If I had to guess I'd say your problem is likely breathing. If you have the fitness from running and cycling, you should be able to do 400m no problem with ok technique. I went from a situation similar to yours to being able to swim a sprint tri comfortably in ~2 months. I found reading Total Immersion and doing a bunch of practice in the pool really helped. For whatever reason, reading about what I was supposed to be doing made it click more than any other teacher I'd had up to that point. I also did a workshop with the TI people, which really helped, but you probably don't have time for that.

I tried to respond to your original post but I think you deleted it before it made it through. I'm a complete beginner swimmer, but I found the information in Total Immersion really helpful to bring me from feeling like I was swimming in molasses to swimming in water. The key is minimizing drag by getting your body horizontal and relaxed and balanced on your chest cavity.

Looking at the video, that will probably mean getting your head a little lower in the water and also changing up your stroke a little so that you always have one arm fully extended and down in front.

Again, take this with a grain of salt as you're already a significantly better swimmer than I am.

Have you read “Total Immersion“?

It sounds like you've got a nice relaxed stroke, and it may just be a matter of getting your body more horizontal in the water by finding a good balance point on your chest.

That being said, it also sounds like you're a more experienced swimmer than me, so take this with a grain of salt.

For better head position, look forward a few feet, so that the top of your head is out of the water. Not so much that you're looking forward but just a few feet ahead of right beneath you.

Leg sinking is the biggest issue hurting your efficiency, it's basically drag, forcing you to put out much more effort than needed. I used to have the same issue, check out "Total Immersion Swimming" (https://www.amazon.com/Total-Immersion-Revolutionary-Better-Faster/dp/0743253434). Read through it and do the drills, after a month ro two you'll be far faster and more efficient in the water. You'll stop freaking out about being out of breathe as well.

As far as your kick goes, idk if there's a way to improve it, I have a shitty kick also. I'm a triathlete though, so I use a two beat kick (two kicks per stroke) to save my legs for the bike and run portions. This keeps me from exhausting myself and getting nothing for it.

Decrap your swimming:

http://www.amazon.com/Total-Immersion-Revolutionary-Better-Faster/dp/0743253434/ref=sr_1_3

I went from being out of breath swimming the short way across the pool to doing laps without tiring in about 3 days after reading just the first chapter or two. It's definitely 95% doing it right and 5% endurance.

I've always been a decent swimmer, but I went ahead and joined a gym that has a swimming pool. I also started reading Total Immersion by Terry Laughlin, a 3 time Olympic coach. He breaks down the reasoning behind the techniques into simple layman terms. I'm still reading it, but I'm a much better swimmer already after only reading the first 6 chapters.

There's a lot of ways you can go about it. It's up to you to choose a path.

Your 3 big "goals" are going to be to:

1. Pass the PAST
2. CRUSH the PAST
3. Become a workhorse/pass whatever the grad standards for the pipeline are (AFAIK, page 12 of this document has the different standards and the following pages have descriptions)

Three years is a lot of time. If it were me, I'd start with a base building block of TBB while cutting weight (if you're a fat fuck). Once done with that I'd run probably 2 blocks of Operator + Green protocol and then 1 of Operator + Black protocol. That should get you a pretty solid base.

From there you could transition away from strength and work on cals and swimming. If you don't know how to swim or suck ass (like I did) start with the 0-1650 swim plan. From there I'd go to a PTG sort of setup -- 1 day intervals, 1 LSD, 1 swim WOD/pyramid/fin. Get this to help get you started with form. Also, learn freestyle. You don't really need to know CSS for CCT. Be familiar, but it's not a priority.

For rucking there's many paths you can take. Don't start rucking immediately, wait until you're a bit stronger/more fit. You can check out Get Selected, it's about SFAS, but the rucking portion is great. You can follow his advice, or you can just start rucking. Personally, I would recommend following one of MTI's rucking plans. Either the Ruck-based selection plan, CCT/PJ/CRO plan, or Rucking Improvement. These will all over prepare you for the rucking you'll do for CCT. You can get away with doing step-ups w/ 35-45 pounds a couple times a week and be ok.

You have a lot of time to prepare. Read all you can, research, and along the way you'll figure out what works and what doesn't, what you do and don't like, and you have time to try out different styles of training. Stew Smith, Jeff Nichols, TBB, MTI, Atomic Athlete, Soflete, 5/3/1, NSW PTG, AFSOC plan, personal trainers. Feel free to PM me if you have specific questions. Good luck, have fun.

Buy this book: Total immersion

Total Immersion

First off: many kudos and good vibes to you for starting out! Swimming has been an essential part of life for me for more than 35 years!

When I run into people who are just starting out, I point them toward Total Immersion Swimming. I do not find it perfectly applicable to what I do (sprinting in pool meets) but it is very good place to start.

There is a website, a series of videos and a book.

Total immersion puts a lot of emphasis on body position and body roll. These are great places to start. There is a shortened series of videos on YouTube for the self-coached swimmer, but it looks like you need to buy the DVDs or the video downloads if you want the complete series.

There are other resources on YouTube and in the bookstore, but I think this is easiest to follow.

Lots of good suggestions already. Here's my top 3.

1) Coaching. Like others said, just a few sessions should be a big help.

2) Total Immersion (Amazon Link). Great place to start with swimming technique. Also look at YouTube for related videos to demonstrate technique. Swim Smooth is also awesome.

3) Don't just swim straight distance. It's hard to maintain technique when you swim like this, especially as a beginner. Instead, split your workout into chunks.

Example: - Warm up // 4 X 50yd (30 sec rest between) - Drills // 6 X 50 (6 different drills from above resources) - Main set // 5 X 100 (15 sec rest between) - Cool down // 2 X 100 (easy)

That gives you 1200yds, but broken into chunks. Change up the main set between workouts; maybe one per week that still focuses on swimming 500 nonstop, but the other two days that break it into intervals of various sizes. See this example plan for an idea.

And good luck! I was in a similar position when I first started swimming again as an adult. Getting my technique up to par was the hardest but most important thing. Now, after quite some time just getting comfortable and regaining proper technique, I'm finally able to focus on putting more power and stamina into my swim.

One more bonus tip: I just picked up a pair of the Finis Agility Paddles. This might not be something you want to start using until you get your basic positioning, rotation, and catch technique dialed, but they have really helped me reinforce what true "high elbow" technique feels like in the water. They will quickly point out where your arm entry, catch, and pull technique has flaws. Again, might want to save those for after some coaching and basic technique work, but I've found some benefit from them as a continued technique reminder aide.

Happy swimming!

I would get total immersion swimming for bettering your buoyancy.