TI or Swim Coach?
367
Member
826 days
mdd posted 1 year ago.
There are TI coaches all around the country so if you can find one of those then you are set. I think in general a swim coach is a good idea (even a non TI coach) and there is no one way to swim but you need to be careful. I have never heard of "too much water on your back" before. It doesn't really matter how much watter is on your back, it is all about getting your hips level and finding your balance in the water. Also I think the looking in front of you is also an odd statement because if you raise your head then your feet will sink.
There are other people on here that know more about swimming than me but I think your coach might be sending you in the wrong direction. TI has worked wonders for me but everyone is different.
Good luck!
478
Member
1465 days
kona_expat posted 1 year ago.
TI is good and swim coaches will differ. I'd be wary of a young'n who doesn't have much coaching experience. Many times, they will try and coach you to do what THEY do. Same happened to me. I had someone tell me to look more forward, and then my tri coach (who was a highly ranked college swimmer) tells me no, look down.
Some people are good swim coaches; some are not. Caveat emptor!
Now, I did take TI lessons and learned some good things, and there were some things that I needed to unlearn. And I'm still learning!
My coach has an e-Book on swimming at http://cruciblefitness.com. Cheap, video of drills, and you will find some of them are in common with TI views; some not. Yes, it is critical to achieve good body position, but you also need to work on some stroke mechanics. TI stops short of stroke mechanics, and given your history, I think you can accomplish quite a bit on your own while you hunt for the "perfect" swim coach.
Find a coach who can videotape you over and under water. It helps to see what you are actually doing in order to understand how to correct it.
Best thing to do right away? Swim bilateral breathing all the time. Both sides of your body will get used to doing all parts of the stroke, you'll rotate better. In a race you might breathe to one side just to get more O2 (and therefore go faster), but breathing both sides in training will pay big dividends.
YMMV
632
Member
723 days
Ironmom posted 1 year ago.
I'm not sure I'd stick with that swim coach. It sounds like she is coaching you in more of a sprinter's stroke than a distance stroke (was she, by any chance, a competitive sprinter?) For sprinting, you want more of your head up, and it's more of a power stroke. For distance, you want the most efficient body position possible. For low-body-fat males, typically picking the head up at all will drop the feet. Any inch that you drop your feet costs you a lot in drag, you want your feet up in the top 6 inches of water. I would look for another coach - one who will look at your individual body position and style, as well as what your goals are (obviously distance swimming if you're going for a triathlon). Also, it's helpful (though not necessary) to find someone who can video you and show you what you're doing.
On the TI front, I think it's overall a good method, but I take exception to some of what they teach. I see a lot of people who have worked through TI, and I'd say the single biggest flaw in their stroke is that they rotate their whole body (including hips), which comes from the TI drills (which I have worked through myself). To truly develop power in the water, I personally believe that you need to rotate from the hips, not including the hips. I think of it like a golf or baseball swing - without that torsional rotation, all you're using for power is your arms (imagine Tiger Woods teeing off, but not being able to rotate his torso independent of his hips - try it yourself if you want to see a graphic example). Myself, I rotate from the hips while angling my hand down into a full arm extension with a reasonably long glide. So I personally think TI misses the boat on torsional rotation, and most TI swimmers I've coached lack power for that reason.
Other than that, TI's balance drills and their elbow technique is excellent. It's not a bad place to start. I'd personally work through the TI drills, but then find a better swim coach. If you can find someone who works with distance swimmers or triathletes, you'll probably be better off.
Blue Skies, -Robin-
http://ironmom.blogspot.com/
9
Member
822 days
triBandit posted 1 year ago.
Thanks for the replies.
The first breakthrough I had after experimenting earlier this year was when I "pushed my chest down". I felt a lot better glide or less drag. That's why I was a little alarmed when she wanted me to lift my head up.
I'll experiment some more and plan on swimming with a few of the guys from our Tri club - I'm sure they'll offer up some tips.
Thanks again!
71
Member
797 days
usasportstrain posted 1 year ago.
Another option would be Swim Smooth. It's a 3 disk box set that goes for less than $60.
It's most popular in Australia and the U.K., but not as widely known in the U.S. yet.
Shea
http://www.usasportstraining.com - Triathlon Training Gear, DVDs, Books
126
Member
1276 days
rob6118 posted 1 year ago.
Just wanted to point something out I learned today. I had my g/f watch me swim and she said the same thing that I had too much water on my back. I asked her to watch how high my head was coming out of the water when I breathed, and to see if my head was in a good position creating the typical bow wave you see in professionals.
Apparently I over compensated when I worked w/ a TI coach for the first time. I had a really bad habit of having a high head position, and after the week long class I had gotten in the habit of burrowing my head too deep in the water.
Long story short, raising my head and looking foward greatly reduced drag and increased speed. And she too described my technique as putting 'too much water on my back'.
Oh and fyi this is called pushing down on your bouy in the TI terminology. I was pushing more on my head then my buoy so my shoulders/back was what was creating the first bow wave of my body instead of the top of my head. Remember the longer your body is the less drag you have.
Rob
81
Member
999 days
ston_ar posted 1 year ago.
Thats exactly why getting a coach is probably the best thing that you can do for your technique. Every swimmer needs to have a different tecnique because of the differences in strength, size, body composition, etc. and a coach will help you find your best technique. I haven't had any personal experence with TI so I can' say anything for certain, except that it is no more than a good first step, eventually if you want to really be able to have a great swim you're going to have to move beyond TI. The general ideas are sound but eventually you'll have to move beyond them.
Im going to put a disclamer on this before anyone gets too upset, but this is coming from my viewpoint as a fast swimmer, and so is probably warped. So feel free to correct me on any of my misassumptions.
1127
Member
975 days
UFTriGator posted 1 year ago.
I have to agree with ston_ar on this. With biking and running it's possible to build up a respectable amount of speed just by putting in the miles, but no matter what kind of yardage you do in the pool, it's impossible to get fast without someone there who can fine-tune your stroke. Even after swimming competetively for 15 yrs, I've had coaches find things to fix on my stroke. (Not always small things, either!) I think the best place you could go would be to find a USS club team in your area to swim with. USS will have the fastest swimmers and the best coaches most of the time, and many will have Masters practices scheduled.
______________________________________________
-Matt
Not fast enough.
477
Member
1334 days
geochuck posted 1 year ago.
Get a coach Ti to me is for complete beginners.
My focus this coming year is Triathlon.
I am primarily a runner. I put a lot of time in on the bike this past year. Did some open-water swims this past summer. Swimming is my weakest area.
I grew up swimming, lifeguarding, even instructing but that was in my teens. I am 46 now. I am completely comfortable in the water (no panic), however I get winded way too easy for my fitness level. (Similar to running at a full sprint instead of a controlled pace)
Wanting to get better, I started reading the Total Immersion book and experimenting.
Today, I went to see a swim coach (young competitive swimmer) who said that my stroke looked good, gave me some pointers, and told me to put some time in the water.
Some of the things seemed to contradict the TI book.
For example, she wanted me to get my head higher, focus 3 feet in front of me - she said I had too much water on my back.
Does this contradict TI's technique?
I don't want to delvelop bad habits when I start putting in the laps.
Should I focus more on the TI book / drills or work with the swim coach more?
Any advice appreciated!
Merry Christmas!