TOTAL IMMERSION is a system of swimming for all levels of swimmers, even those afraid of water. Because it is a system and not a compilation of isolated mechanical ‘Tips’, it allows for effortless and continual refinement of the entire Swimming pattern.

Terry Laughlin is the author of the rather long winded book titled- Total Immersion: The revolutionary way to swim better, faster, and easier. Concurrently, Terry founded the company Total Immersion in 1989, as a system of swimming patterned along the principles laid out in his book.

In essence, Terry’s system is designed to teach efficiency in the water through balance, streamline, reduced drag and energy conservation. Total Immersion emphasizes form over speed to help swimmers glide though the water and not barge through it. 

This is in stark contrast to the training methods I had been weaned on in my swimming career up until then. While I had been on the swim team in high school, our method in the latter 60s, 70s, and even 80s was purely based on endless repetition, endless laps, maximum yardage and speed at all costs.

After attending one of his workshops in 1990, I studied and adopted TI’s techniques and refined my swimming ability to new levels. I learned how to glide thought the water and be slippery like a fish, as opposed to barging through it and wasting a lot of energy.

Indeed, that resulted in a PR swim time of 60minutes and 10seconds for 2.4Miles in my 3rd Ironman Triathlon. That it was in beautiful Auckland NZ harbor by the famous Opera house likely had something to do with this success.

Still, don’t take my word for the praise I heap upon TI, listen to what Tim Ferris, author of the mega successful New York Times bestseller ‘4 hour work week’, says of Total Immersion:

‘Swimming had always scarred the hell out of me’ says Ferris, ‘Yet, in the space of 10 days, I’ve gone from barely surviving and thrashing wildly through 2 laps in a 25 yard pool, to swimming 40 lengths per work out. Here’s how I did it after everything else failed..’ he relates in this video.

TI and its mechanics fundamentals became the cornerstone for my own coaching style at Marlborough High School in 1998-2000. We had very successful seasons, culminating in winning League Championiships my last year. In he decades since that Ironman swim in July 1991, TI’s principles is what I’ve taught all my clients, both in the pool and in the Ocean.

In its videos on technique, TI shows some rather elemental skills to master before moving on. If you have no patience or an open mind to master something new, this likely is not for you. Of the 3 disciplines in Triathlon, swimming is the closest to an art form. Artistic proficiency takes time and devotion!