Triathlon Swimming Made Easy: The Total Immersion Way for Anyone to Master Open-Water Swimming

by Terry Laughlin

A clear, practical guide to swimming freestyle better than you ever thought possible. Not only to swim well enough to breeze through a triathlon swim leg with ease and confidence; but to reach a Nirvana where the swim is your favorite part. If you're not aiming to do a triathlon, but would simply like to swim with ease, efficiency and confidence, TSME will turn you into a beautiful freestyler with the freedom to swim in any body of water.

Genres: Sports, Fitness, Nonfiction, Reference

221 pages, Paperback

First published January 1, 2001

About the author

Terrence James Laughlin was an American swimming coach, author, and the founder of Total Immersion, a groundbreaking swim technique that revolutionized the sport by emphasizing efficiency, form, and ease over speed. Starting his coaching career in the 1970s, Laughlin trained 24 national champions and developed Total Immersion in 1989 to help adult-onset swimmers, especially triathletes, gain confidence and efficiency in the water. His method focused on balance, streamlining, and energy conservation, attracting a global following and influencing coaches at all levels.
A best-selling author, Laughlin penned Total Immersion: The Revolutionary Way to Swim Better, Faster and Easier and several other influential books and videos, with his teachings amassing millions of views online. He was also a sought-after instructor who inspired swimmers worldwide—from elite athletes to fearful beginners.
Even while battling metastatic prostate cancer, he continued to swim, teach, and inspire. Laughlin passed away in 2017, leaving a transformative legacy in swimming education and technique.

Reviews

[Allison · Rating 4 out of 5]

As someone who could not go more than 20 feet without flailing wildly, and then sinking, I found this book very helpful. My husband picked it up for triathlon training, and I started reading through it just hoping to get some advice on how not to drown and how to swim a 1/2 mile without needing a flotation device in the water. The focus of the book is on swimming more efficiently by working on body position. While most drills build towards doing freestyle, the lessons/advice improved my sidestroke and other strokes in addition to freestyle. The book is somewhat repetitive due to its organization. The first half is geared towards getting down balance and explaining the reasoning behind the drills. This portion was most helpful to me as a beginner swimmer. The second half focused on triathlon training and open water swimming by listing some possible training routines.

[Garrett · Rating 4 out of 5]

This was an interesting book and it helped me to improve my form.

While I don't feel that this method is what works best for me, I do like much of what he has to say.

As I focus on "swimming downhill" and "rotating through the water" I find that I am faster, using less energy, and much more refreshed after a swim.

I am also more confident in my ability to get through the swim portion of my 1/2 Ironman.

[Nicolas · Rating 4 out of 5]

I already read Total Immersion: The Revolutionary Way to Swim Better, Faster, and Easier and wanted to see how this book compares. I am now in the weird situation, that I would recommend most people to buy this book while still giving the other one the better rating.

The main reason is the focus of the books and the enjoyment that I had while reading them based on that. Total Immersion really feels like a closed system. You never have the feeling that you are reading a passage that is just there for having a chapter on a specific topic. It just fits.

With Triathlon Swimming Made Easy you really have this feeling from time to time. It feels like Terry wanted to cover certain topics, but then didn't really think that they are important in the first place coming down to "we don't do that in TI, because that would hurt your technique in the long run" a lot of the time.

Now why then would I recommend this book instead of the original TI for most people? Well... the core TI part, which is the drills is literally the same (like in the same words same), so if you are a triathlete you are getting the better package here, as this book focuses way more on how to bring the Ivory Tower Technique concepts to a race that might not be 3-5 years in the future (probably the amount of time you would need to actually learn to properly swim long distances if you would do hardcore TI).

So I'd say: If your focus is on becoming a good freestyle swimmer in general or are starting from absolutely zero (can barely not drown a 25m lap), the original is more fun to read and will probably be the better choice. If you already have some swimming basics and want to do triathlons, this one is the better choice.

[Lyndsay Bates · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book had more reviews of the book, than actual information.

[Erik · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book is great for both beginer triathletes who are looking to make that challenging open-water swim a bit easier, and for experienced triathletes who want to hone their skills and shave some time off of their swim. When you read the book (it may take a few times for it to sink in--no pun intended), it will shed a whole new light on swimming - a new way to look at the form required to slip through the water. A must-read for Triathletes or Open-Water Swimmers.

[Alexander · Rating 4 out of 5]

Very good book for a beginner swimmer like myself.

I never joined the swim team in HS, and only have a basic working knowledge of swimming. This book (and the critical DVD that you MUST get to complement the book) enforces the idea that swimming for long distance needs to be a matter of efficiency, not the tried-and-true 'work on the power of your stroke until you plow through the water.'

Highly recommended if you are interested in long distance swimming (wonderful cardio, at that).

[Jared · Rating 2 out of 5]

This is pretty much the same book as Laughlin's Total Immersion book. There are a few additions here related to speed, open water and racing that were valuable, but nothing super specific for triathletes.

I think the video is the most helpful of all Laughlin's swim-training tools because the descriptions and sketches or photos are a harder to replicate. Skip the book, and get the DVD.

[Mike · Rating 3 out of 5]

Went over the basics of swimming freestyle for long distance (specifically Ironman 2.4 mile). It was really long-winded and repetitive for the first half, but once it got into the drills, it got more dense/useful. The first half could probably have been shortened down to 10 pages if they really tried.

[Waltor · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book reduced my half mile swim time from an abysmal 23:56 to 14:22. Frankly anything else I could say about it would pale in comparison. Forget everything you know about swimming and start over using this technique. You will go faster and use much less energy, emerge from the water ready to go.

[Annie · Rating 4 out of 5]

This is swimming for dummies. Really, if you have any swimming experience at all this is not for you. I found the book very helpful on teaching the correct technique for things most swimmers just assume you already know.

[Folkert Wierda · Rating 3 out of 5]

I read this book before. Recently I noticed that my implementation of the guidance from this book led to a significant deterioration of my swimming. I realize that I probably did not execute correctly, but at least for me the instructions from Total Immersion is a no go! My advise: caution!

[trivialchemy · Rating 3 out of 5]

I thought this book was organized poorly, but the information about swim technique is solid. I'll have to judge more when I've been on the program longer.

[Caroline · Rating 5 out of 5]

~The~ book on how to swim. Terry's insight on improving your swim strokes is a mandatory read for any lap swimmer.

[Ramesh · Rating 3 out of 5]

It works!

[Mohamed Fathyy]

good

[Katie · Rating 4 out of 5]

A good reference book - good tips for drills and improvmement

[Michael · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you want to be a more efficient swimmer, this is the book.