Taormina - Swim speed secrets: master the freestyle technique used by the worlds fastest swimmers

Table of Contents

PRAISE FOR SHEILA TAORMINAS SWIM SPEED SERIES

Sheila Taormina knows more about correct freestyle technique and mechanics than any other coach on the planet.

STEVE HAUFLER, HEAD COACH OF THE ORINDA COUNTRY CLUB AND ORINDA AQUATICS MASTERS

Swim Speed Secrets stands alone as a gold standard for clarity, content, and results.

TOM WHIPPLE, MS, PT, ORTHOPAEDIC PHYSICAL THERAPIST AND AUTHOR OF THE ENDURANCE PARADOX

The concept of holding water and generating propulsion is fundamental to swimming performance, and Sheilas book clearly unlocks the secrets of this through words and vivid underwater photos.

DARA TORRES, 12-TIME OLYMPIC MEDALIST

Sheila Taorminas ideas on swimming have influenced me and my swim coaching more than anyone else. Her knowledge, experience, and enthusiasm are unmatched. Swim Speed Secrets is the best resource out there to help all different types of athletes improve their swim.

SIRI LINDLEY, ITU TRIATHLON WORLD CHAMPION AND COACH TO TRIATHLON WORLD CHAMPIONS AND OLYMPIC MEDALISTS

Sheila T. is just 5' 2" but she swims like she is 6' 2". We still use her as a model for our swimmers today on how to swim the strokes.

JACK BAUERLE, TEAM USA OLYMPIC SWIM COACH AND HEAD COACH OF THE UNIVERSITY OF GEORGIA SWIM TEAM

While Ive spent the last few years training under a fantastic coach, there were still some key elements that didnt click until I read [Swim Speed Secrets]. Having been on a plateau for some time, my swim has improved immensely within a few weeks.

TRIEDGE.NET

In Swim Speed Secrets, Sheila Taormina gives a great understanding of the art of high performance swimming. With her help, you can stop swimming for survival and start swimming like a pro.

LAURA BENNETT, 2010 ITU #1-RANKED SWIMMER, 4-TIME ITU WORLD TRIATHLON CHAMPIONSHIP MEDALIST, OLYMPIAN, AND 2-TIME U.S. TRIATHLON CHAMPION

[Swim Speed Secrets] is a ripper! [It was] great to get a no-b.s. perspective on swimming from a champion.

CHRIS MCCORMACK, 2-TIME IRONMAN WORLD CHAMPION

Sheila possesses a great depth of knowledge and passion about swimming that she has often shared with me and many other athletes. Swim Speed Secrets will be a very useful tool to anyone who wants to improve their performance in the water.

LEANDA CAVE, ITU TRIATHLON WORLD CHAMPION AND ITU LONG-DISTANCE TRIATHLON WORLD CHAMPION

Swim Speed Strokes is the best current resource on the market. It will add to the coachs knowledge base, to the coachs internalized picture of what the strokes should look like, and it will add the exact same contribution to your athletes.

AMERICAN SWIM COACHES ASSOCIATION

Taorminas ability to break down each stroke and rebuild it, piece by piece, all but guarantees success for swimmers and coaches in improving technique.... The images perfectly support her descriptions of the what, how, and why required for achieving efficiency in all aspects of all four strokes.... Swim Speed Strokes is among the best stroke technique books.

USMS SWIMMER MAGAZINE

Sheila has taken all the knowledge she has gained and refined throughout a phenomenal career and brought it to Swim Speed Strokes. It is a swim training bible.... Sheila brings her energetic, encouraging, whip-smart personality to her coaching, which is why this book is so enjoyable and educational.

ROWDY GAINES, NBC OLYMPIC SWIMMING TELEVISION ANNOUNCER

Swim Speed Workouts is the pool version of in-home workout videos. The cards can be used by beginning to experienced swimmers or triathletes training independently of a coach, or provide easy illustrations of drills and tubing exercises for coaches to share with their swimmers.

USA SWIMMINGS SPLASH MAGAZINE

Our testers, ranging from beginner to advanced swimmers, enthusiastically agreed that Swim Speed Workouts is a great pool-side companion. The waterproof, step-by-step workouts come in a collection of individual cards and fit seamlessly into any training program.

TRIEDGE.NET

Copyright 2018 by Sheila Taormina

Originally published in 2010 as Call the Suit by Sheila Taormina.

All rights reserved. Published in the United States of America by VeloPress, a division of Pocket Outdoor Media, LLC

Grid photos in Chapters 5 and 8 feature the patent-pending and trademarked STGRID

The Halo Swim Training System is a trademark of Lane Gainer Company

3002 Sterling Circle, Suite 100

Boulder, CO 803012338 USA

VeloPress is the leading publisher of books on endurance sports. Focused on cycling, triathlon, running, swimming, and nutrition/diet, VeloPress books help athletes achieve their goals of going faster and farther. Preview books and contact us at velopress.com.

Distributed in the United States and Canada by Ingram Publisher Services

The Library of Congress has cataloged the printed edition as follows:

Name: Taormina, Sheila, author.

Title: Swim speed secrets: master the freestyle technique used by the worlds fastest swimmers / Sheila Taormina.

Other titles: Call the suit

Description: Second Edition. | Boulder, Colorado: VeloPress, [2018] | Originally published in 2010 as Call the Suit by Sheila TaorminaT.p. verso. | Distributed in the United States and Canada by Ingram Publisher ServicesT.p. verso. | Includes bibliographical references and index. | Identifiers: LCCN 2017053375 (print) | LCCN 2018003389 (ebook) | ISBN 9781937716974 (eISBN) | ISBN 9781937715816 (paperback: alk. paper)

Subjects: LCSH: SwimmingTraining. | SwimmingTechnique.

Classification: LCC GV837.7 (ebook) | LCC GV837.7 .T364 2018 (print) | DDC 797.21dc23

LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2017053375

v. 3.1

To Greg Phill, my swim coach. You lifted the cement blocks off my shoulders before the Olympic Trials the moment you quoted John Lubbock:

When we have done our best,
we should wait the result in peace.

Also, thank you for reminding me that a couple billion people never knew when I had a bad race.

CONTENTS

When I wrote Swim Speed Secrets in 2011, I had one principal goal: to steer swimmers and triathletes away from excessive gliding. There was then so much talk of low stroke count that athletes were led to believe this factor was the one and only key to fast swimming. Gliding with a sleek body position became the preferred method for reaching the low stroke counts of Olympic champions. The problem was that the other half of the swimming equationrate of turnoverwas completely ignored, and athletes were not finding themselves swimming any faster.

So, I set out to introduce the rate side of the equation in the original edition of this book. I wanted to show athletes that once they understood the importance of rate, they would realize low stroke count is not effectively achieved by gliding but rather by properly navigating the propulsive phases of the stroke. The majority of my effort in the original edition was directed toward convincing readers of my rationale.