Swim Speed Secrets: Master the Freestyle Technique Used by the World's Fastest Swimmers

by Sheila Taormina

Overview

Sheila Taormina’s Swim Speed Series is America’s favorite guide to faster swimming.

In this new edition of the best-selling Swim Speed Secrets, the 4-time Olympian, gold medalist, and triathlon world champion reveals the swim technique used by the world’s fastest swimmers.Taormina’s guidance is clear and easily understood so any swimmer or triathlete can learn and master the fastest way to swim.

Over the course of four Olympic Games and throughout her career as a world champion triathlete, Taormina refined her winning technique through a close study of the sport, examining the world’s best swimmers using underwater photographs, video analysis, and historical archives. From Johnny Weissmuller to Michael Phelps, Taormina found that the world’s fastest swimmers share two common elements: high stroke rate and a high-elbow underwater pull.

Though she stands just 5’ 2” tall, Taormina honed her swimming technique to victory and shares her Swim Speed method in Swim Speed Secrets. Many swimmers and triathletes neglect the underwater pull, distracted by low stroke count or perfecting less critical details like body position, streamlining, and roll. Swim Speed Secrets,2nd Ed. focuses on the most crucial element of swimming—producing power—to help swimmers and triathletes overhaul their swim stroke and find the speed that’s been eluding them.

With a commonsense approach that comes from decades of intense practice and hands-on coaching experience, Taormina shows swimmers how to transition to faster swimming.

Featuring 4 completely new speed secrets, new drills, and an all-new chapter, Swim Speed Secrets offers Taormina’s essential guidance and new discoveries that are vital for swimmers, triathletes, and coaches:

· Crystal-clear photographs and descriptions of the underwater freestyle stroke.

· New elite swimmers: Step-by-step breakdowns of the strokes of the world’s fastest swimmers including Peter Vanderkaay, Allison Schmitt, Jack Conger, Margaret Kelly, Townley Haas, and more.

· New levels of detail on the stroke path, stroke timing, hand speed change, and over-water recovery.

· NEW! Undeniable, real-world visual proof of the curvilinear, or S-curve, stroke path in elite swimmer strokes using Taormina’s patent pending grid analysis tool.

· NEW! A simplified guide to stroke rate and “gears” to guide every swimming workout.

· New drills to cultivate a sensitive, faster, and more effective feel for the water.

· Dryland and strength building exercises to develop arm position and upper body musculature.

Sheila Taormina’s Swim Speed Secrets blows up the old myths that have held swimmers back. Her best-selling Swim Speed Series—including Swim Speed Secrets, Swim Speed Strokes, and Swim Speed Workouts—brings the focus back where it belongs: to a powerful freestyle swim stroke. With Taormina’s method, triathletes and swimmers can stop swimming for survival and break through to new levels of swimming speed and confidence in the water.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781937716172
Publisher:	VeloPress
Publication date:	05/01/2012
Sold by:	Barnes & Noble
Format:	eBook
Pages:	212
File size:	19 MB
Note:	This product may take a few minutes to download.

About the Author

Sheila Taormina is a 4-time Olympian, gold medalist, triathlon world champion, and swimming coach. Her Swim Speed Series is the best-selling guide to swimming technique for swimmers and triathletes.

Taormina is one of a handful of athletes who have competed in four Olympic games and the only woman in the world to have competed in three distinctly different sports—swimming, triathlon, and modern pentathlon. At the unswimmerlike height of just 5' 2", Taormina refined her exceptional freestyle swim technique to win a gold medal in the 1996 Olympics and the 2004 ITU triathlon world championship.

For 20 years, Taormina has coached elite and age-group swimmers and triathletes to develop the strong underwater pull that propelled her to such athletic success in her racing career. Taormina conducts dozens of swim clinics around the world each year.

Sheila Taormina is author of the Swim Speed Series, which includes the sport's top-selling guides: Swim Speed Secrets, Swim Speed Workouts, and Swim Speed Strokes.

Table of Contents

Preface

Acknowledgments

Introduction
1 The Pareto Principle: Applying the 80/20 Rule in the Pool
2 The Big Picture: Understanding the Swimming Equation
3 The Vital Element: A Case to Prove It
4 Fluid Dynamics and Theories of Propulsion: The Challenges and the Beauty
5 The Vital Element: The Underwater Pull
6 The Other 80%: A Review of the Non-Vital Elements
7 Developing the Freestyle Stroke: Drills and Exercises
8 Piecing It All Together: Stroke Data and Conclusion

Appendix: For Beginners: Understanding Swimming Lingo and Workout Design
References
Index
About the Athletes
About the Author

Editorial Reviews

“The concept of ‘holding’ water and generating propulsion is fundamental to swimming performance, and Sheila's book clearly unlocks the secrets of this through words and vivid underwater photos.” — Dara Torres, 12-time Olympic medalist

“Master swimmers and coaches at every level can learn something from Swim Speed Secrets…Both this book and the Swim Speed Workouts training program are outstanding.” — USMS Swimmer magazine

“Sheila Taormina's 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

“Sheila Taormina may be the greatest athlete in the modern Olympic era. She’s the only person I know who has made four Olympic teams in three different sports.” — Jim Richardson, Head Coach of the University of Michigan women’s swim team

“There is no one in triathlon more accomplished in swimming than Sheila Taormina.” — Slowtwitch

“Taormina’s Swim Speed Secrets is a compendium and reference, a tool box no triathlon swimmer can afford to ignore…Swim Speed Secrets is your most important swim tool.” — TriSports University

“As a lifelong coach, the four-time Olympian shares what she’s learned with clarity and authority, explaining all of the small details that go into mastering freestyle.” — LAVA magazine

“While I've spent the last few years training under a fantastic coach, there were still some key elements that didn't '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

“Sheila's book Swim Speed Secrets is the best swim manual—PERIOD!” — Ashley Whitney, Olympic gold medalist

“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, four-time ITU World Triathlon Championship medalist, Olympian, and two-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

From the Publisher