Sneaky Speed PDF

TI Swim Mastery Series
By Best-Selling Author and Swim Coach
Terry Laughlin
Sneaky Speed
Swim Faster in Triathlon with Smarter Choices.
By Terry Laughlin
Total Immersion, Inc.
New Paltz, New York, U.S.A.
This complimentary ebook is an expanded version of a talk given by TI Founder

and Head Coach Terry Laughlin at triathlon shows in London and Manchester
England, Washington DC, and Cambridge MA in March 2014.
Copyright 2014 Total Immersion, Inc. This document contains Total Immersion proprietary information
and cannot be copied, distributed or transmitted without the written consent of Total Immersion, Inc.
Table Of Contents
2 - Efficiency Trumps Effort
7 - Smart Choices
9 - The Secrets of World Champions
13 - How Efficient Are You?
15 - Height-SPL Index Charts
Swimming in Triathlon:
More Effort or Smarter Choices?
You cant get around it; the idea of swimming faster is undeniably sexy.
And triathletesmost of them new to swimming--are constantly confronted by

blogs, articles, and exhortations expressing urgency about swimming faster. For
many people the primary effect is to increase existing insecurity about
swimming and how to train for it.
While you probably have little familiarity with swimming for speed or time,
those urging you to swim faster seem to be in the know. And, often, your
efforts to follow their advice dont seem very encouraging.
You try to swim faster, but it seems awfully hard work just to gain a few ticks
on the clock. You wonder if you simply lack swimming talent oras one
triathlete wrote me-- if youve hit a personal speed limit. Will this limit your
potential in triathlon?
In fact, what youre experiencing is perfectly normalpractically universal in

fact. Humans are terrestrial mammals. Swimming is an aquatic skill. Our land-
adapted bodies (heavier than water, many moving parts) and innate discomfort
in water mean we become energy-wasting machines when we enter the water
a tendency only made worse when someone urges Work harder; swim faster!
In this book, well show that the too-narrow question of swimming faster or
slower, obscures a more fundamental question: Whether your swimming should
focus on greater effort or smarter choices.
1
While we all (me included) like swimming faster far better than slower, your
ultimate goal is a faster triathlon, not a faster swim. And what you seldom hear
is that a faster swimor at least the effort it takes to achieve ithas
considerable potential to hurt your performance in the cycle and run . . . which
have far more impact on your final time.
In the following pages, well demonstrate that the recipe for a better triathlon
is this: Swim your goal pace as easily as possiblesaving energy to work
harder and longer on the bike and run.
Energy is your most precious commodity in triathlon. As youll see, saving

energy on the swimto spend on the bike and runwill repay you many times
over.
Efficiency Trumps Effort

Before going further, let me be clear on one thing: Were not advocating you
swim slowly. Your goal is greater efficiency. And efficiency--not aerobic or
muscular power--is without question the key to swimming faster. To pursue
speed-through-efficiency, you must start by examining your way of thinking
about swimming. From there you can move to swimming better, easier . . . and
faster.
The old-school formula for speed is: Faster Strokes + More Power. This is a
prescription for increasing effort and decreasing efficiencyand for performing
below your potential on the bike and run.
The cutting-edge formula for speed is: A Sleeker Vessel + Effective Strokes.
Read on to learn why this approach will not only improve your swimming: It will
also help you cycle and run faster after swimming.
2
How To Win An Olympic Medal in Triathlon
Olympic triathlon coaches face a unique challenge. Other sports select their
teams from athletes who have many years of experience. Olympic triathlon
coaches must identify promising athletesusually with little or no triathlon
experience--and bring them to the elite level in just a few years.
In the early 2000s, the leaders of USA Triathlon--thinking that swimming was
the most technical of the three disciplines, and thus would take longest to
master--recruited accomplished college swimmers who could also run well. But
trends in the fast-growing sport forced them to reverse course. They now look
to recruit near-elite runnersideally with some competitive swimming
experience.
This is because the best Olympic triathletes swim at paces that strike the
average athlete as quite fast, butin comparison to elite swimmersare
relatively slow. But the paces at which one must run the concluding 10k to be
in medal contention are stunningly close to those of elite 10k runners.
The 1500m swim and 10k run splits from the 2012 Olympic Triathlon--as
compared with the winning times from those events in the pool and on the
trackillustrate this.
In the Mens Olympic Triathlon the 1500m pace of the medalists (17:04) was 17
percent slower than the 1500m gold medal time of 14:31 in the pool. But the
10k run split of 29:07 was only 5 percent above the gold medal 10k time on the
track of 27:39.
In the Womens Olympic Triathlon, the medalists swam 20:04, which is 30

percent slower than the 1500m time15:36of the gold medalist in the pool.
The run differential--33:40 in triathlon, 30:26 on the trackwas only 10
percent.
3
For both men and women, the differential between the swim pace in triathlon
and that in the pool was 300 percent greater than that in running.
Its true the tri swim was in open water, but triathletes used wetsuits, which
significantly boosts speed. And triathletes had to run some hills and had already
raced over 40k before starting the run.
What the Olympic coaches realized is thatbecause running performance is

determined 70% to 80% by aerobic fitness, a prospective triathlon medalist
must come into the sport with a runners engine already tuned to a very high
level from years of fast running.
In contrast, swim performance is determined 70% to 80% by skill and

efficiency and the coaches found that a good athlete could develop the requisite
efficiency skills in just a few years.
How does athlete development at the elite level relate to the average age group
triathlete? While elites can pursue training as a full-time job (and have inherent
athletic advantages) age groupers must fit in training with work and family
responsibilities. So realizing your personal potential as efficiently as possible is
at least as important for the mid-packer as for the Olympic medalist.
The Oxygen Conversion Conundrum
Oxygen is a finite resource in an endurance event. The rate at which you can
consume oxygen determines your muscles energy supply. Oxygen
consumption capacity is, to some extent, genetic. And increasing your capacity
through training takes scores of hours and a fairly high degree of intensity.
When doing only one activity, the formula for effective use of oxygen is
straightforward. But when you combine three activities in a single event
4
swimming, then cycling, then runningyou create a far more intricate puzzle
for making effective use of your finite capacity to utilize oxygen.
For insight on this, I consulted Michael Joyner MD, head of exercise research at
the famed Mayo Clinic, and one of the worlds most respected authorities on
athletic performance. For Mike, this study isnt only academic. He ran a 2:25
marathon while in medical school and was nationally ranked at 1500 meters as
a Masters swimmer in his 40s. At 57, hes again focused on swimming his best,
and a novice triathlete.
Mike, and dozens of colleagues around the world, have studied thousands of
athletes--novice to elite--in a wide range of endurance activities. I asked Mike
what this research reveals about triathlons three disciplines. Heres what I
learned:
The Cost of Speed
For athletes of similar ability, swimming at a pace of 2 mph; running at 8

mph; and cycling at 20mph all require about the same amount of energy. But
to go 10% faster in each, you must increase oxygen consumption by:
o Running + 10%
o Cycling + 20 to 25%
o Swimming + 60% to 80%
Converted into velocity, the amount of energy or oxygen utilization that will
increase swimming speed by 0.10 (one-tenth) mph in swimming will increase
running speed by 3 mph and cycling speed by 6 mph.
5
The difference in oxygen cost between a top athlete and an average athlete
(traveling at same speed) is:
o Cycling +15%
o Running +20%
o Swimming +200% to 300%
Conclusions
1. Because oxygen is a scarce and costly resource during an endurance event--

and swimming a little faster takes a lot more oxygen--the smartest strategy is
to spend as little as possible of your oxygen budget there. Save it for the bike
and run, where a little oxygen goes a long way in improving your speed.
2. If youre an average athlete, youre moderately less efficient than the top
cyclist and runner in any race you enter. The primary reason theyre faster than
you is that their more powerful aerobic engine delivers a far greater supply of
oxygen and energy to their muscles.
In contrast, you might well have a more powerful aerobic engine than the best
swimmer in the field. They swim faster because theyre far more efficient.
In using the phrase energy-wasting machine I was referring to a study, which

showed that average swimmers (those who hadnt learned efficient technique)
are just 3% energy efficient, while dolphins are 80% efficient.
If this seems surprising, consider that elite swimmers are less than 10% energy
efficient. (Yes, even Sun Yang, the Olympic 1500-meter champion, wastes
over 90% of energy.)
6
In light of the intricate puzzle I describe above, its clear you cant think about
swimming speed in isolation. Rather you need to think about swimming in the
context of swim, bike and run. Start with thinking about the smartest choices
available during the race, then plan your training accordingly.
Smart Choices
Smart Choices in the Race
Begin with recognition that while you cant win a triathlon during the swim,
you can very easily lose it by chasing a faster swim. The smartest choice is to
swim at a comfortable, steady pace and avoid racing or chasing other
swimmers.
If youre new to swimming in open water (or in a crowd), we strongly suggest

you err on the side of caution. Position at the start, on the margins, where the
crowds are thinner. After the start, focus on establishing a calm focus and a
relaxed rhythm.
Even if you swim a little too easily, the potential cost to overall speed will be
negligible. Just as you have to work a lot harder to swim a little faster, going a
little easier will cost you very little speed. Andas many have discovered-- you
might well swim faster by stroking more effectively.
And--in the worst case scenario for swimming too easily--any time you may
lose (to those who are working too hard--likely a large number) youll regain
many times over by feeling fresh and strong on the ride and run.
7
Smart Choices in Training
Once you make up your mind to stay calm and relaxed during the swim leg of
your races, the rationale for merely working harder during training disappears.
The purpose of training is to develop capacities and imprint habits that
determine success in the race.
In place of working harder to take a few ticks off the pace clock, focus instead
on learning to swim the same speed . . . easier.
E.G. If you currently swim 2:00 per 100 meters at a 90% effort, learn to reduce
the effort it takes to 80%. Then 70%. When you do, a sub-2:00 pace will just
happen rather than requiring a grinding effort.
Make it your goal to be pulled to a faster time, rather than pushing to make it
happen.
In training for the bike and runwhere more miles and more effort are the
most dependable prescription for improvementyour focus will be precisely the
opposite of what you do in swimming: Train yourself to sustain stronger efforts
for longer.
The great benefit of training as we suggest here is that your swimming practice
will not only for improve your stroke efficiency. By focusing on easeand
avoiding wasteful exertion--your swim sessions will boost recovery allowing you
to perform better in demanding land workouts
The obvious question is how to increase efficiency so your current best times
feel far easierand faster times come effortlessly. A good source of insight is to
have a better understanding of what the worlds best swimmers do better than
everyone else. (Hint: Its not what we think.)
8
The Secrets of World Champions
Youve probably seen video or live coverage of Olympic or World Championship
finals. What you cant seeand seldom hear aboutare the elements that
result in a winning race or faster time. But, researchers for each of the top
national teams are capturing data in search of small edges.
Some studiesconducted outside of races--have catalogued the physiological

and hydrodynamic profiles of the best swimmers. Other studies have analyzed
patterns of how the best athletes pace their racesand the Stroke Length and
Stroke Rate choices that result in the most effective pacing.
Though this data provides priceless insights, its surprising how seldom its used
to guide training and racing decisions. Familiarity with it will enable you to
make much smarter choices. Here is the first and most important insight
yielded by this data.
The Shape of your Vessel matters more than the Size of your Engine.
[Vessel refers to your bodys drag profile. Engine refers to the aerobic and
muscular power you expend overcoming that drag. You improve your vessel
with skill training. You improve your engine with long, hard workouts. ]
The power of an athletes aerobic engine is expressed in measures like

VO2max (maximal oxygen uptake). In studies by Dr. Mike Joyner and his
colleagues, these measures have shown a high degree of correlation with
performance in land endurance activities like running, cycling and nordic skiing.
In contrast, researchers have never found a correlation between superior

aerobic power and faster swimming. The worlds top-ranked swimmer will often
9
rank lower in aerobic power than the 30th ranked swimmeror even a triathlete
who swims quite poorly!
Studies of stroking power diverge even more strikingly from actual swimming
performance. In fact, such studies have shown an inverse connection to
swimming speed.
In the best-known of these studies, in 1992, biomechanist Jane Cappaert

conducted stroking power tests on swimmers at the Barcelona Olympics. When
she analyzed her data after the Olympics, she was surprised to find that
finalists generated an average of 16 percent less stroking power than also-
rans.
So, how do the worlds best swimmers dominate while generating relatively
little aerobic and stroking power? There can be only one answer: They dont
need power to swim fast because they generate far less drag.
Your takeaway is that reducing drag is far more valuable than increasing fitness
or power to making gains in swim speed.
Take the Path of Least Resistance
Heres an aspect of swimming speed that few think about:
To move forward through water, you must exert muscular force greater than
the resistive force (drag) of the water.
To move forward faster, you must increase the gap between your muscles
propulsive force and the waters resistive force.
You can increase that gap in two ways--increase propulsive force and/or reduce
drag, but . . .
10
Increasing propulsive force costs energy.
Decreasing drag saves energy.
Since oxygen and energy are exceedingly precious resources, the most
beneficial thing a swimmer can do is reduce drag. Heres another reason to
focus on drag reduction.
A Little More Speed equals a Lot More Drag.
Earlier I noted in passing that drag increases exponentially with speed. What
does this mean in concrete terms? Lets say your best time for 1500 meters is
30 minutes.
To finish in 29 minutes, you will need to overcome 10% more dragand

increase oxygen consumption by 20% or more.
To finish in 28 minutes, youll need to overcome 44% more drag and

consume over 40% more oxygen.
Its obvious the cost of even these modest increases in speed is far higher than
youd ever want to incur during a triathlon. But thats only if you attempt to do
that simply by working harder. But even modest reductions in drag and effort
will also pay rapidly increasing dividends as you go faster and change becomes
exponential.
With so much evidence that less drag, rather than more effort, is the key to
faster swimming times, youre probably curious to learn how to do that. Heres
a brief primer. There are two ways to reduce drag:
Passive Streamline Focus on making your vessel sleeker. Try the

following:
11
1. Release your heads weight (i.e. dont hold it up or look forward) and align it
with your spine.
2. Calm and narrow your kick so legs draft behind upper torso.
3. Rethink Freestyle: Old school freestyle is based on the idea that Upper Body
Pulls and Lower Body Kicks. New wave freestyle is based on the concept of
Streamline Right Side, then Streamline Left Side.
Active Streamline Reduce waves and turbulence while stroking. Try the
following:
1. Swim Taller. Use your arms primarily to lengthen your bodyline and give
relatively little focus to pushing back. A longer bodyline reduces drag.
2. Focus on piercing (not overpowering) the water. In each stroke, think of your
extending arm as being like the tip of a spear, and the rest of your body as the
shaft.
3. Minimize noise, bubbles, splashespecially when trying to go faster. All are

evidence of your energy being diverted into something other than locomotion.
12
How Efficient Are You?
If you believe that swimming more efficiently will improve your triathlon, here
are two basic ways to gauge your efficiency. One is subjective and sensory (this
is important because it will be your only guide in the race.) The second is
objective and numerichow far you travel on a stroke.
Measure by Feel
Swimming in the pool, with no artificial aids (buoy, fins, neoprene), can you
complete the distance of your next race feeling:
1. Good balance (nearly weightless) and with a light, compact, non-taxing kick.
2. With strokes feel complete and controlledthe swimming equivalent of an

easy spin on your bike.
3. Breathing comfortably the way you feel during conversational pace

running.
If not, then your swim practice should focus solely on acquiring the skills that
enable you to swim that way. Avoid all of the following, as these will only make
your struggling skills more permanent and impede your ability to imprint the
ease thats critical in triathlon swimming.
Sets that focus only on time or distance.
Pulling with buoy and/or paddles. Kicking with boards and/or fins.
Sets that reference terms like Anaerobic Threshold or Energy Zones . . .
Anything that makes your stroke feel ragged--or requires you to swim harder
than youd like to in the race itself.
13
Measure by Stroke Count
The charts below illustrates what we call the Green Zone of stroke count. They
represent a height-indexed range of stroke counts at which you are most likely
to be imprinting efficient stroke habits. These counts are derived from data on
the stroke efficiency of elite freestylers, and modified to give average
swimmers a realistic-but-challenging efficiency target.
Elite freestylers travel 60 percent to 70 percent of their height or wingspan on

each stroke. [Sun Yang averaged 73%--taking 27 strokes per 50 meters at a
rate of 66 strokes per minute--when he broke the world record for 1500
meters. All of his rivals had less efficient strokes and were forced to stroke at
higher rates, taking 75 or more strokes per minute, in a futile effort to match
his pace.]
When you keep your stroke count in the Green Zone range of SPL (Strokes Per
Length), you make every stroke count. I.E. Your body travels forward a good
distance on each strokewith your hand exiting the water very close to where
you put it in. When your count is higher, youre moving the water around--
creating relatively little propulsion.
14
15
How to use the chart
Step 1: Test Your Efficiency
Swim [4 x 25 + 3 x 50 + 2 x 75 + 1 x 100]. Count strokes on each length. Rest

between repeats to avoid fatigue. Assess as follows:
1. Did you stay within your Green Zone throughout the set? Were you able to
do so without strain?
2. How much did SPL increase between 25s and the 100? A difference of 3
strokes or less (I.E. 17 SPL on 25s and no length higher than 20) shows Stroke
Length Consistencya key attribute of steady pacing.
What if my SPL is higher than Green Zone?
Youre diverting energy into moving the water, instead of propelling you
forward. Your highest prioritymore important than any other training goal
should be to gradually reduce SPL. Try the following:
1. Review the section on Passive and Active Streamline. Align head with spine
and get your legs to draft behind your torso. Eliminate bubbles, noise, and
splash from your stroke. Redo the test set and see how the changes affect your
count.
2.Slow Tempo. Using a Tempo Trainer, push the right button, slowing tempo by
.05 sec/stroke at a time until you can swim 25m repeats taking no more than
the highest count in your range. (Synchronize beeps to hand entries.) Slow
Tempo by another .05 and try 50m repeats. Repeat test set at this tempo and
see how this affects results.
16
3. Reduce repeat distance. Find the combinations of Tempo and Distance
(longer repeats, slower tempo) where you easily and consistently stay within
your range. Always emphasize ease. Never strain to reach a lower count.
What if my SPL is in or below Green Zone?
If your stroke count never goes above the top count in your Green Zone (and
highest count in the set is within 2-3 strokes of lowest) you have an Efficiency
Foundation solid enough to support Easy Speed. Patiently and systematically
expand the combinations of Tempo and Distance (make small changes in one or
the other) at which you can swim within Green Zone.
When you find a combination that you can just maintain with keen focus, but
no physical strain (slower tempo for longer distances, brisker tempo for
shorter) stay there for a while until it feels easier and more natural to swim
that way. Thats a signal its time to increase one metric (not both) by a little
bit again.
What if its difficult or impossible to bring SPL into Green Zone?
Youre creating so much drag that swimming even short distances at your
current pace requires unsustainable amounts of effort/energy/oxygen. Training
will not help. Your best course will be to learn the Core Four Skills of effortless
endurance. These are Balance, Core Stability, Streamlining and Efficient
Propulsion.
Teach yourself TI Perpetual Motion Freestyle in 10 Lessons DVD.
Learn them in a TI Workshop.
Learn them from a TI Coach.
17
For more information regarding TI training opportunities
please visit:
Total Immersion worldwide website

www.totalimmersion.net
Total Immersion UK website

www.totalimmersion.co.uk
18

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TI Swim Mastery Series

By Best-Selling Author and Swim Coach

Total Immersion, Inc.

New Paltz, New York, U.S.A.

This complimentary ebook is an expanded version of a talk given by TI Founder

2 - Efficiency Trumps Effort

9 - The Secrets of World Champions

13 - How Efficient Are You?

15 - Height-SPL Index Charts

And triathletesmost of them new to swimming--are constantly confronted by

In fact, what youre experiencing is perfectly normalpractically universal in

Energy is your most precious commodity in triathlon. As youll see, saving

Efficiency Trumps Effort

In the Womens Olympic Triathlon, the medalists swam 20:04, which is 30

What the Olympic coaches realized is thatbecause running performance is

In contrast, swim performance is determined 70% to 80% by skill and

The Oxygen Conversion Conundrum

The Cost of Speed

For athletes of similar ability, swimming at a pace of 2 mph; running at 8

o Swimming + 60% to 80%

o Swimming +200% to 300%

1. Because oxygen is a scarce and costly resource during an endurance event--

In using the phrase energy-wasting machine I was referring to a study, which

If youre new to swimming in open water (or in a crowd), we strongly suggest

Some studiesconducted outside of races--have catalogued the physiological

The power of an athletes aerobic engine is expressed in measures like

In contrast, researchers have never found a correlation between superior

In the best-known of these studies, in 1992, biomechanist Jane Cappaert

Take the Path of Least Resistance

Heres an aspect of swimming speed that few think about:

Decreasing drag saves energy.

A Little More Speed equals a Lot More Drag.

To finish in 29 minutes, you will need to overcome 10% more dragand

To finish in 28 minutes, youll need to overcome 44% more drag and

Passive Streamline Focus on making your vessel sleeker. Try the

3. Minimize noise, bubbles, splashespecially when trying to go faster. All are

2. With strokes feel complete and controlledthe swimming equivalent of an

3. Breathing comfortably the way you feel during conversational pace

Sets that focus only on time or distance.

Sets that reference terms like Anaerobic Threshold or Energy Zones . . .

Elite freestylers travel 60 percent to 70 percent of their height or wingspan on

Step 1: Test Your Efficiency

Swim [4 x 25 + 3 x 50 + 2 x 75 + 1 x 100]. Count strokes on each length. Rest

What if my SPL is higher than Green Zone?

What if my SPL is in or below Green Zone?

What if its difficult or impossible to bring SPL into Green Zone?

Teach yourself TI Perpetual Motion Freestyle in 10 Lessons DVD.

Learn them in a TI Workshop.

Learn them from a TI Coach.

Total Immersion worldwide website

Total Immersion UK website

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