Ok, i’ve watched the video and read the book, and all TI ever did for me was keep me slow, but now, right here 10 minutes from home in NW AR, they’re having a clinic, so no travel expense JUST the $495 !!
Anybody think they got their money’s worth from one of their clinics ?
My thought is, if i was gonna spent that much, wouldn’t i get more from one-on-one lessons than a single 2 day clinic ?
Lets see…I pay $35 per month for my master’s swim group at the local YMCA, so $495 pays for 14 months or 42 one-hour sessions. The $495 for the TI class is going to pay for eight hours of lecture and 8 hours of water time (4 and 4 each on two weekend days). But if you’re a very inexperienced swimmer or afraid of the water, TI will jump-start you down the path towards fishness, and some people find that format very useful, especially those who are intimidated by the thought of joining a master’s team. Keep in mind that TI will give you the basics, but getting faster will mean eventually moving past TI (but don’t sweat that yet - get the basics down first).
one weekend swim clinic dont have very high return for your money… you will get a lot more from joining a team and using that money over a few months…
swimming improvement dont happen in a few days, there is no knowledge that you can learn in a few days… it s a LONG and HARD and TIME process…
find a good group that is fun to join with a good coach and go learn there… the best option is kids swim program and club…even for a adult…that is where real swimming can be learn…
If you are already a mediocre swimmer who has had limited formal instructor or instruction a while back then the clinic is ideal for you. If you are a total newbie to swimming (I don’t mean that you can’t swim but that you are new to real technique) then the clinic is good but in my opinion as someone who has actually done it is a bit overwhelming. Too much info to digest in 2 days. I did a one on one clinic as a total newbie that was great at exposing me to the concepts but I’m not sure how much I retained. Then I have a group class with the same TI instructor with 3 other swimmers who had more swimming experience than I had. They picked up the concepts really fast but I think we are all progressing pretty quickly. If you have the money to spend do the clinic and then get some one on one instruction (6 weeks of this approach will have you shaving off A LOT of time if you were an inefficient swimmer. THEN join a masters swim program. Now if you are already a good swimmer just looking to fix some technique issues that a Masters program might not address you will get a ton out of the clinic especially if you have the book, video and a willingness to do the drills. I don’t think that the book and video alone will help much since you need someone watching you to point out the flaws in your stroke.
Total slowmersion…don’t waste your money. Join a masters team and work your butt off.
I went to a TI weekend workshop. Decidedly not worth it. I got slower!
I joined a masters class this year. Worth every penny. I went from a 1:55/100 to 1:40/100 – pathetic to mediocre, I know, but still a major improvement.
You say you read the book and watched the video but don’t say that you performed the drill progressions.
A. Let’s assume it would work for you, take that as a given; then the problem was that you didn’t actually perform the progressions in swim workouts. If that was the problem, then is a two day class going to make you go to the pool and move through the progressions? Will those two days make you do the work necessary to put the skills into your swimming. I’d offer that if you are honest with yourself, probably not.
B. Or let’s assume you read it and watched it but didn’t understand it. Then can a two day clinic help you make sense of it and then incorporate it into your daily routine. I’ll submit that it might help you make sense of it or it might not. Any type of learning progression like this is a gradual kind of thing. You do the first two exercises in the water, get better at them and then hopefully at some point understand how they relate to freestyle swimming. But then you need to go back and reread the book chapter and rewatch the video to see how to progress next. In the clinic setting you will review three or four parts of the progression then go work on them in the pool, can you make sense of that many drills at once, will you get enough one on one feedback to make it worthwhile? A typical class when i see them is 10 - 18 students, a head instructor and assistant, and a third person who works with those folks who show up and can’t swim a lick.
C. Maybe you read it watched it practiced it understood it, but the skills they are teaching are not the skills you need to improve. Then in this case it is obviously not worth your time.
So of the three, only condition B is the possibility that needs to be looked at further. Try to figure out why it didn’t work for you the first go round.
i truly appreciate the time and thoughts of your response; i would say “C” is probably where i was / am. I understood and did the drills till i became kinda a joke at my pool…none of that seemed to convert to actually propelling me thru the water faster, so i think you’re right, more of the same probably doesn’t make sense, for me anyway…
I’m primarily a runner and I’m only in my second season as a triathlete.The sum total of my prior swim experience was playing sharks & minnows at the city pool. I found a tri coach at my favorite running store. I took 3 private lessons (over the course of the year). He did an underwater dvd of each swim session and gave me a series of drills to fix each newbie error (over rotation, low elbow etc) and taught me bilateral breathing. I think I paid about $60 per session. Much better use of the funds. I still do best when I’m on land - but I can hold my own in the water now. And really, the guy didn’t have much to work with when I started…
Like many have already said, take a fraction of that $500 and join a good Masters program. If you like you can supplement that with some one-on-one coaching as well. I’ve taken a few coaching sessions in the past and they’ve had a huge impact on my understanding of swimming as well as my ability to swim faster. Most coaches don’t charge all that much and you’ll get a lot more value out of three or five 1hr sessions spread out over several months than you would out of a weekend workshop.
I run a one-day swim and triathlon clinic every three months around the Southeast. Price is $95 and the info is here for the next one on October 18. Here are a couple reviews from the last one.
“Your clinic was just what I needed. I felt myself swimming better in just the short time we spent in the pool on Saturday. Thanks for all the great insight…” - DM.
“You did a GREAT job with the clinic! I’m looking forward to taking the feedback you gave me with my stroke to improve my swimming. I also liked the group setting as many people asked questions that it was quite helpful to hear the answers as they are questions that I have had, but didn’t think to ask…The other nice part is all of the information you’ve given us on a CD. It’s nice to be able to refer back and review.” - CV
Just want to make te observation that none of the people telling you that TI is not worth it have said that they took the course. People around here tend to dismiss things they haven’t tried pretty quickly. I took the clinic AND private lessons from a TI instructor. Refer to my prior post and figure out if a TI clinic is for you and ignore the people who are giving you uninformed advice (no offense guys).
Regarding “getting faster” that isn’t always the best goal. TI’s philosophy is that you get balanced and sreamlined first. That makes you more efficient so you aren’t blowing up your entire race on the first leg. Most of the drills focus on this. Once you have a good stroke THEN you add the speed. Some people will progress more quickly than others to the add speed phase. You can “graduate” if you will from TI to a Masters swim and get the best of both worlds. IF you have a TI instructor in your area then see about getting private lessons from him/her. Get balanced and streamlined in the water with a good stroke and you’ll be further along when you do join a masters program.
im with fatbastardtris on this. i took a few lessons a couple of years ago with a coach to get the basics, then tried to grind it out in the pool 5x a week. I did get better, but was never really comfortable, as was shown in my first race (clutching a canoe within 50 yards, i did finish).
Anyway, i have been taking weekly lessons with a TI coach now for a couple of months and the progress has been incredible.
Yeah its money, but its an investment, and it is a skill once you have you can have for life. People here have no trouble dropping 3 grand on a decent bike, i don’t see this as being any different.
When I decided started swimming seriously and decided to race I knew that I needed an instructor. I heard about TI and thought that this was an interesting concept.
I was not worried about speed, but wanted to learn form and efficiency. I signed up for a 5 lesson package. After 5 lessons over 8 weeks I signed up for another 5 lessons.
I learned balance, breathing, streamlined efficiency and how to swim long distances with enormous energy conservation. As time went on, I would swim 1500+ yards 3-4 times a week. Soon my stroke count began to go down and my speed began to increase. After 6 months I was beating friends who had been swimming for years.
I highly recommend Total Immersion. I can personally attest that it works to develop an efficient, streamlined, technique. Like anything else, you will get out what you put in. I do however think that a weekend workshop may not be the best way to go.
Adam Z.
another option. find a poor hungry college swimmer.
offer to trade them a meal for each hour of instruction.
better yet, buy them beer…college swimmers will do almost anything for beer.
that’s a lot of my point; how much was your 5 lesson package ? and i bet you got more actual instruction, too…
that’s a lot of my point; how much was your 5 lesson package ? and i bet you got more actual instruction, too…
$390 for 5 hours. The best $390, and very worthwhile.
NO.I took their one week course.Total emphasis on glide…Not a word about the catch and propulsion.It took me 3 years (and Doug Sterns who so unfortunately is gone) to eliminate almost all total immersion to go from back of the pack to top third.I do not recommend only a Master’s club to learn…The instruction will be random. Get a good coach who will look at YOUR stroke and work with it. The longer you have been swimming the harder it is to change,.Emphasize great position and a great catch with optimal rotation…Avoid rigid coaches.After you get your swim ,concentrate on bike and run since there is way more to be gained there.
This.
I went unable to swim 100m straight. Looked like the ‘bad’ swimmer in their DVDs. LEft able to swim in balance for quiet a while.
Lot of work has to go in after that, though.
There’s a non-swimmer in my home town who went to a TI clinic. He’s still a non-swimmer.