Terry Laughlin (1951–2017)

I'm not really sure how to rate this book yet. I haven't really been swimming long enough to truly appreciate a good stroke yet (well, I do in theory, but not in my own practice), although things the author mentioned (particularly rolling at the hips) make lots of sense. For me if I just did his drills, though, I'd spend 10 minutes at the pool and be done, and that's not OK with me. I also could benefit from more visuals, and seeing as the author has passed away, and this book was published show more way before YouTube, there is nothing visual (other than, apparently, a DVD that nobody can watch anymore without DVD players) to supplement this book.

Also, speaking of this book being kinda old, it was kinda funny reading a book talking about the best swimmer ever that was published pre-Michael Phelps. 😂 Like, who is this Popov guy? Who cares!

I know the author is really against learning bad form and then trying to fix it, but honestly, I think that's where I'm at. I'm going to do my best to learn from the technique in this book, but at the end of the day, my goal is to do triathlons, and I'd like to do them freestyle and not backstroke, so whatever gets me to my goal is going to be what I need to focus on for now. show less

This book is an ample description of the front crawl stroke (could be a bit longer) together with plea for a greater focus on technique and a lesser focus on endurance training in swimming (could be shorter). The book is written in an informal style.

In the technical part, the focus is on a few key aspects that the author considers essential for a good front crawl stroke. It is well explained why these key aspects are considered important. A set of progressive drills is recommended to show more implement these key aspects. The description of the drills is sometimes a bit unclear, especially since pictures are scarce (you shall buy the associated DVD). Also, the transition from the drills to the complete stroke is quite vague; in particular the book does not contain a detailed description of a complete stroke cycle.

The "plea-for-less-exhaustive-training" part contains a few interesting observations, e.g., a comparison of swimming and tennis training.

While I like the recommended drills and the unconventional/fresh approach of the author, I also think the book is at times presumptuous since it overstates the value of the drills. show less

Download and watch the video! It's probably more effective than the book. That said, he really breaks every aspect of the stroke down and makes swimming efficiently a lot easier. I went from a sloppy 1:45 swimmer to 1:35, being able to maintain a clean stroke for much longer. Also, I've taken about a year off swimming, and whenever I return to the pool, I am able to get back to that effortless form a lot easier than before.

This book teaches front crawl, using a new, highly structured and technical method, which is easy to learn, fun and highly effective. The book is basically divided into three sections: the first 7 short chapters provide the background and theory to the approach; then chapter 8 gives you 6 lessons and multiple drills to move from very simple exercises to a full front crawl. The remaining short chapters gives general advice on fitness, strength and competitive swimming. Having gone through all show more six lessons now, I do feel far more confident in the water now, and my previously appalling front crawl technique is rapidly turning into something that feels sleek, efficient and fast. The book itself does a reasonable job of teaching you this, albeit with everything outside of chapter 8 somewhat repetitive, only cursory or just unnecessary ballast. I could have done with quite a few more diagrams to help me (the DVD is almost essential in addition to the book, I suggest - or at least check out some total immersion videos on youtube), and actually the drills could occasionally have been explained in more detail. But on the whole I found the book a useful, enjoyable channel to swimming far better. show less