Swimming

Master the Art of Swimming

Swimming improves your flexibility, tones your body and can help to boost your self-esteem and produce a sense of well being. It is the nation's most popular sporting activity with 11.9 million people swimming regularly. However, most people don't know how to swim properly. This book is based on a 35-year voyage of discovery into the art of swimming. Steven Shaw's method takes the Alexander Technique into the swimming pool – focusing on releasing tension from the head, neck and back. Steven has evolved a unique way of breaking down strokes into a series of therapeutic movements, which can be practised individually or with a partner, in a pool or on dry land. These provide the building blocks, which combine to make it possible for anyone to recraft their own strokes in a way that promote good body use and avoid injuries. Instead of performing physical actions in an automatic way, you begin to learn body awareness. This way of swimming not only feels freer and more open, it is graceful and has a sense of flow, often absent from the way many people swim. Shaw looks at the most popular strokes – front crawl, back stroke, breast stroke and butterfly – focusing on maximum efficiency and minimum strain.

Animal Locomotion, Or, Walking, Swimming, and Flying

Open Water Swimming

Open Water Swimming: A Complete Guide for Swimmers and Triathletes is aimed at all levels of open water swimmer, from beginners right through to competing professionals. It covers all aspects of the sport: its history and health benefits; a thorough introduction to getting started; a full discussion on training equipment and how it should be used; the safety and legal aspects of choosing a suitable location for swimming; acclimatization for both the beginner and the experienced swimmer. The author then goes on to explain in detail all technical aspects of open water swimming; sighting; drafting; turning around buoys; entraces, exits and transitions. Topics covered include: the importance of nutrition - for training, competition and improving recovery - and injury prevention and rehab, including a programme for core stability and stretching. The only open water swimming guide to be written by a professional athlete and Olympian. Basic training programmes for Triathlon 750m and 1500m distances, Ironman events and 10km and channel swimming. Superbly illustrated with 75 colour photographs.