Fast swimming secrets for swimmers and triathletes. How to swim faster in competition

Greg Phill, my swim coach. You removed the stone block from my shoulders in front of qualifying championship to the Olympic Games, when the English scientist John Lubbock was quoted:

When we have done everything we could, we need to calm down and expect results.

Thanks also for the reminder that at least two billion people don't even know I'm going to compete and will never know whether I swam well or poorly.

From the author

After the first edition of this book was published in 2010, teams of swimmers and triathletes from all over the world began to come to me, and I taught them the most important elements of the stroke. The delight of the people I met confirmed: for the sake of achieving best results athletes are willing to work hard. Feedback from those who have read my book or attended workshops has helped me understand how to better explain the concepts behind this book. The second edition of the book aimed to supplement the original text and refine the descriptions techniques, and where one can go too far in embodying the author’s ideas, warn the reader about this.

Like the first edition, this book is concise in order to concentrate all attention on those elements of the stroke that dramatically affect speed. The changes and additions made are minor in scope, but nonetheless very important, so read the book carefully.

Thanks for your enthusiasm. The example of each of you gives me inspiration.

Sheila Taormina

Introduction

How did it happen that Olympic Games 2008 in Beijing and at the World Championships aquatic species Sports 2009 in Rome best athletes they were breaking all the records so actively that it was breathtaking, and at the same time, many triathletes, masters swimmers and amateurs are asking the question: why do their personal results, if they improve, then only slightly, and more often do not grow at all?

Elite athletes achieve almost unreal times over distances. The current women's world records match the men's world records from the early 1970s. This means that the time Mark Spitz achieved at the 1972 Olympics is now being achieved by top female swimmers. The 200m freestyle is a great example of this. The women's world record is currently 1:52.98, and olympic gold Spitz achieved a result of 1:52.78 in Munich.

It doesn't matter what style or distance we're talking about. In 1976, Jonty Skinner from South Africa set a world record with a time of 23.86 in the 50m freestyle. On August 2, 2009, German Britta Steffen swam it in 23.73. The women's 1500m freestyle world record is 15:42.54 - 10 seconds faster than the men's world record set by the 1972 Olympic gold medalist.

The best male swimmers, like women, are blowing away previous record marks at such a rate that most are left scratching their heads. All this gives the statement, once made by the famous Johnny Weissmuller, an almost comical character. Weissmuller, who won five gold medals Olympic medals in swimming at the 1924 and 1928 Games, wrote in his book Swimming the American Crawl (Putnam, 1930) in the chapter “Can the crawl be improved?”:

My technique is called “crawl brought to perfection” because it allows you to reduce water resistance to a minimum, bringing breathing to the most natural, involuntary, intended by nature itself. My technique gives the body a position in which it becomes possible to use all its strength and energy as freely as possible and without any restrictions, to create the necessary emphasis and at the same time receive maximum traction per unit of applied effort. Some say this style can still be improved. I don’t see how such an improvement can occur.

Let's be lenient with Weissmuller for thinking that no one could ever improve on the time he showed in the turbulent 1920s. If only because during his swimming career he set 67 world records. Johnny didn't actually lose a single one official competition. Just think – I’ve never lost! If I were him, I would probably also decide that I had brought my crawl to perfection. Besides, Johnny didn't just dive and swim as he pleased. In his book, he describes in great detail the reasons why he used his technique. Everything is carefully thought out.

What kind of technology is this? You may know it as the “Tarzan technique,” a technique you practice in training while keeping your head above water. If your coach likes to have fun, he will probably insist that you also whoop like Tarzan during the swim (mine, for example, insisted).

This is Weissmuller's style, where the chest and shoulders are kept high in the water. And the exercise itself is called “Tarzan”, because Weissmuller, having finished professional career swimmer, played Tarzan in several films. Here is another excerpt from the same book:

I swim keeping my chest and shoulders high in the water. This allows me to glide across the surface of the water like a speedboat, reducing drag to a minimum. I hold my body closer to the surface than anyone before me, higher than anyone to this day... High position chest allows me to avoid the strain that comes from the forward bend that many swimmers perform when turning their head to inhale. By keeping my chest and shoulders high and my back arched back, my feet are low in the water and maintain traction.

Continuing, Weissmuller writes that the hips should not swing in the water, otherwise the corresponding arm and shoulder will go deeper under the water and because of this additional resistance will arise.

Johnny Weissmuller (Tarzan) swims in a style that has won him five Olympic gold medals and 67 world records

Modern freestyle as we know it is the exact opposite of what was described above. The only people who don't put their heads in the water are people who don't want to get their hair wet (my mom, for example). And now everyone, without exception, is vigilantly watching to ensure that the hips participate in the movement process.

What am I getting at?

No, I'm not talking about reducing resistance. In fact, I'm going to use the names of Johnny Weissmuller and other "kings of the pool" of the last fifty years as examples to paint a picture of swimming history that has been missing for a long time - a picture that will help answer so many questions.

I'll start with some shocking information: although Weissmuller's records have long been broken (his record time in the 100m freestyle was improved already in 1934), they still remain unattainable for 95% of triathletes (even professionals) top class), masters swimmers and amateur swimmers. It’s even strange to write about this, but Weissmuller would still win over almost every reader of this book today.

Let's look back to Weissmuller's era: In February 1924, he clocked 57.4 in the 100m long course freestyle. Of course, the world records of the Brazilian Cesar Ciel and the German Britta Steffen are higher - 46.91 and 52.07 (set at the 2009 World Championships). But how many readers of this book have the audacity to think that they can show Weissmuller's time?

But Weissmuller set world records not only in swimming short distances. He held records for 400 and 800 m: 4:57.0 – for 400 m (1923), 10:22.2 – for 800 m (1927). While these times weren't nearly as impressive as his time in the 100m freestyle, they would still place Johnny at (or very close to) the top swim laps in triathlons today.

I understand that Weissmuller's achievements may not impress anyone in the modern swimming world, especially his results in the 400 and 800 m distances (Weissmuller was definitely more of a sprinter than a stayer). And it may seem that I was counting on an audience that still stretches and stretches to the records set almost a hundred years ago. But don't close the book so quickly: it is sure to be useful both for swimmers at the national level and for the coaches of those swimmers, because it talks as much about thought processes as it does about the actual technique of swimming. Perhaps you're already on the verge of breaking into the upper echelons of swimming's elite, but you just don't know how to take it to the next step. The ideas outlined here will help you take the right step.

The reason why many cannot find the answer to the question of how to improve their time or how to move to the next level is not a lack of information in general, but rather a lack of systematic information. Some swimmers try to practice everything at once and end up not practicing anything. Others practice skills that have minimal or no impact on their time. And all because no one explained to them what is most important and what should be developed first. This book aims to change this state of affairs.

Every second you are practicing a technique or leading a workout, you should know what you are doing and why. It's definitely doable. And this is the only thing that modern sources lack. Many textbooks contain a huge amount of information, describing stroke technique down to the smallest detail, but in almost none of them the information is organized in such a way as to direct attention to the most important important elements, and therefore to develop effective plan actions.

I have my own mantra both in sports and in life. It concerns responsibility for decisions made and sounds in the following way: “Assign a trump card!” In euchre, my favorite card game, each player is given the opportunity to designate a trump (strongest) suit during the course of the game. Players must look at the cards they were dealt in the next deal and, when it is their turn, decide whether they are taking the lead in the game or giving it to the opposing player. I always welcome it when players assign a suit. Be bolder! Decide on the cards in your hand and then make an informed decision about how to play the game.

We are rarely taught how to do this in life. My goal is to show what the mindset needs to be so that you can develop this quality in swimming, and in fact become a launching pad for applying the same approach in all other areas of life.

In the book, I limited myself to describing only one style of swimming - freestyle - for two reasons. First, I wanted to write a book primarily for triathletes. It seems to me that they were the ones who stuck to only one swimming technique for too long. All the time they were given only a small fraction of the necessary information. Moreover, with assurances that this is exactly what the “swimmers” do. I want to show triathletes a real picture of what real swimmers do.

The second reason why I concentrated exclusively on freestyle is that I myself know this style, as they say, inside and out. I swam this style at four Olympic Games, spent endless hours in the pool, thinking only about it. And I studied it. My height is only 157 cm, so Olympic team I found myself not because of my reach, but because of my understanding of how to obtain the necessary information and effectively apply it in practice.

If you are new to swimming, don't be intimidated by what this book says. The principle is simple: you will definitely understand everything, and this will help you see the path that leads to achieving your goals.

Last and perhaps most important: let's not overestimate the significance of what is said in this book - after all, we are not solving a world problem. Everything should be a joy. I'm almost sure that if I had to make a choice between coffee and sports at one time, I would probably give up sports. (I'm kidding, I guess...) Let's move on and look for the answer to the question I asked at the very beginning of the Introduction.

I wish you a pleasant journey on your journey to understanding the wonderful sport of swimming!

Team USA swimmers Allison Schmitt and Sheila Taormina show that swimming speed comes from more than just your arm swing!

Greg Phill, my swim coach. You took a stone off my shoulders before the Olympic qualifying championship when you quoted English scientist John Lubbock:

When we have done everything we could, we need to calm down and expect results.

Thanks also for the reminder that at least two billion people don't even know I'm going to compete and will never know whether I swam well or poorly.

After the first edition of this book was published in 2010, teams of swimmers and triathletes from all over the world began to come to me, and I taught them the most important elements of the stroke. The delight of the people I met confirmed that athletes are ready to work hard to achieve better results. Feedback from those who have read my book or attended workshops has helped me understand how to better explain the concepts behind this book. The second edition of the book aimed to supplement the original text, refine the descriptions of technical techniques, and where one could go too far in implementing the author’s ideas, to warn the reader about this.

Thanks for your enthusiasm. The example of each of you gives me inspiration.

Sheila Taormina

Introduction

How did it happen that at the 2008 Olympic Games in Beijing and at the 2009 World Aquatics Championships in Rome, the best athletes broke all records so actively that it was breathtaking, and at the same time many triathletes and masters swimmers and amateurs ask themselves: why do their personal results, if they improve, do so only slightly, and more often than not, do not increase at all?

The best male swimmers, like women, are blowing away previous record marks at such a rate that most are left scratching their heads. All this gives the statement, once made by the famous Johnny Weissmuller, an almost comical character. Weissmuller, who won five Olympic gold medals in swimming at the 1924 and 1928 Games, wrote in his book Swimming the American Crawl (Putnam, 1930) in the chapter “Can the crawl be improved?”:

My technique is called “crawl brought to perfection” because it allows you to reduce water resistance to a minimum, bringing breathing to the most natural, involuntary, intended by nature itself. My technique gives the body a position in which it becomes possible to use all its strength and energy as freely as possible and without any restrictions, to create the necessary emphasis and at the same time receive maximum traction per unit of applied effort. Some say this style can still be improved. I don’t see how such an improvement can occur.

Let's be lenient with Weissmuller for thinking that no one could ever improve on the time he showed in the turbulent 1920s. If only because during his swimming career he set 67 world records. Johnny has actually never lost a single official competition. Just think – I’ve never lost! If I were him, I would probably also decide that I had brought my crawl to perfection. Besides, Johnny didn't just dive and swim as he pleased. In his book, he describes in great detail the reasons why he used his technique. Everything is carefully thought out.

This is Weissmuller's style, where the chest and shoulders are kept high in the water. And the exercise itself is called “Tarzan”, because Weissmuller, having finished his professional career as a swimmer, played Tarzan in several films. Here is another excerpt from the same book:

I swim keeping my chest and shoulders high in the water. This allows me to glide across the surface of the water like a speedboat, reducing drag to a minimum. I hold my body closer to the surface than anyone before me, higher than anyone to this day... The high chest position allows me to avoid the strain that comes from the forward bend that many swimmers perform when turning their head to inhale. By keeping my chest and shoulders high and my back arched back, my feet are low in the water and maintain traction.

Johnny Weissmuller (Tarzan) swims in a style that has won him five Olympic gold medals and 67 world records

What am I getting at?

I'll start with shocking information: although Weissmuller's records have long been broken (his record time in the 100 m freestyle was improved already in 1934), they still remain unattainable for 95% of triathletes (even the highest class professionals), masters swimmers "and amateur swimmers. It’s even strange to write about this, but Weissmuller would still win over almost every reader of this book today.

Fast swimming secrets for swimmers and triathletes Taormina Sheila

Technique is 80% of success in swimming

When you're swimming up and down the pool lane, you're usually left alone with your thoughts, right? I hope that at this time you are practicing your swimming technique and not having your head in the clouds. Sometimes there will be a coach standing next to your lane, but for the most part, it's up to you to decide whether to focus your attention on technique or decide what's for dinner that night. I need to instill in your mind the idea that in swimming the importance of technique far exceeds the importance of all other aspects of it. There's no reason why we couldn't apply the 80/20 rule here, and I'm making a bold statement: technique is 80% of successful swimming when considered alongside physical strength, endurance, height and weight of the swimmer. Endurance and strength are very important in swimming, but without good technique they are worth little. Invite the strongest football player you know to swim at least one lane. If he is not trained correct technique, he will look like a drowning rat in the water, and not at all because powerful muscles will pull him to the bottom. It's the same with endurance. You can ask a 2:40 marathon athlete to swim some distance, but if he doesn't have proper swimming technique, he won't have all the endurance in the world. This is one of those scenarios where key elements play an important role. Because they act as the foundation on which all other elements are superimposed. Yes, 80% of success in competitions is achieved through technique; without it, strength and endurance are nothing. However, when we achieve decent technology, the ratio will change and physical training will begin to play a much more important role. I see countless athletes whose strokes literally fall apart when they get tired during training. Or, even worse, I see people completely forget about technology and mindlessly flail their arms and legs through the water just to keep up with their neighbors on the path. The only way to benefit from reading this book is to make a commitment to yourself to continue to focus on the key elements of swimming technique. In fact, my goal is to infect you with the idea of understanding swimming technique so that you are literally drawn into the idea of the need to concentrate on it. Then, when the technique is already established, you will be captivated (since it will make much more sense) by training endurance and strength. You're probably already fidgeting, eager to find out what these key pieces of technology are, and want to skip ahead and read about them quickly. Do not hurry. First, it is necessary to develop a general understanding of swimming as a process, and after that we will begin to consistently consider the effective minimum of elements and explain how to work on them. And keep the 80/20 rule in mind, because I will continue to refer to it further. So, in honor of Vilfredo Pareto, make yourself a nice cup of Italian-roasted espresso, sit back, and enjoy the following chapters.

From the book The Craft of the Novel author Wilson Colin Henry

CHAPTER 5. Formula for Success I will keep this chapter short. My sole purpose here is to save all aspiring novelists from the misconception that writing an artistically successful novel is an almost impossible task. On the contrary, make it very

From the book Stervology. Technologies for happiness and success in career and love author Shatskaya Evgeniya

From the book The Big Book of Bitches. A complete guide to stervology author Shatskaya Evgeniya

Technologies of success There are two reasons for my success, and I stand on both. Betty Grable We often criticize companies that engage in network marketing and “fool” honest people by approaching us through relatives, colleagues and acquaintances. But inside each of us sits the same “agent”

From the book A Real Lady. Rules of good manners and style author Vos Elena

From the book Exercises to enlarge the penis by Kemmer Aaron

From the book How to Travel Around the World. Tips and instructions for making your dreams come true author Jordeg Elisabetta

10. Dangers in sailing The idea that the outside world, distant countries, unfamiliar places and other peoples are more dangerous than the city in which we live or the village in which we were born is an innate, instinctive feeling. We all experience it, but that doesn't mean it's true.

From the book How to make your own website and make money on it. A practical guide for beginners on making money online author Mukhutdinov Evgeniy

1.4. Real stories success We tried to avoid topics related to making money on the Internet, which involve sky-high incomes. First of all, we are talking about playing on the above-mentioned Forex currency exchange. The fact is that for the vast majority of gambling enthusiasts

From the book Be an Amazon - ride your destiny author Andreeva Julia

Waiting for success What am I stimulating with my lyre? A. Smir Sometimes we ourselves don’t notice that we have already developed enough strength and opened all the channels, so, according to the logic of things, all we can do is sit and wait for all conceivable and inconceivable benefits to fall at our feet. But I already

From the book Secrets of Fast Swimming for Swimmers and Triathletes by Taormina Sheila

Epilogue Taormina Rating The Twenty Most Significant Changes in Swimming Since 1924 Below is my hit parade of the “Twenty Most Significant Changes in Swimming” (innovations that I could remember while working on this book and that, in my opinion, had a significant impact on

From the book School of Literary Excellence. From concept to publication: stories, novels, articles, non-fiction, screenplays, new media by Wolf Jurgen

The 20 most significant changes and improvements in swimming since 1924 1. Starting blocks. First appeared in 1936. Before that, swimmers dived from the edge of the pool.2. Somersault turn. First used in 19503. Shaving hair all over the body. It was first used as

From the book Great Secrets of Gold, Money and Jewels. 100 stories about the secrets of the world of wealth author Korovina Elena Anatolyevna

Fear of Success Everyone understands why people are afraid to fail. It's harder to understand why people might sometimes fear success. The reason is that subconsciously we are afraid of changes in life, and success is one of the types of changes. Perhaps we are afraid that old friends

From the book Drug Mafia [Production and distribution of drugs] author Belov Nikolay Vladimirovich

From the book I Explore the World. Botany author Kasatkina Yulia Nikolaevna

American success story The problem of drug addiction today worries American society like no other. It is drug suppliers and distributors who, according to American politicians, pose the greatest national threat to their country. However, the pace

From the book Informing. The path of personal success author Baranov Andrey Evgenievich

The secret of success Angiosperms appeared on Earth about 100–125 million years ago at the very beginning of the Cretaceous period or even slightly earlier, during the heyday of dinosaurs. By the middle of the Cretaceous, these “newcomers” of the plant kingdom had already begun to crowd out the ferns and

From the book A reference book for women after forty. Home encyclopedia author Danilova Natalya Andreevna

Informing success Are you lucky? Does luck help you? You should approach this rationally; you cannot expect that you will be lucky on your own, otherwise you will constantly have to explain to yourself why this does not happen or what happened led to something.

From the author's book

Proper nutrition– 50% success! A woman’s health after menopause depends to a certain extent on what and how she eats. A balanced diet means including in the usual food set a variety of products that match the composition

If you want to learn to swim even faster, breaking all your previous records, then you will have to work hard on your swimming technique and psychological mood to exercise a high degree of discipline in training. But the most important aspect is still the technique and it should be mastered first, otherwise you risk wasting your time. If you want to quickly learn how to swim seconds or even minutes faster than usual, then start with the first step described below.

Steps

Working on improving technology

Reduced braking. Swimmers often focus on how to swim faster, but not on how to move through the water with the least amount of drag, which is one of the main techniques for increasing speed. Remember that braking can only be reduced with proper technique, not with powerful force. There are several ways to reduce drag, such as improving your balance in the water or by stretching your torso in the water.

Improve your balance. Balance is one of the cornerstones of reducing unfortunate inhibition. Balance in the water is about achieving the most horizontal position you can achieve. It’s not for nothing that all torpedoes move purely horizontally through the water, which allows them to reach maximum speed. Raising your torso vertically results in more resistance from the water, forcing your muscles to work harder.

Breaststroke and butterfly strokes are exceptions because your body moves in waves.

Stretch out lengthwise. Try to extend your spine as long as possible while moving in the water. The more you stretch out, the less turbulence you involve in your swim, thereby reducing drag. For example, when you swim crawl, you should throw your rowing arm further forward, thereby extending your spine along with the movement of your body.
- Think about how easy it would be for you to move your hand if you ran a needle through the water, and then pick up a rag and do the same. Notice how much water resistance the rag takes on with its awkward shape.
Push off effectively! When you push off with your feet, you should not stick them out of the water or keep them deep down, as both will throw you off balance.

Improve your forward motion. This advice does not mean that you need to increase muscle mass and become stronger. You just have to practice the correct technique for each stroke. Remember that only 10% of your speed comes from your legs, while your arms have to do the lion's share of the work, so you need to take great care of your strokes.

Use your sides. Don't be afraid to roll from one side to the other as you stroke with your arms. This method will help you engage those massive back muscles while also getting more benefit from your shoulder strength. It may take you some time to get used to this way of swimming, but believe me, it will be worth it as you will soon be swimming much faster.

Don't forget your core muscles. The core includes the muscles of the back, hips and torso. These muscle groups are especially important when you are rolling from side to side in the water. At first, it will seem strange to you to pay more attention to the muscles of the torso than to the arms and legs.

Imagine that your hand is an anchor. To increase your speed, you need to keep your arms, elbows and forearms in a straight line, facing backwards, which will help you in the backstroke. Throw your arms as if they were anchors, clinging to the water in front of you and helping to move your body through the water.

Keep your head in a neutral position. To swim as fast as possible, you need to keep your head in a neutral position, looking down at the water and not looking up. Lifting your head up will automatically push your hips deeper into the water and increase braking. Relax your neck, look down and keep your head down. Remember that the whole body is false to be horizontal, like a needle or a torpedo.
- If you like to play with your imagination, follow the advice of swimmer Garrett McCaffery: “Imagine that you are a whale and you have a blowhole in your neck, and you constantly have to keep this cavity open to breathe, otherwise you will die. If you position your neck at an angle, you will block the blowhole and suffocate. Keep your neck at a right angle.”
Spread your fingers slightly as you swim. By spreading your fingers slightly, rather than squeezing them tightly together, you create an invisible web of water that produces 53% more power. The ideal distance between your fingers will be 20-40% of the diameter of your fingers.

How to swim faster in competition
1. Avoid making wrong turns. Even if you are swimming not in competition, but in training, then you should still avoid making incorrect turns, otherwise you risk getting bad habit, which will then be difficult to get rid of even in competitions. After all, you definitely don’t want to be disqualified for failing to touch the side with both hands due to a careless attitude towards this during training.
  
  Approach the wall quickly and swiftly. Many swimmers treat the wall as a place to rest, even if it only lasts a split second. However, if you want to succeed, then you should not give in to this way of thinking. Approaching the wall quickly, keeping your head down for several strokes other than breaststroke will help you get ahead and perform better.
  
  Push off the wall well. Push off powerfully from the wall so as not to lose momentum. When swimming breaststroke, even performing one such kick can give you a few seconds of time. Continue to stretch along the movement of your body in the water and you will swim faster than ever.
  
  Swim like a dolphin underwater. After making a powerful push, perform dolphin-style undulating movements underwater, which will help you swim even faster.
Be persistent
1. Develop a clear set of workouts. If you are a team member, your coach will help you in this regard. But it’s also a good idea to have your own complex to be able to train on your own. Simply swimming in a pool for hours on end won't give you any speed, but having a routine that includes elements of aerobics, which means swimming longer, as well as moderate endurance training that focuses on mid-distance swimming, can help you swim faster. Your workout may contain various components, but the main emphasis should be on the workout. general endurance, speed and muscular endurance. Here is an example of how your workout might be organized:
  - 10-15% is spent on a light warm-up (4 x 100 easy swims with a 20-second break between swims);
  - 10-20% goes to practicing technique and pushing (8 x 50 alternating drills different style swimming with pushing off the wall (1 time), rest 15 seconds)
  - 40-70% will go to the main complex (6 x 200 with 30 seconds of rest or 12 x 100 with 15 seconds of rest);
  - 5-10% will be spent on recovery (simple 100 meters).
2. Join the swim team. Look for swimming clubs in your city. Find out about prices, class times and required equipment. If you are not a member of any team, then it is recommended that you still go and sign up for one of them, because training in a team will serve as a stronger motivator for you and will bring better results. And also, the coach will tell you what needs to be corrected regarding swimming technique.
  - If you join a swimming team, you should not miss training and stick to a daily training schedule.
  - Always strive to reach new heights. Do swims with a 5-second break.

Greg Phill, my swim coach. You took a stone off my shoulders before the Olympic qualifying championship when you quoted English scientist John Lubbock:

When we have done everything we could, we need to calm down and expect results.

Thanks also for the reminder that at least two billion people don't even know I'm going to compete and will never know whether I swam well or poorly.

From the author

After the first edition of this book was published in 2010, teams of swimmers and triathletes from all over the world began to come to me, and I taught them the most important elements of the stroke. The delight of the people I met confirmed that athletes are ready to work hard to achieve better results. Feedback from those who have read my book or attended workshops has helped me understand how to better explain the concepts behind this book. The second edition of the book aimed to supplement the original text, refine the descriptions of technical techniques, and where one could go too far in implementing the author’s ideas, to warn the reader about this.

Thanks for your enthusiasm. The example of each of you gives me inspiration.

Sheila Taormina

Introduction

The best male swimmers, like women, are blowing away previous record marks at such a rate that most are left scratching their heads. All this gives the statement, once made by the famous Johnny Weissmuller, an almost comical character. Weissmuller, who won five Olympic gold medals in swimming at the 1924 and 1928 Games, wrote in his book Swimming the American Crawl (Putnam, 1930) in the chapter “Can the crawl be improved?”:

My technique is called “crawl brought to perfection” because it allows you to reduce water resistance to a minimum, bringing breathing to the most natural, involuntary, intended by nature itself. My technique gives the body a position in which it becomes possible to use all its strength and energy as freely as possible and without any restrictions, to create the necessary emphasis and at the same time receive maximum traction per unit of applied effort. Some say this style can still be improved. I don’t see how such an improvement can occur.

Let's be lenient with Weissmuller for thinking that no one could ever improve on the time he showed in the turbulent 1920s. If only because during his swimming career he set 67 world records. Johnny has actually never lost a single official competition. Just think – I’ve never lost! If I were him, I would probably also decide that I had brought my crawl to perfection. Besides, Johnny didn't just dive and swim as he pleased. In his book, he describes in great detail the reasons why he used his technique. Everything is carefully thought out.

I swim keeping my chest and shoulders high in the water. This allows me to glide across the surface of the water like a speedboat, reducing drag to a minimum. I hold my body closer to the surface than anyone before me, higher than anyone to this day... The high chest position allows me to avoid the strain that comes from the forward bend that many swimmers perform when turning their head to inhale. By keeping my chest and shoulders high and my back arched back, my feet are low in the water and maintain traction.

Johnny Weissmuller (Tarzan) swims in a style that has won him five Olympic gold medals and 67 world records

What am I getting at?

But Weissmuller set world records not only in short-distance swimming. He held records for 400 and 800 m: 4:57.0 – for 400 m (1923), 10:22.2 – for 800 m (1927). While these times weren't nearly as impressive as his time in the 100m freestyle, they would still place Johnny at (or very close to) the top swim laps in triathlons today.

Every second you are practicing a technique or leading a workout, you should know what you are doing and why. It's definitely doable. And this is the only thing that modern sources lack. Many textbooks contain a huge amount of information, describing stroke technique down to the smallest detail, but almost none of them organize the information in such a way as to direct attention to the most important elements, and therefore to develop an effective plan of action.

I have my own mantra both in sports and in life. It concerns responsibility for decisions made and sounds like this: “Assign a trump card!” In euchre, my favorite card game, each player is given the opportunity to designate a trump (strongest) suit during the course of the game. Players must look at the cards they were dealt in the next deal and, when it is their turn, decide whether they are taking the lead in the game or giving it to the opposing player. I always welcome it when players assign a suit. Be bolder! Decide on the cards in your hand and then make an informed decision about how to play the game.

The second reason why I concentrated exclusively on freestyle is that I myself know this style, as they say, inside and out. I swam this style at four Olympic Games, spent endless hours in the pool, thinking only about it. And I studied it. I am only 157 cm tall, so I ended up on the Olympic team not because of my arm span, but because of my understanding of how to obtain the necessary information and effectively apply it in practice.

I wish you a pleasant journey on your journey to understanding the wonderful sport of swimming!