Fitness Swimming - 2nd Edition

A Swimming Book for all level of swimmer

I really enjoyed reading this book and wanted to take the time to reivew it. I am an experienced swimmer, swimming for many years, coaching age group and master's teams over the years. I have also taught swimming at many levels. I tried to look at this book from the eyes of a beginner and found it very helpful. The book covered such topics as how to pick out a suit and goggles all the way to pool etiquette. How glad I am that Emmett covered that! As an experienced swimmer I found the workout information invaluable. The workouts are very good and I found the workout schedule or cycle very applicable to my level of swimming. The more competitive swim cycle or season information helped me map out a plan for the coming year. So I can confidently recommend this book to the beginning swimmer and the more competitive swimmer.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Best Freestyle book available

This is the best comprehensive freestyle book available, and I think I've read them all. I used the 1st edition about 6 years ago to rebuild my stroke, went through at least 2 copies of it and gave away about 4 others. The 2nd edition is not just a new cover: everything has been updated. Even if you have the 1st edition you should get this because it covers new developments in freestyle stroke mechanics. There are two elements that make this book exceptional. First is the instructional part, which puts hydrodynamics in practical terms, understandable to everyone and well-illustrated. It follows (maybe even leads) the current theories of efficient freestyle. It starts at a basic level, with balance drills etc, moving all the way through full-stroke integration, and then to power and speed. Second is the series of detailed workouts. It's the only book I know of that lays out a realistic workout progression for adult swimmers of any level. By realistic, I mean spending 50 to 75 mins a session, with a good combination of technique, endurance, and speed work. It's also realistic about the range of speed for most fitness swimmers -- so it's especially helpful for adult swimmers who want to learn or refine their freestyle and get a sense of accomplishment. You can start at the beginning and virtually coach your way through to the end. It's like doing Masters swimming with an expert, only self-coached. And Coach Hines has a distinctive sense of humor that makes an instructional book fun to read. A great accomplishment.

1 out of 1 people found this review helpful.

Outstanding!

I purchased Fitness Swimming 3 months ago and it has already made a HUGE difference in my swimming (e.g.improved technique and application in the water) I began swimming last year and took one-on-one lessons. As is often the case, good intentions (from both the instructor who had not read Fitness Swimming and learner) do not translate into good results. I took another series of lessons from another instructor last fall and continued to build poor habits. Fitness Swimming got me back on the right track, established 'good' habits, and my swimming has improved dramatically. In addition to one the most thoughtful, organized and well written books which I have ever read - and I read a lot - this book is truly outstanding. I rarely right reviews on this site; however, I am confident that you will not be disappointed in your purchase of this wonderful book.

Next Best Thing to Studying with Emmett in Person

I grew up swimming competitively. I was introduced to Emmett in my early thirties and began attending his master classes a few years ago. Emmett is a fabulous communicator, and the concepts that he teaches completely revolutionized my swimming. I am now able to swim longer, faster, and with much less energy than ever before. Just recently, I placed second in my age group in a 2.4 mile swim in Austin, TX, and it was Emmett's training that took me the entire way.I was at first skeptical that a book format of these concepts would be possible or as good as swimming with him personally, but this book completely blew that notion out of the water (so to speak). As I read the text and studied the diagrams, I was completely impressed with his abilities to communicate via the written word. It is an easy read, and the ideas are explained clearly and woven together beautifully. Studying this book, applying the concepts, and following the workouts will take you from complete novice highly skilled and efficient swimmer. I keep a copy of it on my nightstand, and it will probably remain there for many years to come. This book is a must read for anyone who thinks he might be interested in learning to swim or improving their already advanced swimming skills.

My number 1 swimming book

I decided to start swimming as my sole fitness exercise. I swam as a kid and was certified as a lifeguard, but had never really learned the strokes as well as those swimmers I have seen swimming for clubs. As usual, I wanted to learn as much as possible before I started working out. So, I bought at least 20 books on swimming. Then I dived into the books. I noticed that after a couple of weeks of reading, I was always coming back to one book, Coach Hines' Fitness Swimming. I now have 2 copies of this book. One is a backup.The book is well organized and provides a wealth of information paced just right. It was nice that it started off providing the basics for people like me who have never participated in swimming for fitness/sport. Knowing that it describes more advanced drills/levels means I can use it as I improve. Additionally, it provides very clear instructions on each of the drills. Combined with numerous superb illustrations I found it very easy to understand what the proper drill/swim should look/feel like. I thoroughly love the focus points (red dot, buoy pressure, side skating, etc.). They provide good guideposts during a drill and reinforce proper execution. It's like having a coach in your head while you swim.I was somewhat worried before I started reading any of the books about the best way to combine the myriad drills. So, this book, by breaking the drills down into levels within a workout schedule, provides a great structure.Great book Coach Hines!!! Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us. I'm looking forward to your books on backstroke, breaststroke, and fly (if possible).-Dave Hallman

My number 1 swimming book

I decided to start swimming as my sole fitness exercise. I swam as a kid and was certified as a lifeguard, but had never really learned the strokes as well as those swimmers I have seen swimming for clubs. As usual, I wanted to learn as much as possible before I started working out. So, I bought at least 20 books on swimming. Then I dived into the books. I noticed that after a couple of weeks of reading, I was always coming back to one book, Coach Hines' Fitness Swimming. I now have 2 copies of this book. One is a backup.

The book is well organized and provides a wealth of information paced just right. It was nice that it started off providing the basics for people like me who have never participated in swimming for fitness/sport. Knowing that it describes more advanced drills/levels means I can use it as I improve. Additionally, it provides very clear instructions on each of the drills. Combined with numerous superb illustrations I found it very easy to understand what the proper drill/swim should look/feel like. I thoroughly love the focus points (red dot, buoy pressure, side skating, etc.). They provide good guideposts during a drill and reinforce proper execution. It's like having a coach in your head while you swim.

I was somewhat worried before I started reading any of the books about the best way to combine the myriad drills. So, this book, by breaking the drills down into levels within a workout schedule, provides a great structure.

Great book Coach Hines!!! Thanks for sharing your knowledge with us. I'm looking forward to your books on backstroke, breaststroke, and fly (if possible).

-Dave Hallman

Outstanding!!!

I purchased Fitness Swimming 3 months ago and it has already made a HUGE difference in my swimming (e.g. improved technique and application in the water) I began swimming last year and took one-on-one lessons. As is often the case, good intentions (from both the instructor who had not read Fitness Swimming and learner) do not translate into good results. I took another series of lessons from another instructor last fall and continued to build poor habits. Fitness Swimming got me back on the right track, established 'good' habits, and my swimming has improved dramatically. In addition to one the most thoughtful, organized and well written books which I have ever read - and I read a lot - this book is truly outstanding. I rarely right reviews on this site; however, I am confident that you will not be disappointed in your purchase of this wonderful book.

Next Best Thing to Studying with Emmett in Person

I grew up swimming competitively. I was introduced to Emmett in my early thirties and began attending his master classes a few years ago. Emmett is a fabulous communicator, and the concepts that he teaches completely revolutionized my swimming. I am now able to swim longer, faster, and with much less energy than ever before. Just recently, I placed second in my age group in a 2.4 mile swim in Austin, TX, and it was Emmettâ⿬⿢s training that took me the entire way. I was at first skeptical that a book format of these concepts would be possible or as good as swimming with him personally, but this book completely blew that notion out of the water (so to speak). As I read the text and studied the diagrams, I was completely impressed with his abilities to communicate via the written word. It is an easy read, and the ideas are explained clearly and woven together beautifully. Studying this book, applying the concepts, and following the workouts will take you from complete novice highly skilled and efficient swimmer. I keep a copy of it on my nightstand, and it will probably remain there for many years to come. This book is a must read for anyone who thinks he might be interested in learning to swim or improving their already advanced swimming skills.

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