We’ve been preparing for Ethan’s first swimming carnival over the last few weeks and the insights arising have been rather interesting…
I want to share something I discovered very recently, which is truly amazing, and which has completely changed the way I swim. It may not sound like a big deal, but it has it’s significance…
Can you imagine being 31 years old, terrified of the water… but learning to swim with ease, to the point of competing in an ocean swimming race – in only 10 days?
Tim Ferriss shares on this video how he overcame his struggles in the pool in such an astoundingly short period of time, and in a way that you can go to the pool after watching his five minute explanation and try it yourself.
He explained it so simply, I had to go and try it out straight away. I got to the end of the pool, turned around and swam back, and was shocked at how I was not puffed… at all! Very strange… it almost felt wrong! How did I get there so easily? I did it again and again, wondering how a change in technique could yield such stunning results.
I showed Ethan – this is where it became really fun.
Last week we were swimming and I finished a lap 5 seconds before him. He was not happy about that at all. Although I explained that I had 30+ years of swimming behind me, and he’s just starting out he told me he “couldn’t really imagine” being faster than me in a year or two. He insisted on only swimming backstroke (his, and my favourite) or the occasional breaststroke, because he was “rubbish” at freestyle, managing only 10 metres. After showing Ethan the short video of Tim Ferriss explaining this technique, he swam an entire lap without stopping, and the sheer delight (and no small amount of surprise) on his face was just priceless. His later comments to my mother were quite memorable too… “I usually swim a little bit and can hardly breathe, but now I swim a lap and it’s like I’ve just been sitting in a comfortable rocking chair!”
There’s so much I could share on this, and maybe later I will – but for now – enjoy this video and consider what can happen when you make small changes in the right direction.
To check out Tim’s blog with more detail and videos – http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/2008/12/28/the-incredible-hulk/
