Wednesday, January 19, 2011

An Open Water Swimming Tome

This new book by Human Kinetics describes the techniques and tactics for open water swimming. It is a complete guide for distance swimmers and triathletes.

"Whether you are planning on racing in an ocean, lake, river, canal, bay, dam, or reservoir, Open Water Swimming is your best guide to success. Steven Munatones wrote the perfect book for athletes of all levels who want to compete in the open waters of the world," wrote Brent Rutemiller, Publisher of Swimming World Magazine.

The book, Open Water Swimming, is an essential guide to maneuvering the open water environment and describes how to properly prepare logistically, physically, and mentally for open water swims of all distances. Complete with training plans for triathlons, middle distance, and marathon distance swims, the book explains the optimal stroke techniques and ideal racing tactics for swims in different types of venues.

With a 24% increase in participants since 2006, triathlons continue to grow in popularity, as does open water swimming, with participation numbers doubling since 1999. Open Water Swimming offers this burgeoning group of athletes the tools needed to succeed and compete in their sport.

Open Water Swimming is an essential guide to maneuvering the open water environment and describes how to properly prepare logistically, physically and mentally for open water swims one day, one month, and one year ahead of race day. Complete with training plans for triathlons, middle and marathon distances, the book explains the optimal stroke techniques and ideal racing tactics for swims in different types of venues. Dryland and pool workouts used by the pros and specific for those who don’t have easy access to open water are described. Whether a newcomer or professional, swimmers will learn the best practices of seasoned open water swimmers, from how to swim in a crowded pack to how to make tactical moves in every type of racing situation.

In Open Water Swimming, the book provides the information individuals need to prepare for the unexpected as they welcome the challenge of open water swimming under any condition.

Whether you are a dedicated open water swimmer, or triathlete looking to conquer the sport’s most challenging event, Open Water Swimming is your complete guide to improving your performance and decreasing your time. The book offers insights on preparing, training and competing in open water events. From triathlon to marathon, and all distances in between, readers will learn how to:

• Refine your freestyle stroke to improve power, speed, effectiveness and navigational IQ
• Pace yourself, and conserve energy, for faster finishes
• Train for every event with conditioning programs for short, Olympic, marathon, and triathlon length distances
• Shave seconds off your time with professional tactics for starts, turns, feedings, transitions and finishes
• Incorporate the same strategies and racing tactics of the most successful swimmers in the sport
• Prepare physically and psychology for the demands of competition
• Learn the art of efficient pack swimming to the best dryland and pool workouts for improving endurance, strength, and power.

The contents include the following chapters:

Chapter 1. The Open Water Swimmer
Chapter 2. Overcoming the Elements
Chapter 3. Choosing Your Events
Chapter 4. The Open Water Tool Box
Chapter 5. Building a Faster Freestyle
Chapter 6. Preparing for Short-Distance Swims
Chapter 7. Preparing for Olympic-Distance Swims
Chapter 8. Preparing for Marathon-Distance Swims
Chapter 9. Racing Tactics for Every Event
Chapter 10. Triathlon Transitioning and Finishing Fast