FAQ

Total Immersion is an approach to teaching and learning swimming. It starts from the understanding that human beings are not aquatic animals. This means we’re hard wired to fight against water and it is natural for us to sink.

For most people swimming becomes a fight against the water usually switching on muscles that we don’t need. Even after developing confidence in the water, swimming is still often about churning limbs with pulling and kicking movements that use a lot of power and waste energy.

Total Immersion swimming focuses on developing technique so that swimmers can move through water efficiently and effortlessly using as little energy as possible. We teach balance, streamlining and efficiency so that you can cover more distance with less energy.

Achieving this requires us to engage our mind and our body differently to the ‘traditional’ approach to swimming.  We break down strokes teaching one movement at a time. This way you can develop the correct building blocks required to swim a comfortable stroke. Once you master one position it makes sense that you can move on and try another.

The easiest way to book is to use my online booking system here. You’ll be able to see all my lessons options and my current availability and be able to book and pay for your lesson. It also means that you can cancel or reschedule your lessons yourself and you will also get sent reminders with all your lesson details in it.

How many lessons you need is very individual and depends on lots of things such as your starting point, how much you practice and your goals.

It’s a bit like learning to drive. Some people pass first time after 10 lessons and some people pass 5th time after many months of lessons.

If you’re already able to swim some a length of something like front crawl then a lot of people find a 6 week block is a good start.  This will give you a good opportunity to learn all the drills and make a start on integrating the breathing.

To make most progress it really helps if you can practice in between your lessons. If you swim a lot and have time to practice  then coming for a lesson every week works really well.

If you’re busy then you might like to spread them out to every fortnight.

If you leave the gap between lessons too long then its common to forget what you’ve been taught and to also to fall into bad habits.

If you’ve been swimming a long time and have done a lot of Total Immersion coaching already you might only come every few months for at tune up.

Swimming is mostly a movement skill based on good technique. How fit you are is much less relevant especially when you’re learning. 

Your lesson will be a mixture of drills, movement practices and short sections of swimming so shouldn’t be physically demanding.

If you’re just starting back with your swimming or building your fitness then it’s a great time to have some lessons because it means you’ll build good skills as your fitness builds.

Yes!!!

Learning in endless pools is a fabulous way to make progress with your swimming and has lots of benefits.

In particular:

• There’s a mirror so you can see yourself swim
• I can use video in every lesson without worrying about members of the public
• As you swim on the spot I don’t waste time chasing you up and down the pool. Instead I am stood right next to you helping you with every single stroke.

Read more here or listen to me talk about it here.

Real pools can often feel quite cold unless you’re having a hard non stop workout.  This can sometimes make them quite hard to learn in. 

So we keep the endless pool nice and warm to around 32 degrees. 

This is too warm for a workout (yes I have tried) but great for learning in and most of my swimmers find it very comfortable.

Yes. I teach all the strokes the Total Immersion way. So if you’re looking for your next challenge or you’re a club/masters swimmer that wants to improve get in touch.

Yes I work with all abilities including people that have never learned to swim or have a fear of water. The endless pool is a great place for non swimmers to learn because it’s warm, you can stand up all the way around, there’s no one else in the pool and the compact nature of the pool makes it feel much calmer and safer than a real pool.  

Yes I offer two-to-one lessons.  They’re 90 minutes long and it helps if both swimmers are roughly the same ability. You can make a booking here or get in touch to chat about it further.  

The address is, CrossFit Faber, The International Pavilion, 10th Street, Stoneleigh, Kenilworth CV8 2LZ.  What 3 Words Link: https://what3words.com/rested.banana.parks 

This is on the National Agricultural Centre site at Stoneleigh and detailed directions will be sent when you book. 

Yes there is plenty of free parking right by the building. 

I have some limited slots for children who are home schooled on Wednesdays during the day. I hope to have more slots for children later in 2022. Please get in touch if you’re interested. And yes I teach children with the Total Immersion method too. 

Total Immersion is an approach to teaching and learning swimming. It starts from the understanding that human beings are not aquatic animals. This means we’re hard wired to fight against water and it is natural for us to sink.

For most people swimming becomes a fight against the water usually switching on muscles that we don’t need. Even after developing confidence in the water, swimming is still often about churning limbs with pulling and kicking movements that use a lot of power and waste energy.

Total Immersion swimming focuses on developing technique so that swimmers can move through water efficiently and effortlessly using as little energy as possible. We teach balance, streamlining and efficiency so that you can cover more distance with less energy.

Achieving this requires us to engage our mind and our body differently to the ‘traditional’ approach to swimming.  We break down strokes teaching one movement at a time. This way you can develop the correct building blocks required to swim a comfortable stroke. One you master one position it makes sense that you can move on and try another.

Yes. We will teach you how to be more efficient and relaxed in the water so that you swim faster and and save energy. Video analysis will show you where you can improve, and we will give you all the drills and skills needed to practice in your own time.

Yes. We work with anyone who likes swimming and wants to learn more, whatever your goals. We will teach you how to be efficient and relaxed in the water so that you can enjoy your swimming even more. 

The course is aimed at people who can swim about 1 to 2 lengths of front crawl and want to improve.  If you’re not sure then please get in touch to find out if the workshop is suitable, or how else we can help.

This course is suitable for people who can already swim and are able to swim 50m front crawl unsupported and be confident in the deep end of a swimming pool. If you are not yet at this stage please get in touch with us to book some one-to-one lessons.

The workshop is about learning good technique so does not involve swimming lots of hard lengths. This means that it shouldn’t be physically tiring and you don’t need to be especially fit to enjoy the day. However, learning something new can sometimes be mentally tiring especially as we will be giving you lots of information throughout the day.

We usually have 10-15 swimmers to keep it friendly and so you get the best of our coaching. Our maximum group size is 15 swimmers and we always have one coach for every 5 swimmers.

We believe that swimming is mainly a technical movement skill so your age, size, strength or physical fitness is much less relevant than how well you practice. We’ve had adults of all ages on our workshops from 18 to 80.

This course is aimed at adult swimmers so the minimum age is 18.

You’ll need to bring your own packed lunch but we’ll have plenty of tea, coffee and home made Dips and Chips cake available. We provide decaf tea and coffee, herbal teas and a non-dairy milk option.

Please bring your swimming costume or trunks, goggles and a towel. You may like to bring a couple of each so that you have a dry costume and towel for the second session. Swim hats will be provided. You’ll also need a packed lunch but tea and coffee will be provided.

Birmingham: University Train station is a 5 minute walk. Birmingham has an excellent motorway network and The Morris Centre is 20-30min drive from the M5, M42 and M6 making it easily accessible by car.

There is a car park next to the Morris Centre which costs about £13 per day. Alternatively, it is possible to park on some of the surrounding streets and have a short walk to the swimming pool. There will be plenty of spaces on a Sunday, but please be careful about parking zones. A popular road to use is Farquhar Road. 

Unfortunately refunds can’t be offered unless a workshop is cancelled due to covid.

A transfer to a different workshop is possible but requests need to be made a minimum of 14 days before the workshop. The booking for your transfer needs to be completed within 7 days.