Triathlon Swimming Foundations: A Straightforward System for Making Beginner Triathletes Comfortable and Confident in the Water

by "Triathlon" Taren Gesell

Of all three disciplines in triathlon, swimming is the one dreaded the most by age-group triathletes, many of whom have had little formal experience in the water. Fortunately, of the three sports, swimming might be the easiest in which to make improvements. Triathlon Swimming Foundations provides a simple, straightforward system developed BY a triathlete FOR triathletes, allowing them to become comfortable and confident in the water using a system of triathlon-specific drills and techniques.

Triathletes who follow this program are sure to breathe easily in the water without panic, eliminate sinking legs, gain previously elusive speed, and swim smoothly in a triathlon from the start line right into transition, with plenty of energy left to take on the rest of the race.

Taren Gesell is a successful age-group endurance athlete who originally became known for his wildly popular YouTube channel, Instagram account and podcast, where he shares tips, tricks, hacks, scientifically backed research, and time-tested knowledge to help new and developing endurance athletes get to their start lines confident and their finish lines strong. Taren is the founder of MōTTIV, which offers a full-service endurance training app that guides athletes of every ability level. The app offers an inclusive, welcoming community of amateur endurance athletes around the world who are working hard to be the best version of themselves every day!

Genres: Fitness

158 pages, Paperback

Published August 15, 2019

Reviews

[Laura Chalmers · Rating 5 out of 5]

Straightforward, clear, good advice.

[Bill Theroux · Rating 2 out of 5]

The book had really good notes but you can watch 2 of the YouTube videos he put out and get verbatim everything that is said in this book. I thought there would be something above and beyond but, it didn’t. Save yourself a few bucks and just watched the videos.

[Steve Pronechen · Rating 5 out of 5]

If you're frustrated and feeling hopeless in the water, this program will turn that around! For context, I'm in my mid-30's, and I am new to swimming (only took childhood swim lessons). I am a true beginner in every sense of the word and struggled swimming for more than 30 seconds at a time because one of my main challenges was learning to breathe properly.

Prior to getting Taren's program, I watched numerous YouTube videos and read other sources, but they didn't work because I have heavy legs, and the "beginner drills' were still too advanced for me. I really needed something that scaled back the instruction and boiled it down into the simplest form - learning to breathe (head turn, breathing rhythm, and how much air to inhale).

This program did just that! It even comes with video clips demonstrating the drills which were a tremendous help. In a matter of weeks, I went from being a complete disaster, to a much more confident swimmer who is now knocking on the door of a swimming a full mile continuously! I never would have thought this would have been possible in such a short time frame. If you want to improve, make the nominal investment. It will pay dividends! Thank you Taren!

[Zayne Elrod · Rating 5 out of 5]

Buy it. Read it. Do it. It works. I am a new triathlete, training for my first Ironman. I thought I knew how to swim, I’m in good cardiovascular health and able to run and bike for many miles, no problem. The pool finally opens; I’m so excited to get in the water. I swam 25 yards and was so out of breath I thought I was going to yak in the pool. I learned I knew how to swim so I don’t drown. I don’t really know how to swim. My husband said “Triathlon Taren” has helped tons of age-groupers learn to swim and the reason I was so out of breath isn’t because I’m out of shape, it’s because my body is craving oxygen and trying to get the CO2 out. What?? So I bought the book, watched the videos, humbled myself and did the bubble drills like I was 5 years old. Four days later I swam 1400 yards and only got out because my lap time was up. I wasn’t out of breath! It works folks! Thank you Team Taren for putting this together! I’m a trainiac!

[Tõnu Vahtra · Rating 4 out of 5]

I came across this book when I was looking at Taren Gesell Youtube videos while preparing for IronMan and struggling witht he "sinking legs" problem. It's quite a short book and I did not have time to properly go through the entire program, but it did help to improve my thinking on how to be in water in order to reduce drag and improve floating on water. I will probably come back to this book the next season but doubtful about doing the whole program (swimming still is about 15% of total triathlon time). Having read some other books on swimming techniques this is the least theoretical and thus a relatively easy read.

[Emma Bacon · Rating 5 out of 5]

As a beginner to all things Tri I am loving this series of books. I downloaded a whole load of different books and these are the ones that really resonated with me as being logical, science based and encourage efficient, effective training without spending hours slogging away without seeing much reward. The book is well laid out, offers precise and clear advice and training programmes via a link. As a beginner swimmer I have been practising the drills religiously and have seen massive improvements in my confidence and ability in the water in a very short space of time. Would thoroughly recommend.

[Jess · Rating 5 out of 5]

Perfect foundational work for stress free swimming

Love the methodical breakdown of how to build a solid swimming foundation. Very easy to follow and the author doesn't overcomplicate the process. I feel highly confident I'm getting the best instruction in a book I can find to start my triathlon training journey. Highly recommend all of Taren's books on kindle. What a great way to have drills on your cellphone right with you!

[Tyna DV · Rating 2 out of 5]

Very good work outs for very beginners but very few. If you need to save up money, watch Taren’s you tube channel because everything is linked and referred to the videos. You won’t miss anything at all. If you have never been a swimmer, this programme will help you get rid of your fears and insecurities. If you are a swimmer, this book is not for you (as a swimmer myself, you’ll get bored). Sadly, the book provides examples for male gears only.

[Russ Mathers · Rating 3 out of 5]

Listened to it on Audible, wish I had the hard copy so I had the sets of drills.

[Veronique · Rating 4 out of 5]

Good information for beginners

[Daniel Ottenwalder · Rating 4 out of 5]

I am doing the drills now, but it is a short and straightforward read, which makes a lot of sense intuitively now I need to apply and grow.

[Abhinav Gupta · Rating 3 out of 5]

Great book to get into swimming. Has a good set of exercises to follow to gain some confidence. Decent introduction to triathlon swimming and what to focus on.

[Courtney · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great tips and videos but there was only clothing advice for male athletes

[Alex · Rating 5 out of 5]

Does this mean I'm the first to review this? Nice!

I've been following Triathlon Taren for a while. I originally sought out swimming drills 3 1/2 years ago and stumbled on his YouTube channel. After binging most of his videos my pipe dream of a triathlon started to become more and more feasible thanks to the countless tips he's provided.

It's great to see that he has been able to compile them into a book for swimmers, from new to advanced. Taren has a knack for demonstrating how/why certain drills are beneficial for triathletes at various stages of their development. More than that, he makes it fun - which should be the #1 reason why anyone does this.

[Yasin Aboobaker · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent book for beginners, a well laid out plan to get you comfortable in the water and building the required skills to get swimming with confidence.