The 4-Hour Body: An Uncommon Guide to Rapid Fat-Loss, Incredible Sex, and Becoming Superhuman

by Timothy Ferriss

My Eight Tips for Novices Here are the principles that made the biggest difference for me, and pictures follow: 1. To propel yourself forward with the least effort, focus on shoulder roll and keeping your body horizontal (least resistance), not pulling with your arms or kicking with your legs. This is counterintuitive but important, as kicking harder is the most universal suggestion for fixing swimming issues. 2. Keep yourself horizontal by keeping your head in line with your spine—you should be looking straight down. Use the same head position that you maintain while walking, and drive your arm underwater vs. attempting to swim on the surface. See Shinji Takeuchi’s underwater shots at 0:49 seconds (www.fourhourbody.com/shinji-demo) and Natalie Coughlin’s explanation at 0:26 seconds (www.fourhourbody.com/coughlin). Notice how little Shinji uses his legs. The small flick serves only to help him turn his hips and drive his next arm forward. This is the technique that allows me to conserve so much energy.