Quotes from Terry Laughlin

Practice them in 25-yard repeats, resting ten to fifteen seconds between.

faster not because of how powerfully they stroke but because of how slippery they make their bodies.

All efficient swimmers—which means nearly all the fast ones—seem to have a more instinctive sense of how to keep their bodies in the best position for slipping easily through the water, gliding as far as possible with the least possible effort.

70 percent of your ability to improve your stroke length coming from eliminating more of the water's drag on your body.

kinesiologists estimate at least 70 percent of your swimming performance is determined by how well you streamline your body and only 30 percent by how fit or powerful you are.

So goal one for anyone who wants to swim better and faster is a longer stroke. This can happen in two ways: (1) more push—using your hands and feet to thrust your body farther through the water by making each stroke as powerful as possible; and (2) less drag—shaping your body so it's more friction-free, allowing it to travel farther with the power each of your strokes is already producing.

three cardinal rules for going faster: 1. Balance your body in the water. 2. Make your body longer. 3. Swim on your side.