Nothing beats a natural swimming hole for cooling off on a scorching summer day in Texas. Cold, clear spring water, big old shade trees, and a quiet stretch of beach or lawn offer the perfect excuse to pack a cooler and head out with family and friends to the nearest natural oasis. Whether you’re looking for a quick getaway or an unforgettable summer vacation, let The Swimming Holes of Texas be your guide. Julie Wernersbach and Carolyn Tracy highlight one hundred natural swimming spots across the entire state. The book is organized by geographic regions, so you can quickly find local places to swim—or plan a trip to a more distant spot you’d like to explore. Each swimming hole is illustrated with an inviting color photo and a description of what it’s like to swim there, as well as the site’s history, ecology, and conservation. The authors include all the pertinent info about admission fees and hours, parking, and on-site amenities such as showers and restrooms. They also offer tips for planning your trips and lists of the swimming holes that are most welcoming to families and pets. So when the temperature tops 100 and there’s nothing but traffic in sight, take a detour down the backroads and swim, sunbathe, revel, and relax in the swimming holes of Texas.

Covering a time of great social and technological change, this history traces the development of the four classic aquatic disciplines of competitive swimming, diving, synchronized swimming and water polo, with its main focus on racing. Working from the beginnings of municipal recreational swimming, the book fully explores the links between swimming and other aspects of English life society including class, education, gender, municipal governance, sexuality and the Victorian invention of the sports amateur-professional divide. Uniquely focused on swimming -often neglected in analytic sports histories- this is the first study of its kind and will be an important landmark in the establishment of swimming history as a topic of scholarly investigation. This book was previously published as a special issue of the International Journal of the History of Sport.

The Antarctic Dive Guide is the first and only dive guide to the seventh continent, until recently the exclusive realm of scientific and military divers. Today, however, the icy waters of Antarctica have become the extreme destination for recreational divers wishing to explore beyond the conventional and observe the strange marine life that abounds below the surface. This book is packed with information about the history of diving in Antarctica and its wildlife, and features stunning underwater photography. The Antarctic Dive Guide covers 31 key dive sites on the Antarctic Peninsula and South Georgia and includes maps and detailed guidance on how best to explore each site. Essential information is also provided on how to choose and prepare for travel to this remote region, and diving techniques for subzero waters. This book is an indispensable resource for anyone considering diving in Antarctica, and an exciting read for anyone interested in this little-explored underwater world. This fully revised and updated third edition: * Covers 4 new dive sites* Features revised and updated information for the other 27 sites covered* Includes new sections on the Sea Leopard Project and natural product chemistry from Antarctic marine organisms

Coach Blythe's Swim Workouts are appropriate for the self-coached swimmer and triathlete, as well as for coaches looking for workout content for the athletes they train. The third book in the series, called "Challenge Workouts for Advanced Swimmers" contains 100 advanced level workouts that focus on speed and yardage, with specific workouts for freestyle, individual medley, sprint and distance swimming. The workouts in this book use pace work, descending and building sets, and goal swims, that total up to 6,000 yards/meters. Each workout is accompanied by a 'Personal Challenge' to meet advanced training goals through controlled exertion, and improved pace and recovery time.

The Wild Swimming series travels to Italy to explore freshwater lakes, mountain and lagoons.

Dip in to the emerald-green plunge pools of Sicily and swim at river beaches in Campania. Discover the secret hot springs of Tuscany and amazing waterfalls of the Dolomiti. Explore the hidden shores of Lake Como and Garda.

Perfect for family explorers or romantic adevnturers, this stunning travel book combines beautiful photography with all the practical information you'll need to get off the beaten track, including maps, directions, grid references and walk-in times, and recommendations for canoe trips, campsites and tavernas.

It has been 12 years since the author published the 3rd edition of the Swimming Faster series and time has not stood still. Research has continued at a rapid pace, using increasingly sophisticated methodology to improve our knowledge of the training process. In this book, the author shares what he learned with members of the competitive swimming community throughout the world. The title of this book was changed to reflect his purpose in writing it. It is a source for coaches and athletes to improve their knowledge of the scientific aspects of training. It should also help readers become familiar with the sometimes confusing terms used by sports scientists so they can read the results of their studies with understanding. Furthermore, this book informs the readers' enough in the areas of physiology, biochemistry and molecular biology as they pertain to the training of athletes. It is the author's hope that they will be able to evaluate the validity of that research and decide for themselves if it has merit. Finally, this book provides the readers with the knowledge to apply the information they gain to their own unique training environments. This is so they will not have to copy the training of successful coaches without understanding why it was beneficial and how it might be modified to become even more useful within their surroundings.

Let Dorset Dives take you on a personal journey to 50 of the greatest dive sites the Dorset coastline has to offer. Here, there are so many opportunities to get wet and against one of the country's most beautiful backdrops - the Jurassic Coast. A UNESCO World Heritage site, the Dorset coast boasts seriously good scallop diving, sheltered, shallow or deep wrecks, scenic reef dives, easy shore dives and daring drifts. Will has chosen a selection of dive sites spanning the length of the Dorset coastline, all within a comfortable depth for the recreational diver and some of the sites featured will certainly require diving more than once. The wrecks are illustrated by Max Ellis, based on the original rough sketches John Liddiard made for DIVER magazine's `Wreck Tours' feature, with minimal coloured backgrounds added. With a Foreword by Paul Rose.

The fully revisied second edition of Wild Swimming Coast now includes even more for walkers, swimmers and explorers: Full national coverage of Britain's most beautiful beaches Lagoons, sea caves and amazing places to snorkel New 1:25,000 Ordnance Survey mapping Best beach cafes, local food, pubs and campsites Where to sea kayak, coasteer and swim with dolphins Best activities with children and families This revised and expanded edition of the best-selling coastal classic features the same winning formula of stunning photography, engaging travel writing and practical guidance. It is set to continue as the definitive guide to Britain's secret beaches and hidden coastline.

The Swimming Triangle: A Holistic Approach to Competitive Swimming is a unique, innovative, and essential guide to achieving superior mental, technical, and physical fitness in one of the world's greatest sports. Whether you're a coach or a swimmer, former Olympic coach Nick Baker's wholly integrated approach can help you maximize your true potential. In this book Coach Baker offers proven, results- oriented methods for gaining-and keeping-a competitive edge, including: 75 winning mental concepts to use in training and competition 75 elite-level technical concepts A complete breakdown of all starts, strokes, turns, and finishes More than 100 stroke errors to avoid 100 progressive stroke drills 30 sample practices for novice-, junior-, and senior-level swimmers Intensive dry-land training circuits More than 100 strength and flexibility exercises

A book of three parts; Freediving manual, sustainable marine foraging guide and introduction to sustainable and ethical spearfishing.

In this full colour, large format (8.5"x11") publication by master freediving instructor and expert marine forager Ian Donald, you will be taught in a step-by-step manner how to freedive, forage for marine foods and spearfish, all with sustainability in mind.

DISCOVER the vast array of sustainable foods available from above and below the water and acquire the skills to collect them. Full colour photographs of seaweeds and other edible sea-shore plants, molluscs and crustaceans.

LEARN the art of freediving, working through the skills in a logical manner, so you too can be a freediver, including: Equipment, breathing, relaxation, equalisation (basic and advanced), posture, movement, safety and many other skills.

UNDERSTAND how to fish in the most sustainable way, with this introduction to spearfishing. Starting with the basics, including how to rig a gun, what gun to buy, how to shoot, where to hunt, and how to stay safe. Full colour photographs of sustainable fish with hunting instructions for each one.

UNCOVER the truth behind our impact on the seas, and how by becoming an underwater forager, you can start to make a difference. Learn about freediving and foraging cultures of the past and present and how their part in underwater foraging history has influenced us.

Written in plain English and avoiding confusing technical jargon wherever possible, let this book become your guide to the beautiful underwater realm of the breath-hold diver and forager.
The marine life featured in this book are of predominately Northern Atlantic origin, but the freediving and foraging skills are universal.

"This book is as autobiographical as it is biographical . . . a book that juxtaposes two adventurers, one with her own challenges still unfolding and the other with his position fixed in history . . . a book worthy of the centenary celebration of Amundsen's trek to the South Pole."--"San Francisco Chronicle"
Today the North and South Poles are home to research stations and film crews, but just a century ago they were forbidding lands seldom seen by human eyes. Those who journeyed there were the last true explorers, and one of the most successful ever was Roald Amundsen. Known as "the last of the Vikings," the Norwegian-born Amundsen began his career of adventure at age fifteen and by forty had become the first man to successfully navigate the Northwest Passage, and to reach both the North and South Poles.
As a girl, Lynne Cox read of Amundsen's exploits, which inspired her to follow her own adventurous dreams of open-water swimming. Here, she gives an account of Amundsen's life and expeditions while detailing her own experiences swimming (without a wetsuit) in the same polar regions he first explored. At once a biography, history, and memoir, "South with the Sun "holds something for any lover of adventure.
"Not to miss . . . It's fascinating to read about the Norwegian hardman through the eyes of Cox."--"Outside"

What makes the perfect swim? It's all about the most magical locations (and how to protect them), finessing your kitbag, keeping yourself and others safe ... and maybe discovering a nice place for a warm-up cuppa and cake. Whether you're a seasoned dipper or a fledgling, The Art of Wild Swimming is the ultimate guide to becoming an awesome, joyful and responsible swimmer. From the dramatic Atlantic bays to cascading waterfalls and secret pools, the rugged Causeway Coast to the secluded loughs of the Wicklow Mountains, locals who know the secrets of their patch share over 100 spectacular swim spots across Ireland and Northern Ireland. Now they are yours to explore too.

Jim Doty is one of the greatest ocean swimmers to come out of the Boston area. His swims from Nantasket to Revere, around Cape Ann, Two-way Boston Light, Two-way Graves Light, etc. are legendary. In addition to his accomplishments as a marathon ocean swimmer, Jim is credited with founding the New England Marathon Swim Association in 1976. In that same year, he re-started, after a lapse of 36 years, the Boston Light Swim - the oldest marathon swim in the country. Doty's remarkable swims and accomplishments are chronicled in this book.

The recorded history of the diving industry has been fundamentally corrupted over the past 150 years. The result is a complete misunderstanding of how it all began. Who invented the diving helmet? Refer to any encyclopaedia or history book and the answer you will find will almost certainly be wrong. The First Treasure Divers reveals the true and fascinating story. It blows away the myths and deliberate misinformation that have crept into the historical record. Thanks to the painstaking research the author has carried out over the past 25 years, the falsehoods are peeled away to unveil the true, definitive account. It follows the lives of two brothers as they struggle to turn their newly-invented diving helmet to advantage and how they wrestle with apathetic and even hostile authorities for recognition of their invention. It thunders through sunken treasure adventures to the heroism and horrors of the Crimean War. The impact of the invention of the diving helmet is immense. In the 180 years since the Deane brothers carried out the first ever commercial helmet dive off the Isle of Wight on the south coast of England, the diving business has expanded to a global industry with an annual turnover in excess of $3,000,000,000. From another point of view, the life-support technology developed in the diving industry provided the knowledge for keeping the pioneering, high altitude pilots alive, which in turn evolved into the life-support systems of the astronauts who walked on the moon.

Achieving better swimming is a matter of swimming efficiently. While proper technique is the foundation of good swimming, it is often difficult to isolate a technique problem by simply swimming laps. Stroke flaws can slow a swimmer's progress and can even lead to injury if continued over time. For these reasons, swimming drills have become a fundamental part of training at all levels of the sport. Drill practice is a swimmer's primary tool in developing better stroke technique. The book is organized into sections covering the four competitive strokes: freestyle, backstroke, breaststroke and butterfly. Each drill is explained step by step and accompanied by comprehensive diagrams. Drill feedback charts are included to help swimmers identify problems and make modifications. Underwater and surface photographs give swimmers optimal images to emulate as they practice.