Triathlete Magazine, February 1999
The Waterproof Coach by Thomas Denes is the perfect training companion for both the beginning swimmer and the seasoned triathlete looking to jazz up a workout. The Waterproof Coach is fun to read and flip through. More important, with so many workout choices, it's never boring. Denes, an international and national masters competitor, brings humor and enthusiasm to his book, making The Waterproof Coach the perfect training partner. (Inside Triathlon, December 1997) The Waterproof Coach is not a life-size, inflatable doll with a whistle and stopwatch. It's a spiral-bound workout book with waterproof pages cut into three segments, like a children's picture flip book. Each third of a page is either a warm-up, a main set, or a warm-down, ranging from easy to advanced. You can swim the workout on a whole page or mix up the thirds, doing an easy warm-up and warm-down and a tough main set, for example. The whole workouts total anywhere from 800 to 2,500 yards, with suggested intervals and rest. And you'll never run out of workouts. It would take you 19 years, swimming one workout a day, to swim all of the 6,700 possible variations. (Fitness Swimmer, October/November 1997) Finally--a swimming book you can take to the pool. What a great idea! If you're a swimmer without a coach and swim a certain number of minutes, this book would be a great way to enter the much-more-interesting world of interval swimming. Also, coached swimmers can use the book for workout ideas when training alone or away from home. (Swim Magazine, September/October 1997) Unlike swimming with my regular coach who, when splashed, became wet and irritated, this one didn't mind at all. That is because this coach, 'The Waterproof Coach,' is a coated workout book designed for pool side use. You can splash it, dunk it and soak it and you can just dry it off with a towel. (Transition Times, October 1997) Need some help outside your master'swim program? The Waterproof Coach may be the handy answer. Spiral-bound for easy flipping, its pages are divided into three segments: warm-ups, main sets and cool-downs-ranging from easy to advanced. Distances vary from 800 to 3,500 yards, with a total of 6,700 possible workout variations. According to author Tom Denes, it would take 19 years (swimming one workout a day) to swim all of the possible workouts.


Book Description
The Waterproof Coach is a unique, self-paced workout book for swimmers and triathletes. This book is completely waterproof. Swimmers can take the book pool-side and plan their workout as they swim. Each page of workouts is cut into three segments--the first segment contains a warm up, the second a main set, and the third a cool down. The book can easily be configured into over 6,700 different workouts by combining any warm up with any main set and any cool down. In other words, if the book is used three days a week, it would take over 40 years before the same workout is repeated! The book presents three levels of workouts, from beginner to intermediate. The three segments allow swimmers to mix and match their workouts by combining any of the levels together. Swimmers can vary their routine simply by flipping the segments.


From the Author
I thought about the concept for The Waterproof Coach for five years before I wrote the book. I had heard many a bored swimmer complaining about doing the same workout over and over again, many using index cards wrapped in plastic! I decided to create a book with which the swimmer could create thousands of workouts merely by arranging the segmented pages. I also decided to make the book waterproof so that the swimmer could take the pool right on deck. I hope you enjoy the result!


About the Author
Thomas Denes competes in Masters swimming competitions at both the national international levels, placing in events as diverse as the 50 meter freestyle and the 2 mile open water swim. Denes lives and trains in Montgomery County, Maryland, where he is founder and president of the Montgomery Ancient Mariners, a United States Masters swimming club. He is a contributor to Swim Magazine.