In 1999, one of the most promising thoroughbred stallions on the racing circuit, Fusaichi Pegasus, sustained an injury to the front elbow at a crucial time in his career. The owner was considering putting the horse to stud and never racing him again. Dr. Doug Herthel, an equine veterinarian in Santa Ynez Valley, California, heard about the injury and offered to help. The owner agreed and allowed Doug to take the horse to try to rehabilitate it. His program included changing nutrition and using Platinum Granular formula, essentially the same ingredients as in the Platinum bar.

Remarkably, a horse that was never supposed to race again, Fusaichi Pegasus came back from the injury to win the Kentucky Derby in 2000. Doug attributes much of that success to changing the horses diet.

About the same time, Doug and his son, Mark, decided to produce Platinum nutritional products for humans. The Race Club World Team in 2000 became one of the first groups to use their products. While Fusaichi Pegasus was preparing to win the Kentucky Derby, we were preparing 13 world-class swimmers for the Olympic Games of Sydney, using Platinum bars and other Platinum products.

Up until our coach, Mike Bottom, who introduced The Race Club to Dr. Herthel, began using Platinum products for our swimmers, workout performances had been mediocre and recovery times very slow.  Once we began to use the Platinum products, we saw an immediate improvement in the quality of workout swims and shortened recovery times. Faster workout times and more good practices helped to build the confidence our swimmers needed for racing. Instead of eating sugar cereal for breakfast, our swimmers began eating one Platinum bar before and after each practice. We stopped our swimmers from going to fast food restaurants and began to provide healthy lunches and recommended healthier dinners. In 2000, our swimmers’ success was similar to Fusaichi Pegasus.

Ten of our thirteen swimmers qualified for their respective Olympic Teams (six were Americans). The American athletes won ten Olympic medals in Sydney, about 1/10th of the total that the USA won during those Olympic Games in all sports combined. A big part of our success was undoubtedly due to the improved nutrition. Of all their products, the Platinum bar was likely the most important one.

In my opinion, there are two key differences between the Platinum bar and most of the other health/energy bars on the market. First, Platinum bars have a very low glycemic index. Although they provide enough carbohyrdrates for athletes (23 grams), they are not the kind that will seriously elevate the blood sugar. Gary Jr is a type I diabetic who had been diagnosed one year earlier in 1999 and yet he was able to take the Platinum bars effectively without a significant rise in his blood sugar level. He could not do that with most of the other energy bars. Second, the Platinum bar is rich in healthy essential fatty acids, particularly the Omega-3 and Omega-6, and a multitude of vitamins and minerals. The Platinum bar digests quickly and does not leave a bad taste or unsettle the stomach.

Today, I recommend Platinum bars to all swimmers of all ages that attend the Race Club camps. I put all of my fastest swimmers on the product daily. With three good flavors to choose from, chocolate/sunflower seed, strawberry and blueberry, there is one to suit everybody’s taste. It is a great product to take before and after each practice, on the run when there is no time to stop and eat, or during competition, particularly when the wait period is longer than expected.

I take a Platinum bar every single day and if you want to swim fast, I recommend you do too.

Best in swimming,

Gary Sr.

Get Your Platinum Bars Today!

Since the hand/arm are now moving in the forward direction again, the objective of this phase is to slip the hand and arm out of the water with the least amount of frontal drag possible. To achieve this, the swimmer draws the elbow up and forward first with the forearm and hand following. The hand then rotates internally with the palm facing toward the swimmers body in order to reduce drag as it leave the water.

The duration of this final phase of the pull is about .15 seconds, slightly longer than the previous phase, but not much. Since the motion of the hand and arm are now forward and up, there is neither propulsion nor lift to be gained from this final phase of the pull. Once the hand leaves the water and begins the recovery above water, the sooner one can get the arm and hand back in the water for another pull cycle, the better.

The recovery of the arm above water takes only about .27 seconds. It is important to realize that while the pulling arm is in the fourth phase of the pull cycle, the other arm is already in the water and initiating the first lift phase of its new cycle. However, neither the release nor lift phase contributes to propulsion, so all of the propulsive power for this brief time must come from the legs.

The frontal drag forces of the human body in water, even in the most streamlined position we can manage, are so imposing that without some source of propulsive power happening, the body will begin to decelerate quickly. This is one reason why the kick is so important; to sustain some propulsive power during this brief ‘down time’ of the underwater pull.

For the record, this analysis of my underwater pull was done without any kick (pull buoy was strapped to my ankles) in order to isolate the effects of the pulling motion. My entire stroke cycle, including the recovery, took 1.1 seconds. This equates to a stroke rate of 110 strokes per minute or a cycle rate (rpm) of 55 cycles per minute. (Normally coaches consider stroke rates not cycle rates). In other words, I was sprinting using a shoulder-driven freestyle.

One can slow the stroke rate by holding longer in front (hip-driven technique), but the rest of the pull cycle (phases II through IV) as well as the recovery, should be just as fast as with the shoulder driven technique. By holding the hand in front longer, one effectively lengthens the propulsive ‘down time’ of the pull. However, because there is more time to rotate the hip, this type of pull will generate more power each time it goes through the propulsive phases because of the greater hip rotation creating a greater force to pull against. In order to use hip-driven freestyle effectively, however, one must also have a strong propulsive kick to sustain the body speed and help create more lift during the down time.

Virtually all of the fastest sprinters in the world use a high stroke rate, shoulder-driven technique. Where I live in the Florida Keys, instead of catch-and-release fishing, I call this catch-and-release swimming; quick catch (no hold out front) to get into the propulsive phase soon and quick release to get ready for another pull. Stroke rates for world-class swimmers vary from 110 to 140 in the 50 sprint and 85 to 110 for the 100 meters. For distance swimmers doing the mile, stroke rates will vary from 60 strokes per minute for hip-driven freestylers to nearly 100 strokes per minute for some shoulder-driven freestylers.

For distance swims, both hip-driven and shoulder-driven techniques can be effective, depending on the strength of the kick. In the former, one uses more of Bernoulli’s principle taking advantage of lift, so long as there is a good kick behind. In the latter, one uses the arms more like a propeller, trying to keep a more constant propulsive force applied by the arms. The technique that works best for you will depend on how strong a kicker you are and how aerobically fit you can become in order to sustain a higher stroke rate.

Yours in swimming,

Gary Sr.

Since the hand/arm loses power biomechanically as it moves rearward into the back quadrant, several things happen in order to help sustain the propulsive force. First, the hand elevates and the wrist dorsiflexes to keep the maximum surface area pushing backward. Second, the upper arm tucks into the swimmer’s side creating some motion backward of that part of the arm with a resultant propulsive force. Third, as a result of the body coming to the end of its counter rotation during this phase and stopping its motion to initiate a new rotation in the opposite direction, the stabilizing force from the body rotation is now minimized. To replace that force, the most powerful of the three down kicks that happen during the underwater pull (with a 6 beat kick), occurs toward the side of the pulling arm, as the body is now rotated to this same side, and coincides with this final propulsive phase of the pull. This hard kick now acts as the primary stabilizing force for this phase of the pull and enables the swimmer to maximize all of the power possible from this weaker back quadrant pulling position.

By the time the hand reaches 9 o’clock and it is near the hip, the elbow is now nearly fully extended and there is no longer any propulsive power available to gain from that arm pull. At this moment the body speed is as fast as it will get during the stroke cycle, primarily because the propulsive phase has just ended and the position of both arms (one out front and the other behind) reduces the drag coefficient to its lowest point. It is now time to get the hand back into the front quadrant as quickly and efficiently as possible in order to start another pull.

Yours in swimming,

Gary Sr.

The amount of body speed that is generated by this propulsive phase of the underwater pull is related to the effective surface area of the pulling arm/hand, the speed or acceleration of the hand/forearm as it moves backward and the amount of force generated by the counter-rotation of the body. The body speed is also inversely related to the amount of frontal drag created by the ever-changing shape of the entire swimmer throughout the pull cycle.

I often ask my campers the question of whether the power of the arm pull is greater in the front quadrant or the back quadrant, separated anatomically by the shoulder. I would say that the responses that I get are about half and half, which is to say that at least half the people don’t know the answer. The others are probably good guessers.

Since the propulsive phase begins when the hand is at the 3 o’clock position, the hand is then situated in the front quadrant, about one foot in front of the shoulder. By the time the hand reaches this point, two important things have happened. First, as the body counter-rotates in the direction of the pulling arm, the arm has moved from an extended position (negative angle) of the shoulder joint to initiate the lift phase (using a high elbow position), to a flexed position (positive angle) to initiate the propulsive phases. The flexed position of the arm/shoulder joint puts the arm in a much greater biomechanical position of strength than the extended position. Second, the rotation/counter-rotation of the body requires that the rotation of the body starts slowly, accelerates to a faster speed, then it slows again to a stop, before rotating in the opposite direction. The greatest amount of counter force that is generated by this rotational motion occurs in the middle when the rotational speed is greatest. This also coincides with the hand propulsion in the front quadrant moving from 3 o’clock to 6 o’clock. The greater the counter force, the more power we can generate from the arm pull.

The biomechanical strength of the arm not only changes as the body counter rotates, but also as the hand moves from 3 o’clock, a position about a foot above the shoulder, to 9 o’clock, when the hand is closer to the hip. When the hand begins this propulsive journey at 3 o’clock, it starts out with the highest level of strength, engaging arm, shoulder, back, chest and core muscles. By the time it ends the propulsive journey at 9 o’clock, close to the hip, the tricep muscle is just about the only muscle still working. Most of the others have all dropped out.

If one were to try to equate body speed to power of the underwater pull, it would be easy to believe that more power is generated in the back quadrant because the body speed (in my example with arms only) increases from 1.39 m/sec at the 3 o’clock position to 1.58 m/sec at the 6 o’clock position to 1.71 m/sec at the 9 o’clock position. In other words the further back my hand gets, the faster I am going. However, body speed is not just determined by the power of the underwater pull. It also depends on frontal drag and most of that extra drag is being contributed by the upper arm moving forward during the entire front quadrant phase. By the time the hand reaches 6 o’clock and enters the back quadrant, the elbow gets tucked into the side quickly and the upper arms stops contributing to frontal drag, as it begins to move backward slightly.

For both of these reasons; greater biomechanical strength in the front and maximum rotational body speed in the front, I believe most of the power of the arm pull is generated in the motion within the front quadrant from 3 to 6 o’clock, rather than in the back quadrant, from 6 to 9 o’clock. So the next time your coach tells you to push your hand out the back, think twice before you do it.

Yours in swimming,

Gary Sr.

Short of wearing a wetsuit, the only two natural contributors to lifting the body while swimming are the arms and legs. While using a six-beat kick, the legs contribute three times the number of lift efforts to each arm pull. However, the arms are capable of making a huge contribution to lift, but that occurs only at the beginning of each underwater pull, from the 12 o’clock to the 3 o’clock position on the ‘glare’ clock. During that time, the arm and hand are in a lesser frontal drag position, stretched out in front, close to the line of motion of the body.

There are two reasons why the hand/arm create lift in the early phase of the underwater pull. The first is from Bernoulli’s principle, which requires the relative speed of water above the arm and hand is greater than below it, resulting in a greater pressure below to create lift. This type of lift is greatly dependent on the speed at which the arm and hand are moving through the water. Unlike an airplane, which requires tremendous speed in order to lift it off the ground, one can achieve lift in the water from this mechanism at relatively slow speeds. Yet the faster one is moving in the water, the more of this type of lift occurs. Since the outstretched arm and hand in front are responsible for creating some of this type of lift (the rest occurs on the body or legs) and at this particular moment in the cycle the front arm/hand does not contribute at all to propulsion, that means the propulsion needed for the Bernoulli lift is coming from either the legs only (shoulder-driven freestyle) or both the other hand/arm and the legs (hip-driven freestyle). It is for this very reason that hip-driven freestyle, which requires a longer push out front with the arm/hand and delays momentarily reaching the propulsive phases, results in more Bernoulli lift, particularly with a strong kick. The other hand is contributing to the propulsion at this moment. In addition, the kick itself also provides much lift from its force downward.

The second means of creating lift with the arm/hand is also by simply applying a downward force. This motion always occurs in either a hip-driven or shoulder-driven technique because it is necessary to get the hand into a deeper position where it can move backwards, creating propulsion. The difference is timing, as the hip-driven freestylers will delay this downward force while driving forward with strong legs and a bigger hip turn (rotation), while the shoulder-driven freestyler requires an immediate downward force after the hand entry, resulting in a higher arm stroke rate.

In my example, using a shoulder-driven technique, the hand remains in the lift position for .35 seconds, longer than all of the other phases, including the above water recovery. In the hip-driven technique, where the stroke rate may slow to 60 per minute, the cycle time slows to 2 seconds (from 1.1 seconds in shoulder driven) and the duration of the hand/arm in the lift phase would be about l to 1.25 seconds, longer than the entire cycle time of the shoulder-driven freestyler.

Regardless of which freestyle technique is used, the way in which this downward force of the arm/hand is initiated has a huge bearing on how much frontal drag is caused from the remainder of the arm motion underwater. In particular, it really matters what is happening with the upper arm, from the elbow to the shoulder, as that part of the arm is moving forward for 2/3 of the entire duration of the underwater pull (or ¾ of the underwater pull time for the hip-driven swimmer). Once the hand reaches 3 o’clock, it starts moving backward and no longer contributes to frontal drag (except slightly during the release phase when it is moving forward again). The upper arm continues to move forward contributing to frontal drag until the hand is past 6 o’clock. At that point, the upper arm is tucked into the swimmer’s side, moving backward for a brief moment before the release. One can choose either to pull in a more natural way by pushing down with the entire arm from the shoulder to the hand to create this lift from 12 o’clock to 3 o’clock. Not only will this motion create more lift, it will also put the arm in a more favorable biomechanical position for the second and third propulsive phases of the pull. However, this is not the way the fastest swimmers pull. So what is the catch (no pun intended)? This motion also causes the highest amount of frontal drag by immediately putting the upper arm off axis (this means it is not in line with our body’s motion). This deeper pulling pathway also keeps the upper arm off axis for a longer period of time. The result is in an increase in frontal drag that more than offsets the amount of additional power and lift that this motion allows. It is like putting one’s foot on the gas and the brake at the same time. The net result is a slower swim and a more exhausted swimmer.

The better option for the lift phase of the underwater pull is to create the lift motion with the forearm and hand only. Leave the upper arm moving more or less straightforward, elbow near the surface, while the hand moves from 12 o’clock to 3 o’clock. This position is known as early vertical forearm. If one is rotating the body properly, whether using a hip-driven or shoulder-driven technique, this motion puts the lead arm initiating the underwater pull into an extended shoulder position. That means that the arm is actually angled at the shoulder joint behind the body (negative angle). In this position, the arm is simply not as strong as it is in a neutral or positive angle, pointing forward. Fortunately, as the body counter-rotates while the hand/arm go through the pulling motion, by the time the hand is into the propulsive phase at 3 o’clock and begins to move backward, the shoulder joint is now back into a positive angle. Not as much power is sacrificed during this crucial propulsion phase as one might think. Yet, even though by using this pulling motion, one reduces both lift and some propulsive power in the arm, one still ends up being better off because the upper arm in this motion creates much less frontal drag. Bottom line: Reducing frontal drag trumps power.

In order to swim fast, you need the lift from both your arms and both your legs. When it comes to getting the lift from the arms, however, use the hand and forearm, not the upper arm. This motion creates the high elbow or early vertical forearm position that reduces frontal drag and is paramount to fast swimming.

Yours in swimming,

Gary Sr.

Underwater Pull Video Series:

• Introduction
• Lift
• Propulsion Front Quadrant
• Propulsion Back Quadrant

The problem with L-carnitine is that until recently, it was not understood how to get the molecule into the muscle. Researchers Benjamin T. Wall, Francis Stephens and others at the University of Nottingham Medical School in the UK reported in the Journal of Physiology that L-carnitine is readily transported into the muscle in the presence of insulin¹. Since insulin is a banned substance and cannot be taken (except by diabetics that do not produce it), they found that by combining L-carnitine with a carbohydrate drink mix, called Vitargo S2, that causes an increase in insulin production, it also caused a significant increase in muscle L-carnitine over a 4-month period.

The reason that the L-carnitine is so important for the muscle is that it improves the efficiency and output of oxidative phosphorilation, or production of ATP with oxygen. It also reduces the need for anaerobic glycolysis, which in their study resulted in a 44% reduction of lactate production. Lactate is known to increase acidosis and interfere with normal muscle contraction. Great athletes tend to produce less lactate during strenuous exercises.

Now it appears that there is a natural and more effective way for all of us to produce less lactate during exercise. Platinum Power is a product that the Race Club has recommended since 2000 and with great results. One of the key ingredients in Platinum Power is L-carnitine. It contains both L-carnitine tartrate and Acetyl L-carnitine, both useful in the metabolism of fatty acids. It also contains many other helpful ingredients to increase muscle power.

Here is what we are now recommending for all of our high-level athletes over the age of 16 years twice daily, along with other Platinum products.

• Two large scoops of Platinum Power (powder formula) mixed with 80 gm of Vitargo S2 drink of any flavor. (This product is guaranteed by the manufacturer to be free of contaminants and banned substances and can be purchased on Amazon.com).
• One Platinum Bar (These bars have a low glycemic index and are rich in essential fatty acids required in the metabolism with L-carnitine to produce more ATP).

It is important to take these in combination daily for four months or longer to achieve an effective increase in muscle L-carnitine and improve athletic performance. You can order Platinum products from our store. Please let us know how they are working for you.

¹ Wall, Benjamin T., Stephens, Francis B. et al, J Physiol 589.4 (2011) PP 963-973

In the late 60’s and early 70’s, my coach at Indiana University, Dr. James Counsilman, began to study the motion of the hand underwater using strobe lights attached to the fingers of the swimmer in a completely darkened pool. ‘Doc’ would lie still on the bottom of the pool with his scuba gear and his high speed Bolex movie camera, encased in a plastic waterproof housing, and film swimmers such as Mark Spitz, Charlie Hickcox and me overhead. He would then do the same from the side view. From these movies, ‘Doc’ was the first to observe that the hand releases from the water very nearly at the same point as it enters the water to begin each underwater pull. He also observed that the hand moves with considerable sculling motion, from side to side, during the underwater part of the cycle. From this, he deduced that the primary function of the hand/forearm was not a paddle, as previously thought, but rather more of a wing, providing lift. This function obeyed an entirely different law, Bernoulli’s principle, which requires that relative to the arm and hand, the water molecules above the arm are moving at a greater speed than those below. The difference in relative speed of these molecules results in a pressure differential from above and below the arm, creating lift.

Later, other scientists, such as Dr. Joel Stager, also at Indiana University, proved that both theories are correct. The hand and forearm act as both a wing and a paddle, but at different phases of the underwater pull. Much of the side to side motion of the pull, the so-called S pull that ‘Doc’ advocated, is really not beneficial to increasing propulsive power. However, maximizing propulsive power may also not be the most desirable way to pull underwater, as the resultant body speed is related not only to the propulsive power, but inversely related to the frontal drag created by the swimmer’s body and motion of the arms and legs. What makes swimming so challenging is the need to find the right compromise between the motions that produce the most propulsive power and those that result in the least frontal drag.

I have learned more about the mechanics of the underwater pull from a technology called the velocity meter than any other. A few years ago, Dr. Budd Termin came to The Race Club in Islamorada with this technology that uses a Kevlar line attached to the swimmer’s waist. As the swimmer moves through the water, he photographs him/her using four simultaneous stationary video cameras; three from the side and one from the front view. As the Kevlar line unreels, he can then measure the precise body speed at all points during the stroke cycle. For some of the freestyle analysis, in order to understand the pull better, I eliminated the contribution of the kick and isolated the arm and body motions by attaching a pull buoy strapped to my ankles. One of these shots in particular turned out to be very fortuitous as a circular glare spot on the camera lens just happened to coincide almost exactly with the motion of my hand during the underwater pull. From the known length of my arm, I was able to estimate the size of the glare spot projected onto the location of my body to be approximately two feet in diameter. As one views my hand moving through the underwater pull relative to this motionless glare spot, one can also easily appreciate the actual motion of each part of the entire arm and hand relative to the water, that is motionless like the glare spot.

It turns out that if one were to consider that the glare spot were a clock, my hand enters the water at 12 o’clock at the surface and travels nearly exactly around the perimeter of the clock until it reaches 6 o’clock. At that point, the hand cuts inside the quarter of the clock face by elevating toward the center of the clock, and then it proceeds backward toward 9 o’clock. Once the hand reaches 9 o’clock, it releases from the water by following the perimeter of the clock again back to 12, exiting the water almost precisely where it started. In the analysis of this pulling-only stroke cycle, the entire trip around the clock occurs in .85 seconds, while the entire cycle, including the recovery above water, takes 1.1 seconds.

While I am using a shoulder-driven sprint stroke for this example with a relatively high rate of 110 strokes per minute, it serves to demonstrate how the hand and arm are functioning during the underwater pull.

I will use the ‘glare’ clock to divide the underwater pull into four phases; lift, front quadrant propulsion, back quadrant propulsion and release. The lift phase occurs from 12:00 o’clock to 3:00 o’clock. The front quadrant propulsion phase occurs from 3:00 o’clock to 6:00 o’clock. The back quadrant propulsion phase occurs from 6:00 o’clock to 9:00 o’clock. The release phase occurs from 9:00 o’clock back to 12:00 o’clock.

Yours in swimming,

Gary Sr.

“It is a great logo, though, don’t you think?” I chimed in. We all agreed on that.

I became a little more involved in The Race Club in 2006, when its focus was more directed to helping elite athletes reach their Olympic goals, and I had just moved to Islamorada. After sending 17 swimmers to Beijing in 2008, for the first time, I took a long breath, leaned back and really started to understand what The Race Club could become and what it could offer. That is when I became fully involved and very excited.

Imagine that in 12 years, The Race Club (or its predecessor, the World Team) had helped over 30 swimmers reach the Olympic Games and collect over 20 Olympic medals. That didn’t happen by accident. That happened because we had one of the world’s finest swim coaches, Mike Bottom, shaping their training path. That happened because we figured out what was needed besides a great swim coach to reach the Olympic podium. That happened because we were able to bring all of the disciplines needed to reach that level into one environment. And it happened because we had great athletic talent to work with.

There is an abundance of swimming talent all across America. Some of those talented swimmers go on to reach their full potential, but most don’t. Usually they don’t because they never find the environment or understand what it takes to reach the highest level. They never realize what they are missing.

It is no longer possible, no matter how much talent one has, to reach the Olympic level without finding an environment that can bring all of the necessary training disciplines to the table. Fortunately, the United States has quite a few clubs or environments that can do this, but they are not available to everyone.

Gary Sr. teaching the back to breast turn.

So what if The Race Club took all of its years of expertise in training swimmers, coaching techniques, stroke techniques and philosophy and offered it to anyone who wanted to come? Who else does that? Regardless of age, ability or goals, any swimmer can come to The Race Club and get better.

• Where does one go when one wants to build a foundation of good solid fundamentals to build a swimming career? The Race Club
• Where does one go when he/she has reached a plateau and can’t seem to get better? The Race Club
• Where does one go when he/she is emotionally drained or burned out and needs to get excited about swimming again? The Race Club
• Where does one go to get extraordinary underwater swimming video footage that opens up an entirely new world of knowledge about stroke mechanics? The Race Club
• Where does one go for short bursts of high intensity training, just like we gave our Olympic athletes? The Race Club
• Where does one go to mix a little business of swimming faster with pleasure? The Race Club

It is our business to enable you to swim faster and have fun doing it…and in one of the most pleasurable places in the world, Islamorada in the Florida Keys. See you here soon.

Yours in swimming,

Gary Sr.

How To Use

Put 15 to 30 drops under tongue for 30 seconds then swallow 10 minutes before competition and immediately after for swimmers over 8 years of age.

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Activated Stabilized Oxygen 8 oz. Activated Stabilized Oxygen 2 oz.

More Information

• Activated Stabilized Oxygen Study
• Review by US Masters Swimmer