Gary Hall was the guest on the 4th episode of The Swim Brief Podcast hosted by Chris DeSantis. Tune in and listen to the show for a fun half an hour of swimming talk.

“On this edition of the Swim Brief, Chris DeSantis goes one on one with Swimming legend Dr. Gary Hall Sr. They discuss what its like being one of the top father-son teams in sports, ideas for professional swimming. Gary also shares a couple funny stories from the deck as well as information about the Race Club’s new DVD: The Fundamentals of Fast Swimming.”

Visit their website or subscribe to the Podcast via iTunes for future episodes.

We are doing an introductory preorder offer for $34.95 until May 1. You can purchase our combo special until May 1 and get both “The Fundamentals of Fast Swimming” and “The Three Styles of Freestyle” for just $64.95.

Please read Gary Sr.’s introduction post of the Fundamentals of Fast Swimming DVD for the full scoop. And of course go to our store to purchase your copy of the DVD.

Many of you have enjoyed The Race Club’s original DVD, entitled The Three Styles of Freestyle. It has served as a great tutorial for our Race Club Campers to demonstrate that in swimming, there is not simply one right way to get to the end of the pool and back. Different stroke techniques are not only required for different swimmers, depending on their strengths or weaknesses, but also for different distances. To maximize efficiency, a swimmer must swim the 50 with a different technique than the 100 or 200, for example. Too many coaches try to pigeon hole swimmers into using one swim stroke, often trying to copy another great swimmer, such as Phelps or Coughlin, but it doesn’t always work out.

There are good scientific reasons why swimming techniques should differ for swimmers. I feel it is important for both swimmers and coaches to understand why they are trying to swim a certain way. It is as important to understand the reason for the commonalities of great swimmers as well as the reason for the differences. That is one of our goals for our campers.

Read the rest of this Column »

I sat about half way up the bleachers in the middle of Joe Perkins Natatorium at Southern Methodist University for the first preliminary session of the National AAU Swimming Championships in 1967. In the warm Spring afternoon, the Dallas humidity made the temperature inside the poorly ventilated building almost unbearable. While my chin rested on my clenched fist, I could feel little droplets of perspiration running down from under my armpits along my rib cage. Heat six of the men’s 200 yard individual medley (IM) had just been called to the starting blocks and suddenly, the half-interested crowd of mostly swimmers and coaches turned its attention toward the swimmer in lane three.

Mark Spitz stood relaxed, shaking his right arm first, then shaking his left arm. The powerful muscles dangled loosely from his long arms, as if they were attached to the bones by mere threads. Balancing his left leg on the ball of his foot, with the knee bent slightly, he shook his thigh slowly from side to side until it seemed those big upper leg muscles would also loosen to the point of falling off. Then he did the same motion with his right leg. For a moment, while he stood on the back of the starting block staring at the other end of the pool, contemplating the task ahead, his typical swimmer’s slumped posture, complete with rounded back, small rump and hyperextend knees, created an oversized portrayal of the number 3 painted on the side of his block.

Read the rest of this Column »