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Fundamentals of Fast Swimming: How to Improve Your Swim Technique
In Fundamentals of Fast Swimming, Race Club Technical Director Gary Hall Sr. and Head Coach Devin Murphy guide you to a better understanding of the science and nuances of what makes great swimmers so fast. In each chapter, every swimming stroke is broken down into its most important and basic components, explained in great detail with photos, including helpful drills at the end. After reading Fundamentals of Fast Swimming, with easy-to-understand explanations, over 300 photos and diagrams, you will become more knowledgeable about the sport of swimming. If you are a swimmer, you will become more efficient and faster. If you are a coach or parent, you will develop a much better appreciation for and understanding of swimming technique. Here is what some of swimming experts had to say about Fundamentals of Fast is an outstanding book to read whether you are a new coach, veteran swimmer or experienced coach. If you are looking for new thoughts and concepts to propel you forward in your career, Gary has chunked big concepts into digestible explanations. He also dives into the details of efficient swimming and training. Gary has a unique perspective having swum, coached, mentored, and even fathered swimmers at the absolute highest level. Gary's experience with the Race Club continues to give him relatable and valuable examples of progressive swimming concepts at every level of our great sport. - David Marsh Head Coach 2016 USA Olympic Women's Swimming TeamCoaching swimming requires the multifaceted vision that one may have as if they were centered in the middle of a fine cut diamond looking out. Gary, more than any person alive today, sits in this position. He is an Olympic swimmer, a supportive father of an Olympic Champion on one hand and a talented videographer on the other. He is a medical doctor, a clinician, an observer and a learner that surrounds himself with cutting edge thinkers. What a delight it is to read through his vision, written in scientific poetry! Thank you, Gary, for all you have done for so many in so many areas of life! - Mike Bottom Head Coach University of Michigan Men's and Women's SwimmingWhen I was swimming in high school my mother gave me a copy of James 'Doc' Counsilman's, The Science of Swimming. I considered it the bible of swimming. Now, in Gary Hall Sr.'s, Fundamentals of Fast Swimming, Gary has exponentially added to his mentor's signature work. Ultimately, Gary's book is a reference manual for all things every competitive swimmer needs to know. This is a technical tool that thoroughly covers the mechanics of all strokes along with starts and turns. What makes it special is the introduction of the lessons that technological advances provide. As Gary explains, winning and losing in competitive swimming is now measured in hundredths of a second, achieved through nuance and perfection. This book is a compendium of lessons for gaining that edge.The book is well organized and truly a go-to reference tool. I was most surprised by Gary's description of what he calls of The Five Disciplines of Swimming. This short concluding chapter alone is worth the price of the book. Swimming training, strength training, nutrition, recovery and mental training are his pillars for success. As someone who has relied inordinately on swimming training, I am anxious to round out my personal program with what I have learned from reading this textbook to faster swimming. - Laura Val RN, Holder of 381 World Swimming Records in Masters Swimming
282 pages, Paperback
Published September 22, 2020
35 people are currently reading
34 people want to read
About the author
Gary Hall
1 bookLibrarian Note: There is more than one author by this name in the Goodreads database.
Gary Hall Sr has been involved in swimming for nearly his entire life. He rose to prominence quickly as a young competitive swimmer in Southern California, breaking 22 National Records by the age of ten. By 16, he qualified for his first of three Olympic Games of 1968, 1972 and 1976, where he earned three individual medals and was part of the gold medal winning medley relay team in 1972. He was twice voted as the Men’s World Swimmer of the Year in 1969 and 1970. From 1969-1973 he attended Indiana University, swimming for legendary coach, James ‘Doc’ Counsilman. While there, he won seven individual NCAA titles and helped Indiana University win four consecutive team championships. Among his many honors, his greatest occurred during the 1976 Olympic Games, where he was selected by the Team Captains of all sports to carry the United States Flag, leading Team USA into the Opening Ceremony. He was the first American swimmer in history to receive that honor. Michael Phelps received the same honor in 2016.
After completing his swimming career, Gary finished medical school at University of Cincinnati. During medical school, he supported his family by coaching swimming at the well-known Cincinnati Marlins. After completing his Residency in Ophthalmology at Indiana University Medical Center, he practiced in Phoenix, Arizona until 2006. During his 24 years as an Ophthalmologist, Gary built a large practice, pioneered surgical procedures and performed clinical research. On the side, he managed the very successful Phoenix Swim Club and competed in triathlons and Masters swimming.
From 1996 to 2004, Gary proudly watched his son, Gary Jr, surpass his swimming accomplishments by winning ten Olympic medals in three Olympic Games. To this day, Gary Sr and Gary Jr are the only father and son in sports history to each compete in three Olympic Games.
In 2003, Gary Jr co-founded The Race Club in Islamorada, Florida, as a training program for aspiring Olympic swimmers. Gary Sr joined his son in this endeavor in 2006, moving to Florida from Arizona.
After he retired from competitive swimming in 2008, Gary Jr began to focus on finding the cure for Type I Diabetes, with which he was diagnosed in 1999. He has become one of the world’s leading advocates for diabetic patients.
Gary Sr and his wife, Mary, transitioned The Race Club from a training program into a teaching program, which it has been ever since. Gary Sr recently authored a textbook on swimming technique, entitled Fundamentals of Fast Swimming-How to Improve Your Swim Technique.
Today, The Race Club coaches improve swimmers’ technique in Islamorada, Florida and Coronado, California. Gary Sr’s second son, Richard, joined The Race Club in 2010, becoming the video production manager. Richard’s Race Club educational videos are widely acclaimed by swimmers and coaches worldwide, with over 15 million You Tube views. Thousands of swimmers, coaches and triathletes all over the world subscribe to The Race Club instructional videos at www.theraceclub.com.
Gary Hall Sr has been involved in swimming for nearly his entire life. He rose to prominence quickly as a young competitive swimmer in Southern California, breaking 22 National Records by the age of ten. By 16, he qualified for his first of three Olympic Games of 1968, 1972 and 1976, where he earned three individual medals and was part of the gold medal winning medley relay team in 1972. He was twice voted as the Men’s World Swimmer of the Year in 1969 and 1970. From 1969-1973 he attended Indiana University, swimming for legendary coach, James ‘Doc’ Counsilman. While there, he won seven individual NCAA titles and helped Indiana University win four consecutive team championships. Among his many honors, his greatest occurred during the 1976 Olympic Games, where he was selected by the Team Captains of all sports to carry the United States Flag, leading Team USA into the Opening Ceremony. He was the first American swimmer in history to receive that honor. Michael Phelps received the same honor in 2016.
After completing his swimming career, Gary finished medical school at University of Cincinnati. During medical school, he supported his family by coaching swimming at the well-known Cincinnati Marlins. After completing his Residency in Ophthalmology at Indiana University Medical Center, he practiced in Phoenix, Arizona until 2006. During his 24 years as an Ophthalmologist, Gary built a large practice, pioneered surgical procedures and performed clinical research. On the side, he managed the very successful Phoenix Swim Club and competed in triathlons and Masters swimming.
From 1996 to 2004, Gary proudly watched his son, Gary Jr, surpass his swimming accomplishments by winning ten Olympic medals in three Olympic Games. To this day, Gary Sr and Gary Jr are the only father and son in sports history to each compete in three Olympic Games.
In 2003, Gary Jr co-founded The Race Club in Islamorada, Florida, as a training program for aspiring Olympic swimmers. Gary Sr joined his son in this endeavor in 2006, moving to Florida from Arizona.
After he retired from competitive swimming in 2008, Gary Jr began to focus on finding the cure for Type I Diabetes, with which he was diagnosed in 1999. He has become one of the world’s leading advocates for diabetic patients.
Gary Sr and his wife, Mary, transitioned The Race Club from a training program into a teaching program, which it has been ever since. Gary Sr recently authored a textbook on swimming technique, entitled Fundamentals of Fast Swimming-How to Improve Your Swim Technique.
Today, The Race Club coaches improve swimmers’ technique in Islamorada, Florida and Coronado, California. Gary Sr’s second son, Richard, joined The Race Club in 2010, becoming the video production manager. Richard’s Race Club educational videos are widely acclaimed by swimmers and coaches worldwide, with over 15 million You Tube views. Thousands of swimmers, coaches and triathletes all over the world subscribe to The Race Club instructional videos at www.theraceclub.com.
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Displaying 1 of 1 review
August 6, 2021
I struggled to ignore the downsides of this book and focus on the interesting and relevant wealth of information contained within, so let's take care of those first.
1. I bought the paper copy. And I'm glad I did, because I plan to re-read it and take notes all over it. It's also helpful to have a copy I can take to the pool. In addition, I just saw some recent research showing that the retention and understanding are actually better when students read paper versions vs. electronic, which matches my own experience. BUUUUUUT... The swim drills listed in the book are not described. Instead, they (and other information) are linked to in the eBook. You can find the information (sometimes) by searching on the Race Club website, but there is no centralized location where you can click through the links in the book. I can't get over the feeling that that's just not right. To have paid good money and basically gotten half a book.
2. The pictures are terrible. Perhaps they look better in the eBook (the paper version is black and white), but many of them could not look enough better to make them good. We are talking truly, truly terrible pictures... that are supposed to illuminate what it looks like to swim well and execute the techniques discussed in the book. This is definitely offset by the Race Club's excellent video collection (some of which is available for free, some not), but it just seems... unprofessional to publish a book with pictures of this quality.
3. Being flat-out wrong. This is going to happen sometimes - swim training and technique is ever evolving, and it is perfectly reasonable to hold different opinions on many matters. But there were a few places where I felt like a published book should do better. I think my most important complaint is two-fold - a lack of appropriate repeated trials when gathering data, and a lack of presentation of data (sometimes) when making bold and assertive claims. An example of a more narrow mistake would be that when discussing the free to free turn in the IM, the description of the body position requirement coming off of the turn is outdated (but was available before the publication date). It results in giving incorrect information to swimmers and coaches reading the book.
So those were the bad, for me. There's a lot of good to make up for it:
- A scientific approach (if sometimes flawed) to swimming that is greatly lacking in our sport
- Good organization and information that is generally easy to understand (for relatively experienced swimmers)
- Lots of new things to try in order to help swimmers improve, and the ways to do it
- A great starting place for thinking about how swimmers swim. Arguing with the book in my head (and watching hours of youtube videos of elite swimmers in attempts to prove myself right or wrong) was the best part of the book for me. Right or wrong, this book is a great starter for conversations that need to be had.
I'm glad I read it; I'll read it again; but it would be great to see an improved and updated edition. Call me if you want my notes, Gary Hall :)
1. I bought the paper copy. And I'm glad I did, because I plan to re-read it and take notes all over it. It's also helpful to have a copy I can take to the pool. In addition, I just saw some recent research showing that the retention and understanding are actually better when students read paper versions vs. electronic, which matches my own experience. BUUUUUUT... The swim drills listed in the book are not described. Instead, they (and other information) are linked to in the eBook. You can find the information (sometimes) by searching on the Race Club website, but there is no centralized location where you can click through the links in the book. I can't get over the feeling that that's just not right. To have paid good money and basically gotten half a book.
2. The pictures are terrible. Perhaps they look better in the eBook (the paper version is black and white), but many of them could not look enough better to make them good. We are talking truly, truly terrible pictures... that are supposed to illuminate what it looks like to swim well and execute the techniques discussed in the book. This is definitely offset by the Race Club's excellent video collection (some of which is available for free, some not), but it just seems... unprofessional to publish a book with pictures of this quality.
3. Being flat-out wrong. This is going to happen sometimes - swim training and technique is ever evolving, and it is perfectly reasonable to hold different opinions on many matters. But there were a few places where I felt like a published book should do better. I think my most important complaint is two-fold - a lack of appropriate repeated trials when gathering data, and a lack of presentation of data (sometimes) when making bold and assertive claims. An example of a more narrow mistake would be that when discussing the free to free turn in the IM, the description of the body position requirement coming off of the turn is outdated (but was available before the publication date). It results in giving incorrect information to swimmers and coaches reading the book.
So those were the bad, for me. There's a lot of good to make up for it:
- A scientific approach (if sometimes flawed) to swimming that is greatly lacking in our sport
- Good organization and information that is generally easy to understand (for relatively experienced swimmers)
- Lots of new things to try in order to help swimmers improve, and the ways to do it
- A great starting place for thinking about how swimmers swim. Arguing with the book in my head (and watching hours of youtube videos of elite swimmers in attempts to prove myself right or wrong) was the best part of the book for me. Right or wrong, this book is a great starter for conversations that need to be had.
I'm glad I read it; I'll read it again; but it would be great to see an improved and updated edition. Call me if you want my notes, Gary Hall :)
Displaying 1 of 1 review